Pepsi releases a special flavor in Japan every summer. This year it's Salty Watermelon. Don't grimace: it's not half as bad as it sounds.
I tried some this morning and I was pleasantly surprised. These special flavours usually have little resemblance to their namesakes, but this one really tastes a bit salty and a bit watermelonish. It's not too sweet, which is good, and it doesn't taste too chemical … at least not until you're halfway through the bottle. Would I buy it again? Probably not, but I'd happily drink it if nothing else were available.
Since I wrote this review mainly for Lina, just because she asked me so nicely, I pretended to be an art director and poured some into a … champagne glass! Oh, why not, it does look a bit like rosé. Then I tried to get a photo of the glass, the morning sun and Tokyo Sky Tree (also for Lina!), but that was less successful because it was shot into the sunlight. Never mind. I had fun.
I hope the neighbours didn't see me.
Past Pepsi flavours
We've had:
pineapple/lemon, called Blue Hawaii, which was OK
cucumber, which was not
shiso (a kind of mint), ditto
azuki (red beans), ditto
a flavor from Africa called baobab, which was quite nice
strawberry milk, which wasn't nearly as gross as the name suggests
Mont Blanc (dessert made of puréed chestnuts and whipped cream), which was ghastly beyond belief
The first tasting of a new Pepsi flavor follows a fairly standard script:
The Hero (after his first sip): GHRUGHRGHAH! What's this?
Me (after a cautious first sip): Oh, it's not that bad, it's a bit like ginger ale?
The Hero: (Word censored for the sake of sensitive readers.)
Me: Or maybe like orange?
The Hero: (More censorship.)
Me (after a third sip): Eh. Irk. Actually ...
The Hero: This doesn't taste like X at all!
Me: Umm, yes, it's a bit weird.
Suffice it to say I seldom finish the bottle. The first taste is usually not bad, but then it gets very chemical/artificial. So far my favourite has been baobab, which was a bit ginger ale-ish, a bit citrus-ish, a bit grapefruit-ish.
Salty Watermelon? Try it. The colour's really nice.
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| Pepsi Salty Watermelon |
Nice touch on the champagne glass.
ReplyDeleteFor someone who drink salt water before a long run, I guess salty watermelon won't be half bad... hehehe
Thank you for enduring the drink! ^^
p.s. would love to read or listen to the words the Hero spouted out. For academic purpose of course. I'm here to learn new things. ;p
This one didn't require endurance. It's unusual, but not bad at all. I think an ice cream float could be quite delicious.
DeleteThe Hero curses in Afrikaans. Its guttural sounds and earthy words are perfect for salty (!) language. ;)
Some people here do drink watermelon juice with salt so this concoction could do well over here.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we have that many flavours of Pepsi here. Interesting!
You not only captured the Tokyo Sky Tree, the (sunset?) sun made it into the picture too and what a lovely picture all three make!
But of course, that cute little zebra in the bottom image makes for a nice colour contrast. :)
I've never tried watermelon with salt, but apparently salt intensifies the fruit's sweetness.
DeleteJapan's snacks are endlessly fascinating. I haven't seen such a quick turnover, and so many seasonal/regional specialities, in any other country. It's a bit frustrating, though, because as soon as you discover a new favourite ... swoosh, it's gone.
That little zebra was given to me by my niece, Diné, who commented just below. He always keeps me company at my computer.
PS: Sunrise, actually. :)
btw, Terengganu people (Zaini's hometown) eat watermelon with rice. They call it "timun cina" or chinese cucumber and eaten like you would, a cucumber. ;p
DeleteI myself like to dip my watermelon in a concoction of dark so sauce with bird-eye chillies. ;p
Watermelon with rice?! Is there anything Asia does NOT eat with rice?! :D Why you no eat it with bread ah?
DeleteI prefer my watermelon sweet, simple and unadorned. Just like me. :p
I think we'd eat bread with rice, if we can! kakaka
DeleteYou can make bread with rice flour! See? Rice is better as bread than as rice! :p
DeletePS: If somebody can come up with rice jam, I'll happily eat it on my bread.
Salty watermelon? What the heck!? Do you get other things in that flavour too? Now I've heard everything. I'd like to try the baobab though...
ReplyDeleteOther things? Jaaa, hoe ken jy dan vir Japan? KitKat! :D
DeleteThat baobab was really lekker, but it was available for only a month or two.
Salty Watermelon Pepsi doesn't sound too bad and would be quite refreshing in summer as watermelon is quite a popular summer fruit. P.S. Love the shot of the champagne glass with the Tokyo Skytree in the background.
ReplyDeleteThat champagne glass seems to have garnered a few fans! It also made me realize that any soft drink tastes better in a champagne glass. ^^ Not sure about beer though. :p
Delete"(Word censored for the sake of sensitive readers)", muahahahaha! I like the Hero's honesty!
ReplyDeleteI remember I had Lemon Twist Pepsi once... it tasted awkward and no one ever touch it after.
And Ru, I'll be delighted to see you writing the variety of the pepsi, kit kat, etc. You'll continue to do that, won't you? We only have one (or two the most!) flavour here - it's the same old taste, same old wrapping for maybe 10 years, oh wait, make it 20 years :p
Ma'am, your wish is my command. If you want more snacks stories, I'll happily oblige, especially with KitKats. You're right: the variety is mind-boggling.
DeleteThe Hero is a sight to behold - or rather, to behear - when he starts cussing in four languages. Doesn't happy often, though, I must add. ;)
I'm not sure about salty watermelon (although I do like watermelon rind pickles), but I do like your photos!
ReplyDeleteAfrikaans obachan ("tannies") make mean watermelon jam, but it requires enormous effort and hours of cooking in syrup. Delicious though. :)
DeleteOooh, that sounds yummmy!
DeleteIt's almost TOO sweet. My favourite South African jams are green fig preserve and hanepootkonfyt. (Hanepoot is a muscat grape variety; konfyt means jam.) The latter is SO local that I couldn't find any decent English links on the internet.
DeleteThere is a career in marketing awaiting you: Champagne glass with glints of the rising sun and Sky Tree!
ReplyDeleteYour photo doesn’t show the bottom left of the label well. You know, where it has written, “No Fruit Juice” 無果汁。No fruit juice? No thank you.
But now I have a craving for a Mumbai version with Chat Masala like here. Yum. As she says, and I hope she is right, even a childish bachelor could make the stuff.
At first I thought that was a zebra on top of your books, but now I’m not so sure. The stripes are a little too regular: like it could be a pet of George Clooney, et al. Or Sean Penn and Robert Deniro. Or the (non) angelic Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and Peter Ustinov? A star in the making whatever it is. A blonde referee set to blow a whistle when you break a grammar rule? (Never willingly or knowingly, of course).
It's a zebra, all the way from South Africa. My niece Diné (she commented above) brought it with her when she visited me in March. Now he's my faithful desk companion. ^^
DeleteFruit juice? Heck, no, this is pure chemistry! Why do you want fruit juice?! :p
That Mumbai watermelon juice sounds delectable. Methinks me'll try that.
Career in marketing? Been there, done that, wrote the slogan on the T-shirt and bribed a few border guards with the T-shirts. :D
“Bake Love,
DeleteNot War”
Love it! And I’ll bet she does bake her share of love too.
Now if only all war was as “friendly” as this.
Wow. That zebra is from South Africa. Must be one tough cookie. A person wouldn’t want to cross it. Or would one?
For your non-native, English-speaking and reading followers: The definition of “tough cookie” is, “someone who is strong enough to deal with difficult or violent situations”
DeleteThat confused orphan zebra made me guffaw in a rather zebra-like manner.
DeletePS: I'm constantly amazed that my two older sisters produced such great kids. Why weren't THEY so nice when WE were growing up? Hmph. :D
Ek is 'n tawwe soetkoekie.
DeleteI am a tough sweet cookie. A "soetkoekie" is an old-fashioned Afrikaans biscuit made from flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Sweet but spicy. Very nice. ;)
Thanks for trying that scary thing. I refuse to drink that stuff. I'll stick to my Sprite from 7-11.
ReplyDeleteYou could always mix it with shōchū. That should give you a nice kick. ;)
DeleteAdd shochu? I can't stand shochu. :p
DeleteOnly timt I drink shochu is when I'm already drunk. Very bad combo... ...
So how do I persuade you to try Salty Watermelon Pepsi? Or should I know when I've met my match? ^^
DeleteHmm... good question. Really hard to do. Of course, money works well, but I doubt you'd want to do that. Not sure how else...
DeleteMoney? Nah, money's for people with no imagination! :D
DeleteOkay, if you buy one and keep it till I am wearing a fundoshi, was it a glow in the dark one(?), then I will drink it. Oh yeah, it can't expire before then either. :P
DeleteA watermelon-coloured glow-in-the-dark firefly fundoshi? Right. It's a deal! :D
DeleteYay. This fundoshi is getting more absurd by the day. ;)
DeleteNow we just have to keep you happy, healthy and alive till that birthday finally arrives!
DeleteWhat no "Glo in the Dark Chemical" flavoured Pepsi?
ReplyDeleteOnly a matter of time Rurousha...
Glo in the dark?! That's funny! It's also an excellent idea! :D
DeleteGlo in the dark? How cool. But not to worry about a long wait. I understand that drinking the stuff out now already has this effect here.
DeleteFukushima hasn't made us glow in the dark yet, so I doubt that Pepsi would succeed, but ... that's better than tattoos! ^^
DeleteYuk yuk yuk yuk yuk
ReplyDeleteI have such traumatised memories of eating watermelon sorbet that I had made ahead of my wisdom tooth extraction (4 in the chair at once). Grap is another flavour of pepsi I refuse to do.
I am quietly delighted with Orangina becoming locally made though, I rarely drink softdrink - why would you when there is beer or umeshuu... but very refreshing for a non alcoholic drink.
I promise, word of honour as southern barbarian, it's really not bad at all. If you're hot and bothered after you toyi-toyi in front of the prime minister's house, it might be just the ticket! :D
DeleteI've seen Orangina in our local konbini, but I haven't tried it yet. So ... I should?
Orangina is yummy but I'm a fan of the Schweps bitter lemon they have out now - very refreshing and not overly sweet!
DeleteMy personal favourite: Mitsuya Cider in all its permutations. There's a Mitsuya Cider Super Lemon available right now. ^^
DeleteI tried it today too, and am going to post a piece about on my blog as well. One of my labels on my blog is "novelty drinks". I've tried the others and I agree with you, I think the best one so far has been the baobob.
ReplyDeleteOh, didn't have a cold after all - it was bronchitis. Got myself some antibiotics and should be 100% healthy soon. I think I'm about 95% healthy right now.
Bronchitis? No wonder you were feeling blah!
DeleteAfrica has produced a few good things, like baobab and nomads. ^^ I wish they'd make that flavour available again, but meantime we watermelon!
That looks pretty Rurousha. I think I'm going to have to give it a try. Just have to find it now. I think I have some special condition ... after so many years of drinking a lot of canned coffee, my eyes seem to block out everything else at the vending machines. I'll have to teach an old dog a new trick!
ReplyDeleteYou like canned coffee? The Hero also drinks it non-stop. Dunno how your stomachs survive!
DeleteOK, here's a plan. Take your new camera to a convenience store. Take photo of soft drinks section. Identify pink blob on photo. That's your watermelon drink. :D
Canned coffee is not a drink. It's sludge. I know a lot of people who agree, even though they drink that stuff too! I draw the line there though. ^^
DeleteLast year I told The Hero he doesn't have to worry about radio-activity; he's also been nuked by canned coffee! :D
DeleteI swear Blogger auto-changes your words. That's supposed to be ...
DeleteHe's ALREADY been nuked by canned coffee.
Suika Pepsi ;) hehehe.. I like the little zebra (?) in the last picture.
ReplyDeleteYup, it's a little zebra. I'm not the only African in Tokyo! ^^
Delete*Looking at books*
ReplyDeleteAww, a cute tiny zebra ^.^
I love watermelons, but they're so small here, size of a head or smaller.
Finns have a crazy fascination with adding taste of... wood tar! to various food. Tar drink was a bit too weird even for me, but tar ice cream - yummy ^^ There is also tar beer or tar vodka, I don't remember which one.
Wood tar?! Wait. Google.
DeleteHeh heh. Wikipedia says, "A Finnish proverb states that if sauna, vodka and tar won't help, the disease is fatal."
Terva Leijona is liquorice with tar. That sounds ... umm ... could I rather have chocolate, please? :p
PS: The books on the desk change fairly frequently. I'm going through a "let's read all our old language books again" phase at the moment. ^^
DeleteI think it's because tar is 'terva' and healthy is 'terve' in Finnish :D
DeleteRight now on my cluttered desk are:
- a dictionary of Finnish slang (oh my, oh my)
- Writing Fiction for Dummies
- Russian dictionary of synonyms (huge)
- Basic kanji book vol.1,vol.2
- lots of other stuff
- The Hobbit :) I'm going to reread it before the movie.
I have those Basic Kanji Books, too: pinkish and greenish. ^^
DeleteFinnish slang?! That sounds like fun!
I had a shelf full of dozens of dictionaries in Stellenbosch, but only brought the Afrikaans-English one and a few Japanese dictionaries with me. The big Oxfords, the thesauruses (thesaurii?), the etymological dictionaries in various languages ... they had to stay behind. :(
Don't you wish sometimes that there were houses small on the outside, but big inside, and also teleports?
DeleteMy dream house? I want to live inside a library. Preferably a very old, very big one.
DeleteIf I could teletransport myself to my mother's house in South Africa, I'd pop in for Sunday morning tea every week!