Chin Chin Lotus Oatmeal

Top of the day to you drinks fans!  Today's expedition into the world of beverages takes us to Taiwan and the good guys at King Lucky Food Ind. Corp who have generously produced and packed the hearty Chin Chin Lotus Oatmeal.  Unfortunately due to the Drinks Masters' incredibly busy schedule (or pure malingering) this review comes far later than intended, and the latter part without notes (they were lost in the war).  On this basis today’s review may be somewhat shorter than usual.  Drinks Master offers his most humble apologies.  Anyway on to the review...

Supplied in a solid can that no ordinary mortal could crush with their bare hands, CCLO is depicted  more like a meal than a drink by the bowl of "soup" shown on the label.  CCLO even comes with its own convenient fold out spoon packed neatly under the plastic lid for your munching pleasure.

Apparently "all delicious" cool or hot CCLO the Drinks Master elected to take his brew cold in this taste test, as his can of CCLO had been resting in the Drinks Cave fridge for quite some time.  However in this instance your hero arose from slumber  wholeheartedly starving, upon which he judged the only time that CCLO may actually be appealing to attempt to consume and digest.  


Thus the can was popped. Popping of said can was more difficult than first pondered however, as CCLO has a stiff plastic lid with rather sharp edges affixed to the top of the can, perhaps as a deterrent to young children and the enfeebled from what lies within.  However the Drinks Master being in possession of many fine drinking tools (ie: crusty old ball point pens) eventually managed to pry off the cap with minimal swearing and physical harm with the aid of neatly cut holes in the cap's side.

Removing the can lid via the pull back tab one is presented with a grim view of compressed gluggy slop topped with a viscous opaque liquid.  



Olfactory investigation reveals a strong corn scent muddled slightly with a sweetish vanilla fragrance.  Peering into the void conjures images of baby food, vomit and gruel.
Deciding to pour out the contents, it was clearly apparent that a bowl would be a more suitable receptacle over a glass.  As the mixture is a combination of chunks and liquid, having sat for so long in the can, a quick pour empties the liquid sans  chunks.  Sampling the liquid one is treated to a sweetish corn flavoured 'juice'.  It’s not wholly unpleasant, but not super tasty either.  Unfortunately what this does do is leave the ‘chunks’ without a supporting flavour.  Sampling the chunks with the supplied spoon all that is delivered is a mouthful of mushy neutrality. Chickpeas, corn, oats and other flavourless goodies, while providing ample sustenance, do not deliver on the ‘yumminess’ factor.

mmmm... chunky

However, in a famished state it’s not that hard to force down. Certainly if you were stuck in a frozen wasteland this stuff could keep you going for quite some time. While the Drinks Master opted to “save some for later” it was ultimately discarded into the bin, as after a day it really does not look appealing at all (picture last night’s vomit sitting in a bowl in your fridge).



In subsequent visits to various supermarkets, a number of competing brands have been sighted.  In order to properly give just to CCLO it would seem that another product will need to be sampled.  Keep your eyes peeled!

Woongjin's "Morning Rice"

After careful consideration of the aisles of the local Asian supermarket, what was claimed to be "Apple Sidar" was quickly snapped up as the least possibly noxious drink available (despite being a murky off-white). The drinker was given some solace in that the only English to greet the hapless purchaser is a claim to a US Patent. Surely if patentable it can't kill someone... at least it's "novel".

However, upon breaking open the seal, the drinkers were met with a number of interesting surprises:

1. the drink did not smell like apples... nor did it smell like anything for that matter; and
2. the drink tasted like toasted popcorn.

After careful examination of the receipt (issued by the lovely Eileen) your thoughtful reviewer noted that he had indeed purchased "Korean Rice Rice Drink".

Somehow those crafty folk at Woongjin have managed to liquefy popcorn, stuff it into a pet bottle and baffle store owners by calling it apples.

Once one leaps the mental hurdle of the lack of crunch in your corn, despite being nothing like it claimed to be, it was an unusually pleasant but strange beverage.

"Morning Rice" is neither something I would really enjoy in the morning, nor is it loaded with explosive rice flavour. However if I was going to watch a long movie and needed to combine my beverage and pop-corn requirements into one handy "slam it down fast" package.. this is your product!

Woongjin have laid out in colourful English the laurels of its product here:
http://www.wjfood.com/beverage/morningrice.asp

Would I drink this again: Yes
Would I recommend it to people I like: sure, give it a go
Would I put it in a pot with melted butter: no