Potent Potables

Spurred on by a comment from loyal blog reader Brian Durban, I decided to take the plunge on what you see above. For the last two months I have been intrigued by whatever was in the little brown pottery. They are sold virtually everywhere and you are sure to find a Chinese person sipping one on any given street. I always wanted to purchase one, but could never pull the trigger. Brian told me the story of his friend who raved about them when she spent time here so I felt that I couldn't have a complete trip without going for it.

Whatever sort of concoction that was actually in there tasted good. It was a yogurty texture, but a little bit more bitter than your typical yogurt. It's sealed by the paper over the top and when you're ready to drink you punch a hole with the straw. I could see where it would make for a refreshing drink on a hot day and for 60 cents a pop, why not!

I remembered this picture from a while back. It's a stand selling these drinks on a street next to the Forbidden City.