Seaweed drink to go, please!

Every time I come home from downtown, I always pass by this huge crowd in front of this small shop at the corner of Dinh Tien Hoang and Dien Bien Phu streets. What in the world is this place? I always ask myself as I zoom past the scene while keeping my eyes fixed on the commotion, my head turning around my body. What was intriguing about the whole thing was that all of the customers were still on their bikes on the side of the street, stopping for something quick at the shop, then leaving right away. I finally caught a glimpse one day- they were all drinking quickly from a glass then departing just as fast as they came. I have to try this, I promised myself.

The other day, I honored my curiosity and timidly drove up to the crowd at the corner shop after crossing the huge busy intersection. I looked at all of the riders around me downing their clear orange-tea color drinks and I decided, to heck with it. I motioned for a drink. Although it is a small little shop, there are a throng of workers in their bright yellow uniforms with glasses in their hands ready to serve you as soon as you pull up. I got a glass and drank the ice-cold beverage through the straw, comfortably from my own bike, then I payed the 6,000 dong, then went home. Maybe I was just imagining it, but I think I felt instantly refreshed and cooled down!

I was not wrong. The drink I had is an extremely popular tonic in the city, named "nước sâm". Vietnamese people drink it to cool down their body temperature in the hot scorching heat, and also for other health purposes, such as regulating blood pressure and relieving constipation. There are in fact vendors and street-side shops selling this tonic all over the city, and people regularly stop by for their daily dose of body coolers. Apparently the place that I went to is quite a popular place for this tonic- some people (questionably) praise its superior taste to other places around the city. The place is so popular that it even increased its price several times. Several years ago, it used to sell for 3,000 dong (about 15 cents), and it gradually went up to today's price of 6,000 dong, which is relatively expensive for this street beverage.

Nước sâm is usually divided into 4 different types: rong biển (seaweed), bông cúc (chrysanthemum), mía lau (dwarf sugarcane), and nước đắng (bitter-flavored drink). It can include any of those herbal plants, as well as seeds from đười ươi fruit, winter melon, plantain, la-kwa, artichoke, pennywort... All of the ingredients hold a special medicinal or restorative purpose and traditionally all have been mindfully selected to create this lovely concoction. So next time don't be afraid of this local drink you see served road-side- it is a tasty thirst-quencher that'll revitalize your body, right on the spot!