A drink to make you 'go'

I ummed and arrrgghhhed about whether to stuff this in the drinks section or the desserts. It's probably more drink than dessert, but what the hell, it's in both. This is Me da (Tamarind drink) and it's the first time I've ever tried it. I'll come clean here and admit, I ordered a Mia da and got this instead which got me thinking - there's a lot to be said for messing up your vowels and tones if what you end up with is not what you wanted but exceeds what it was you thought you really wanted in the first place. D'ya follow? This is the only drink/dessert hybrid I've come across with peanuts atop crushed ice. I blame a sheltered life for that glaring omission.

The tamarind is a sugarred up tease. Tart and hellish sweet. It'll cost you 4,000VD. When you approach the bottom of your glass you'll be given an iced tea to help scrape the Tate & Lyle from your enamel. Be careful, Tamarind will make you 'go'.

I found this glass at 25/87 Nguyen Binh Khiem Street in District 1. Not far from Saigon zoo. I'll certainly have more of this if it's a concentrated blast of three days intake of sugar I'm after. And/or I need some 'help'. I'm buzzing....

Comments

[Reid]

Hi Noodlepie,

Normally tamarind is sour, so I'm guessing by your description that there was way more sweet than sour in the glass. That's too bad because I think I'd enjoy a more sour tamarind drink. Peanuts too? Sounds interesting.

[FatMan Seoul]

All this talk makes me wanna "go" .....

[Tuan]

Hey, thats a funny story. How come you don't have any pictures of yourself?

[pieman]

Go Fats go. Tuan, what you saying? There's a fine portrait of me top left;)

[pieman]

Reid - yes, of course the Tamarind sourness played it's part, but mucho sacharine sweetness was the key player here. Kinda VERY Sweet n sour.

[FatMan Seoul]

This reminds me of a similar-natured drink in South East Asia - preserved sour plum & lime juice + loads of crushed ice cubes.

Very sweet and very sour all at the same time. Oh, think I need to "go" again ....

[pieman]

Actually Fats when this arrived on the table I thought it was plum juice. When I tasted it, I did too (my tastebuds are well screwy, don't believe a word I say on this blog, I'm clueless), only when I noticed the name Me da did I realise I was scoffing Tamarind. Talk about moron. Now, get a move on, there's a queue you know.

[Rachel]

The peanuts look sort of cold and lost, like they woke up and suddenly found themselves in a strange new land. In Singapore, there's a dessert with shaved ice and beans, and corn if you like. But never seen peanuts before.

Fun blog, by the way!

[MsNguyen]

My family used to have a Quan Coc (small shop) in Vung Tau (my hometown) and Mom would make all kind of desserts and refreshment drinks; Me Da was on the menu every summer. This reminds me so much of my childhood. By the way, I think this is more on the drink side, not dessert. But if you want to try a dessert with Me as an ingredient, look for Me Nga`o. I am not sure if people in Vietnam still sell that on the streets.

[Third Shift in Las Vegas]

If you like tamarind, you might want to try "me ngào đường", or "me ngao duong" without the diacritical marks, in case it doesn't render. It's a whole tamarind pod, shells removed, the soft insides including the pits is steeped in sugar. It sounds simple but making it isn't. The tartness has to be rinsed out while preserving the shape of the tamarind. You can find some that are so skillfully prepared, one can strip the shell down to the stem, and hold it by the stem and hold it like a popsicle.

Sorry to find you are soon to leave Vietnam and thus end our collective vicarious adventures. A few things for you to try if you haven't already: xoi cam (light purple sweetish sticky rice), xoi gac (orange-y sweetish sticky rice), bun he^'n (large rice vermicelli with mussels & a liberal pouring of shrimp-paste sauce -- out of this world!), bun mam thit heo quay (same as previous except roasted crunchy pork stands in for mussels, these two are native dish of The Middle or Hue), chao vit (or duck porridge, distinctly different from all other sorts of chao you can find -- the rice grain is loose and non-starchy, hints of lemon and ginger -- I remember this dish fondly from my childhood). For funky drinks try the salt-preserved-lemon lemonade. Strange as hell, but worth a sip just for the novelty.

[pieman]

Ms Nugyen/3rd Shift - The tamarind pods you mention are still available widely on the streets. I must say I'm not massive keen, but noodlegirl is. She can scoff a whole bag no probs - what a hog. You'd certainly need 'to go' after that. They have a very distinctive crunch when you bite into them.

3rd shift - thanks so much for the tips. Xoi isn't a big fave I'm afraid. I have covered it once - use the googlebar to find it. I have a Chao Vit tip from ages ago, just haven't managed to get out to it yet. It's a bit outta town the one I was recommended.

[Matt Bradley]

Hey, you might want to fix that glaring grammatical error in the first sentence of your blog.

Courtesy of the Restaurant Review Team at the Viet Nam News,

Hack Matt Bradley

[pieman]

Cheers Matt.

[thirdshiftinlasvegas]

Howdy --

I just read something that may explain why this drink will "make you go". It seems that large dose of vitamin C will stimulate the intestines, and the "go" is the result of all this stimulation. Tamarind is a superdose of vitamin C. Likewise, green mangoes can put the GO in you. There seems to be a preference for really sourish things eaten with salt or sugar in the national palate.

hey, guy. I also drank it but nothing happened to me. The owner was very funny.Although she didn't understand English but she tried to show me the way to me hotel.