"For me, Shanghai means diversity"

[Randy W]

from NPR

 

In A Massive City, This Bar Serves Up Diverse Drinks — To 8 People At A Time

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2016/12/29/toast1-e9a1701af7aed3c5f93594881518bbb0c02ca1cb-s800-c85.jpg

 

 

"I went to many bars, I drank a lot, and I spent a lot of money. One day, I thought to myself: 'With all the money I've spent on drinking, I could open my own bar.' "

 

And so she did. Her bar, Moju, is tucked inside a line of shops along a quiet tree-lined avenue in the Changning district, just west of downtown Shanghai. In a city of 26 million, this bar has room for just eight people along a single counter.

The short, spry 30-year-old Moe designs her own bartender outfits and serves nothing but her own signature drinks, from a bloody mary made with her own truffle-infused vodka to a Korean sour made with pomelo tea and egg white.

 

 

. . .

 

Yet to a city with such a mix of people, Moe has dedicated the simplest of New Year's drinks — she calls it sakura. "It took me half a year to get it right," she says, pushing the pink concoction across the bar.

She makes it with Botanist Gin, Cointreau triple sec, a twist of lemon and the bright pink syrup of the cherry blossom flower, an import from Japan. "There's an old Japanese tale about a sakura tree that lived for thousands of years. That's my hope for this drink," she says.

It's had a good start. In October, she entered her sakura drink in an international competition sponsored by Cointreau, and she beat out dozens of mixologists from around the world to win first prize.

 

[Greg.D.]

She probably entered the only pink drink. Smart. 50% of the planet's population wants pink drinks.

[Randy W]

Ah c'mon, Greg! When the "pink" comes from sakura drops, that's got to be a fairly unique flavor

 

https://youtu.be/mlwCZm2MQbQ

 

Fall in love, then it ends
I swear: This will be my last heartbreak
Even the cherry blossom trees shaking in the wind,
will bloom one day soon.

The sudden summer rain,
passed by my tears in a quiet stream
A scene so like one from my memories
A summer re-run of a fall drama.

Why do I keep getting done in by the same punch,
and yet still continue to fight?
That's one of life's little mysteries.

Fall in love, give it my everything
I hope: This will be my last heartbreak
Even the cherry blossom trees shaking through the seasons,
will bloom one day soon.

 

 

http://www.metrolyrics.com/sakura-drops-translation-lyrics-hikaru-utada.html