Japanese Beverages
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Amazake -
Japanese Literally, it means rice drink (aka rice milk). Amazake is the non-alcoholic remainder of the sake making process - a mixture of sweet rice, koji, and lots of healthy buggies (similar to the stuff in yogurt.) It can be served or sold as a drink, or as a dessert. In taste and texture, it seems alot like a watered down sweet yogurt. It's not bad, although hardly as mind-blowing as I had hoped. Would I try again? Nope. Where I found it: Health Nut For more information: See Dom's Cultured Food Website - the guy knows his fermented foods! |
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Grass
Jelly - Japanese/Korean
(?) Tiny, minced gelatinous cubes in a sugared liquid--with grass somehow incorporated. Come on, try it--it's fun! Its more sweet than disgusting, despite what other reviewers on the web have said. Would I try again? No--but its worth drinking one time--if only for bragging rights, and the neat can! Where I found it: Several stores carry it.
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Jelly Drink (Daybaby) -
Japanese They come in collapsible drink packs. I bought it because of the neat anime picture on the front, and was intrigued by the "jelly" concept. I tried apple flavor - its very sweet, with a liquified jelly consistancy. Duh. Would I try again? Possibly, on a scorching hot summer day. Where I found it: It's in several stores - I got mine at May May Bakery on Pell Street.
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Plum Wine (Ume-shu) - Japanese
Possibly my favorite alcoholic beverage. Very sweet, comparable to liqueur. Very potent Some brands come with the plum still in the bottle, some don't. There isn't much to add other than: don't miss out. Try it. Would I try again? Four stars. A must try. Where I found it: Any good
Chinese restaurant.
There's also a liquor store that stocks it, halfway down Mott Street.
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Pocari Sweat
- Japanese Not bad. It's the Japanese version of Gatorade. It tastes kind of like sweat, though in a good way (if you can imagine .) In other words, it's lightly salty - but not unpleasant. Not a bad experience. Would I try again? No - it didn't "wow" me. But if you drink Gatorade on a regular basis, I'd suggest you give it a try. Where I found it: I got mine
at JAS
Mart. |
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Sake - Japanese What's to be said about Sake? There's too much information to be put into a blurb. So I'll stick with a few less commonly known facts/highlights. Sake's a Japanese alcoholic beverage, fermented from rice. It's actually more beer than wine, and the best sakes are served chilled. It's the cheaper versions that are served warm--to smooth out the taste. There are plenty of different brands. The stuff's potent, but the types I've tried don't have too strong of a flavor. Would I try again? On the right night, with the right sushi. Links for further information: Sake World Where I found it: There's a
liquor store
on Mott that sells it, and many other places in NYC. Update 1/21/06 -
Interested in sake? Check out Satsko,
a tiny sake bar in Alphabet City, which has a sake sampler deal on
Tues/Wed nights for $25 (large appetizer included). Six shots of
your choice...trust me, its enough to get you quite mellow, even after
you've tasted your fill.... |
| Shoku - Japanese The Japanese version of distilled hard liquor (ala vodka). There are a million different brands. The one that I tried (Sudachi Chu), was one of the sweeter, but it really only had the faintest hint of sweetness to it. It was relatively strong in alcohol, and in most ways just like vodka. Would I try again? Nah, it's nothing new. Where I found it: Kenka |
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Yogloo - Japanese
I had higher hopes for Yogloo. I was expecting a kind of drinkable Yogurt, but what I got was an extremely diluted flavored sugar water. Not nasty, but why bother? Would I try again? No-not worth the $$. Where I found it: They're
everywhere, but
I found mine at Dragonland Bakery, which is at the corner of Walker and
Baxter. |
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The Grand List
(among a million other places):
Elizabeth Wine and Liquor Store Health Nut JAS Mart Kenka M2M Deli |
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