Vietnam is one of the strongest agricultural powerhouses in Southeast Asia, with some of its commodity outputs ranking the country among the world's top ten. It's a remarkable feat, given that Vietnam was struggling to feed itself just a couple of decades back as a result of constant power struggles. Nurtured by the Mekong Delta and assisted by strong agricultural policies, rice became one of the country's biggest exports. Rice is a staple part of Vietnamese cuisine, used in

At any cocktail bar, the centerpiece is undoubtedly the bar counter: it defines the space as a 'bar' that serves booze. This long, elevated surface serves the purpose of not just serving drinks to customers (standing or sitting), but also a space for conversation between both sides of the counter. The bar counter seems so natural that it’s easy to assume it has always existed. In reality, it emerged in the 19th century alongside another important development in drinking cultu

There’s a persistent myth in Southeast Asia that “women didn’t really drink back then.” That cocktails are a modern invention. History says otherwise. If you leaf through newspapers, memoirs, advertisements, and society columns from interwar Malaya, you’ll find women drinking – sometimes discreetly, sometimes defiantly, often stylishly – as early as the 1920s. Not just sipping sherry in the corner, but attending cocktail parties, hosting pahit parties, and eventually being j

The Philippines is the home to some of the most diverse categories of alcoholic brew in Southeast Asia, partially due to the variety of cultures and people that inhabit the different islands of the country. Here, we can find rice wine typical of the region, known locally as tapuy (or tapuey ). Besides that, there is also basi,  a type of sugarcane wine . One can also explore a unique brew named agkud  here, a rice wine that is fermented alongside sugarcane juice and flavoured

For many people, a morning coffee or an afternoon green tea is part of daily life. But did you know these common caffeine-containing drinks may also support liver health, especially if you drink alcohol? Let’s break down the science in simple terms — what works, how it works, and where the evidence comes from. Why Your Liver Needs Support Alcohol puts stress on the liver because that’s where most alcohol is broken down. Over time, this can lead to inflammation, fat accumulati

For decades, the global cocktail canon has been framed around sweetness: sugar syrups, fruit juices, dessert-like pleasures dressed up with citrus and foam. Yet across Asia, the drinks that quietly make the most sense are not sweet at all. They are salty, briny, spiced, fermented, sometimes even broth-like. From pickles and preserved vegetables to soups, sauces, and seasoned beers, the palate logic is already there. These drinks don’t ask the drinker to “learn” alcohol throug

The festive season has a way of stretching drinking habits. Office parties blur into family gatherings, and “just for the holidays” quietly becomes daily alcohol intake. While most people worry about hangovers or weight gain, the liver is dealing with something more immediate: fat build-up caused by alcohol. Alcohol-related fatty liver disease is often silent. There’s no pain, no obvious warning signs — just fat accumulating in liver cells as alcohol metabolism blocks fat bur

The Latin word fervere , meaning "to boil or seethe," is the root of the English word "fermentation." Since the bubbling and foaming of early fermenting beverages resembled boiling, it was given this name. However, fermentation doesn't need heat like boiling does. It is a subdued chemical reaction, a metamorphosis that elevates simple sugars into something much more potent. So what is fermentation, really? Fermentation is a natural process where microbes like yeast, molds, an

Most people today would find the idea of chewing and spitting as the first step to making alcohol rather confronting — yet for millennia, this was one of humanity’s simplest and most effective brewing techniques. Chewing starch-rich foods like maize, cassava, or rice allows enzymes in saliva, especially amylase, to break down complex starches into simple sugars. Yeast cannot ferment starch directly, but it can ferment sugar.  Before malted grains and mold starters (like Japan

Some writers drink to dull the world. Others drink to taste it more clearly. In the smoky salons of Paris, the back rooms of London clubs, or the balmy nights of the Caribbean, cocktails have long been companions to many writers — as ritual, rebellion, or reward. Here’s a tour through ten of literature’s best barflies, and the drinks that fueled their genius. 1. F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Dreamer of the Jazz Age Favorite drink:  Gin Rickey (60ml gin, juice of half a lime, top

You know the drill. A guy walks into a bar and orders a neat whiskey. His date asks for a lychee martini. The bartender nods, pours, and slides the drinks across the counter. No one says anything, but the choreography is familiar. Whisky is strong. Masculine. Serious. The martini? Sweet, floral, and, let us be honest, feminine. I have seen this play out hundreds of times. Once, a man ordered a frozen strawberry daiquiri, then immediately clarified, “It’s for my girlfriend.” S

The British played a major role in shaping global alcohol consumption, spreading gin, whisky, and rum to the far reaches of their empire – especially in Asia. However, some drinks were not just introduced but invented or transformed by the East India Company (EIC), a powerful British trading corporation established in 1600 which controlled vast territories in India, China, and Southeast Asia until it was dissolved in 1874.  The gin & tonic, Pegu Club, and Singapore Sling are

When people first encounter European liqueurs and spirits like Fernet, Chartreuse, or Campari, the reaction is often the same: “Wah, so bitter!”  or “This tastes like medicine.”  But if you think about it, Malaysians and Singaporeans already grew up surrounded by bitter, herbal, and smoky flavors. From liang cha  (cooling tea) to bak kut teh  to the smell of burning incense, many of these spirits have cousins in our local food culture. Let’s break them down in a way that make