Bird’s Nest gets a lot of attention as one of those fundamentally bizarre foods, perfectly demonstrating the eccentricities of the Chinese palate. Produced from the massed saliva of tiny cave swifts, it’s prized for its supposed health proprieties_, textural qualities and the inherent difficulty of procuring these little prizes. The latter makes this one of the most expensive foods on earth (retailing at upwards of 2k per kg), although the old, dangerous method of scaling cliff faces to pluck nests from gaps in the rock has mostly disappeared, largely due to the accompanying devastation of swiftlet populations. The nests are now harvested in specially built birdhouse complexes dotted throughout Southeast Asia (see here for more info and a fabulous headline), but the high price remains part of the prestige attraction and has thus held. This leaves lots of room for artificial bird’s nest flavoring, which might not pass muster in the famous soup, but works as part of handy imitation beverage. Genuine bird’s nest drinks do exist, and may come with better packaging and real-deal spittle, but the imitation, purchased for $1.50 from a Chinese supermarket, will do in a pinch. This version employs “artificial bird’s nest flavoring,” in addition to floating flecks of white fungus, which I guess cover for the missing textural consistency of the actual nests. Produced in Thailand, which seems to have recently caught the bug in terms of bird’s nest production and consumption, the can also boasts a bevy of beautiful birds, darting through the air with the stern efficiency of military aircraft. The golden sun, cresting above the outline of a white cloud, is also a nice touch.
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