Subject: Re: Indonesian Drink

From: [email-masked] (bgseah)
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 09:21:35 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Edward Gosfield) writes:
>From: [email-masked] (Edward Gosfield)
>Subject: Indonesian Drink
>Date: 1 Jan 1995 18:02:47 GMT

>I was given as a gift, a small packet of seasonings for a hot/sweet 
>drink.  I have no idea what its history and significance (health drink? 
>what meal? snack? accompaniments?) are, and would appreciate any info 
>available.  I will provide some details from the package:

>Bandrek  brand
>2 Pigeons trademark

I can't read Indonesian but I can hazard a guess.  It sounds like Bird's Nest. 
No kidding, Indonesia is one of the biggest supplier of this Asian delicacy.  
It's very expensive.  It is believed to possess some medical value.  If I 
remember correctly, the bird in question is a specie of the swallow.  It uses 
its saliva to build its nest.  When dried, the saliva becomes a jelly-like 
substance.  This is used to make this drink.  I'm not sure about the spices 
that you mentioned but us Chinese use a type of sugar (we call it rock sugar, 
it's a kind of unrefined sugar which comes in irregular shaped chunks) to cook 
the bird's nest and the result is served chilled.  Hope this helps!

Chris