Photo by Heather SwaimThe creamy emerald-green PAKOLA is one of the few aspects of Pakistani life that doesn't involve cricket, India-bashing, military coups or the illegal sale of fissionable material. BuyitatAl-MadinahMarket,locatedinLittleSaigon'sLittleKarachi,14282BrookhurstAve.,Ste.1,GardenGrove,(714)531-2000.
Do you like yogurt? I hate yogurt. Do you like drinking yogurt? I love drinking the Persian yogurt drink dhough. The mass-marketed version ZAM ZAM reduces yogurt's disgusting curdle to something like minty milk. Hard to know whether the label is a misprint: it claims to pack 440 grams of sodium; drink that and you'd attract deer. AvailableatWholesomeChoice,OrangeCounty'sUnitedNationsofsupermarkets,18040CulverDr.,Irvine,(949)551-4111.
99 Ranch Market stocks almost every Asian canned soda and tea possible—Filipino rip-offs of RC Cola, mango juices and 40-ouncers of carbonated soy. But stick to YEO'S CHRYSANTHEMUM TEA, a gentle version of the sweet tea. Locatedat15333CulverDr.,Irvine,(949)651-8899;5402WalnutAve.,Irvine,(949)651-8888;651N.EuclidSt.,Anaheim,(714)776-8899;www.99ranch.com.
I remember the day when you could find only the bubbly Mexican soda JARRITOS in deepest, darkest Mexico. Nowadays, you can buy any of its flavors (tangy mandarin, sparkling strawberry or the pink refined charms of guava) in liter bottles at every major American supermarket, and I cannot help but to feel like something was lost—like maybe American sovereignty?
