That qualifies as a "schtick"

NPR's "Marketplace" had a segment today on the UC Berkeley team working on creating a synthetic version of the surface of a gecko's foot. After poking around a little, I found an article from January suggesting that we are not terribly far away from having real gecko tape.

Shopping

I stopped by Pacific East Mall (Emeryville) on my way home today, and hit County Square Market as well (my local Asian supermarket)... a few observations:

• It must be because when I was a little kid, my brother was allergic to milk, so we drank soy milk instead; the only place to get it in the 80's was the authentic Chinese groceries in San Francisco and Oakland. It's just that as I was passing by one of the dry-goods stores in the mall, I caught that kind of musty, woody, spicy scent that says "Chinese market" and I smiled, comforted. It's a familiar and reassuring smell for me.


• I love the names of Asian goods. "Hello Boss!" was a cold coffee drink (think Frappucino in a can). At County Square I saw, once again, one of my favorites: "Kasugai Peanut And You". And then there are the ones that don't have any English except the nutrition information.


• I can't find lychee juice. There is coconut milk and guava nectar and mango puree... but no lychee juice. Just lychees in heavy syrup, and the lychee-flavored drinks. They're juicy fruits; you wouldn't think it would be that difficult.


• Lychees are in season, though. I bought a two-pound bag. mmmmmmmmmmm.


• I found bubble-tea straws at County Square, and bought a pack. I was sure they wouldn't be there, but they were. On the other hand, I expected to find black tapioca pearls, but I could only get white or bicolor (brown and white) ones... very strange. Ah, well, not much difference except color. The instructions on the back seem unnecessarily complex, so I'll see whether I can hunt down better directions on the net.

My friend Emily (Wright) will be visiting the Bay Area this week with her partner Sandra, and I figured I could make bubble tea -- I got some "lychee water", a little soursop juice, tapioca pearls, and the straws. I may add a bit of red tea if I feel like it, but fruit drinks go just as well with tapioca pearls as real tea does.

I guess I'm weird, but I like drinks you can chew. :)