USEUROPEAFRICAASIA 中文双语Français
Lifestyle
Home / Lifestyle / Food

Sips of the Silk Road highlight legacy of traders

By Mike Peters | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-16 07:34

Sips of the Silk Road highlight legacy of traders

5 Gold Martini

Creator: Frederick Ma, The Black Moth, Beijing

A martini to make James Bond whimper, the use of saffron gin and gold makes this one worthy of any Persian ruler's banquet.

Silk Road fun fact: Highly valued as a drug and aphrodisiac, saffron was used by Alexander the Great to heal his battle wounds, Laura Kelley writer in The Silk Road Gourmet. From Fertile Crescent and Persian roots, saffron's golden hues and rich blanket of gentle flavor has been used as an ingredient in wine, rice, curries and stews for millennia.

Sips of the Silk Road highlight legacy of traders

6 Tomato and Cheese

Creator: Jackael He, Portman's bar, Shanghai

The namesake Italian imports blossom in a mix of Capano Punt e Mens vermouth, the aromatized wine Lillet blanc, and tomato water with a few drops of celery bitters - "a fresh, long and easy aperitif drink people can have before dinner".

Silk Road fun fact: The ground seeds of cumin for centuries have been a staple in traditional spice powders, from Indian garam masala to some Chinese five-spice mixtures. In ancient times, they were used to pay taxes in Rome, but the Chinese never used them for that purpose.

Sips of the Silk Road highlight legacy of traders

7 Hazaki Fizz

Creator: Sami Mersel for O'Hara's bar at The Astor Hotel, Tianjin

Shiso leaf-infused gin, fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup, vanilla extract and lemonade make a great summer refresher.

Silk Road fun facts: The native origins of the pungent shiso leaf (perilla) are said to be the mountainous terrains of India and China. It spread throughout China centuries ago, and was introduced to Japan in the eighth or ninth century. Sweet vanilla, meanwhile, was introduced to Madagascar in the 19th century, when French colonialists brought vanilla pod-producing orchids from Mexico. A recent influx of Chinese investors has led to increased productivity to meet rising international demand.

Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US