The Adventures of Panda Bear's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Coffee Jelly
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Prepared Foods

Coffee Jelly

Leftover coffee plus gelatin equals this vintage dessert.
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Okinawa Black Sugar
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Ingredients & Condiments

Okinawa Black Sugar

It's darker, saltier, and healthier than white sugar.
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Halo-Halo
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Sweets

Halo-Halo

A sundae with a surprising mix of flavors that reflect Filipino history.
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Narutomaki
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Meats & Animal Products

Narutomaki

It's a whirlpool, it's an emoji, it's a fishcake!
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Takoyaki
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Prepared Foods

Takoyaki

Osaka's most famous dish is an octopus-stuffed fried dough ball.
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Bonito Flakes
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Meats & Animal Products

Bonito Flakes

Some fish can dance.
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Longevity Peach
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Sweets

Longevity Peach

These buns artfully resemble peaches and represent immortality.
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Umeboshi
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Fruits & Vegetables

Umeboshi

These salted, pickled plums are an ancient Japanese hangover cure.
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Bird's Nest Soup
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Prepared Foods

Bird's Nest Soup

It's expensive, it's gelatinous, it's made from swiftlet spit.
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Dragon's Beard Candy
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Sweets

Dragon's Beard Candy

The ancient confection consists of wispy sugar-strands that look like dragon whiskers.
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Pandan Leaf Extract
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Ingredients & Condiments

Pandan Leaf Extract

This plant adds a hint of vanilla and a wash of brilliant green to any dish.
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Black Chicken Soup
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Black Chicken Soup

In Asia, the black-skinned silkie chicken forms the base of a medicinal broth.
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Grass Jelly
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Ingredients & Condiments

Grass Jelly

Once a treatment for heat stroke, the herbal gel now flavors desserts.
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Jiānbǐng
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Prepared Foods

Jiānbǐng

Every morning, Chinese vendors sling savory, crispy crepes to lines of patient fans.
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Pineapple Bun
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Sweets

Pineapple Bun

This sweet treat is so beloved in Hong Kong, it inspired an animated movie.
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Nattō
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Prepared Foods

Nattō

These pungent fermented soybeans are coated in probiotic slime.
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Bouncy Meatball Soup
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Meats & Animal Products

Bouncy Meatball Soup

This Chaoshan specialty makes it hard to resist playing with your food.
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Omurice
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Prepared Foods

Omurice

Japanese cooks riff on American diner food with this rice-and-ketchup omelet.
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Pig's Blood Cake
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Prepared Foods

Pig's Blood Cake

Beneath a blanket of peanut flour and cilantro, this Taiwanese street pop hides a savory surprise.
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Ramune
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Drinks

Ramune

The Japanese soda still comes in a marble-stoppered bottle from the 19th century.
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Snake Soup
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Prepared Foods

Snake Soup

During Hong Kong winters, crowds flock to small diners with serpents in their cupboards.
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Candied Hawthorn
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Sweets

Candied Hawthorn

To celebrate Chinese New Year, vendors sell skewered, sugar-coated berries.
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Bamboo Pole Noodles
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Prepared Foods

Bamboo Pole Noodles

The dying art of flattening dough by seesawing on it.
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Pig's Feet and Ginger Stew
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Pig's Feet and Ginger Stew

The sweet and sour Cantonese meal restores new mothers after giving birth.
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