Mong Lee Shang Grass Jelly Drink Lychee

It's been awhile since I have delved into the world of unusual Asian beverages. I feel I'm about due to have some added texture in my drink. As a result I find myself sitting down with a good book and a can of grass jelly drink. Let me put my feet up, crack this can open, and begin our little adventure.

Before I even had the can completely open the smell of lychee was in the air. It's sweet, fragrant, and doesn't really smell like something you should consume. My first sip was all liquid, and all lychee. What is it about that fruit that makes it taste vaguely like perfume? I've had some lychee drinks in the past that I just couldn't finish, and I've also had a couple that I found to be quite pleasant. Luckily this can of Mone Lee Shang falls into the latter category. It definitely tastes like a perfume, but in an almost candy-like way. It's similar to those Violet candies that old ladies and Editor Dan love.

Before I took another sip i swirled the can around to mix up the grass jelly. That did the job. My second gulp was full of little gelatinous cubes. I know to a lot of people that would probably be disgusting, but I've grown to love a little texture in my drinks. They taste like a honey sweetened iced tea that was somehow made into Jello. If you pour this drink into a glass, so you can actually see the cubes it even looks like Jello that is the color of iced tea. The flavor of the grass jelly balanced out the lychee even more and made this drink truly enjoyable. I've read that grass jelly drinks are consumed in Asia as a way to beat the heat. It's pretty warm out there today, and I can concur that it helped me to fight the heat.