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FYI SOUTH Magazine, June 2006.

A REFRESHING ALTERNATIVE: Drink vendors

---By Peiling Wu Translated by Annie Liu

Drink or tea vendors regularly spring up amidst the hustle and bustle of Kaohsiung. The variety of drinks these vendors offer, satiate those who crave for, at the cost of their spare change, appealing 'cocktails' of juices and teas.

It is difficult to miss the numerous stalls of drink vendors along MingCheng Road, with their dazzling signs, multitudinous concoctions, and banners advertising their newest blends to customers who are tired of conventional beverages. These stalls are even revolutionizing traditional tea drinking. 'Tea Professional', as its name suggests, specializes in black, green and oolong tea blends. They proudly promote their freshly squeezed grapefruit juices over the concentrates of other stalls. Their best sellers are grapefruit green tea and plum green tea. Each type of tea is brewed with distilled water to enhance authentic flavors and aromas. Prices range from NT$10 to NT$50, and there is also a special offer of buy five get one free.

If you are not a tea drinker, try 'This Fresh Fruit Juice Shop' (next to Bridge Drugstore), which serves countless seasonal fruit blends. The vast range of choices includes 'wholesome drinks'-the "rich-in-vitamin-C" fruit blend being the most popular. Their fruits are pre-washed with salt and the juices sweetened with a special sugar mix to bring out the fruitiness. Everything from fresh seasonal juices to slushies, and immune-boosting fruit blends and yogurt drinks, is available. With every purchase of more than NT$50, you get a 'stamp', and 11stamps gets you a free drink up to NT$40.

Both these vendors (and others alike) deliver for free (within the vicinity) for purchases of more than NT$100, and for calorie-conscious consumers, personal requests for the amount of sugar per drink are taken.