Let's kick off day two with some White Gourd Drink from Malaysia.
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| "Merry Christmas to diversity" |
I know I did all of my "find it on a map" material with Indonesia, but...like...I don't think I could find Malaysia on a map either come to think of it. I just looked on a map. It's literally right next to Indonesia. It's like the freakin' Where's Waldo of countries. I know nothing of Malaysian culture. I assume they like chairs. And oxygen. Maybe going to the barber? I'm sure they appreciate photosynthesis. But do they celebrate Christmas? Pretty much in the same way Indonesia does in that only a small percentage of the population celebrates Christmas for the religious reasons, but they all love a good Christmas party, and a good sale. Apparently hanging out at malls is Malaysia's most popular pastime. People of all religions flock to the mall around the holidays for the best deals east of the North Pole. The biggest change from traditional Christmas is that that all of the partying and egg nogging happens on Christmas Eve. On Christmas day, most people are sick of all that holiday bull crap. They take down their decorations ON Christmas day and then go to work. Bah Humbug!
Why do I feel like so many of my beverage tastings begin with, "what the hell's a (insert obscure fruit here)?" But really, what the hell is a white gourd? A gourd is of the pumpkin and yam family isn't it? Well the short answer is, it doesn't exist. White Gourd is another name for the more common winter melon. If you look up white gourd, all you get are references to the very drink I'm about to taste. It apparently has a shelf life of an entire year, and the Chinese throw it in meat dishes like a spaghetti substitute. There's very little info regarding what it tastes like though. It looks like it's up to me
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| Pictured here: surprising sign |
to find out. The can as well has very little information, the only ingredients are: water, cane sugar, white gourd juice, artificial flavor and caramel. I have no idea if this is a soda or juice, so I'm not going to shake it, but let's crack it open and give it a sniff. It smells like pretzels. Is that a good sign or a bad sign? It's certainly a surprising sign. I think I might pour this one into a glass just out of sheer curiosity. It's a ginger ale color, but no carbonation. Alright, let's do this. It has no distinct flavor, but the aftertaste is pure pretzel. If this were marketed as a pretzel juice, I think it would do very well in the states. "Murray, I'm trying to cut down on my carbs. I'll take my pretzels in juice form today. Grab me one of those pizza napkins while you're at it!"
It's really just a pretzel with sugar. I'd put this one on the list of the most unique I've ever tried. 3 out of 5 Rudolph noses. Tomorrow I think I'll leave Asia for awhile and head Down Under.
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