Five of a kind: Asian drinks
Asian drinks are not only colourful, but they can be a meal in a glass, enjoyed as a snack, digestive, cooling tonic or thirst quencher.
Lassi
India's yoghurt-based thickshake, the lassi, is enjoyed as a digestive after a meal and as a cooling tonic in the summer months. In Australia, the best-known version is the mango variety, a blend of yoghurt, mango and often a little sugar. For the perfect complement to a spicy Indian meal, search out ''namkeen lassi''. This is a cool, thin, yoghurt-based drink, salted and spiced with cumin and black pepper. Other unusual varieties include vanilla, rosewater, and cardamom.
Three-colour drink
Got a small appetite? Order a drink in a Vietnamese restaurant at your peril, where the popular three-colour drink is a meal in a glass. Creamy yellow mung beans, red adzuki or kidney beans and pandan-scented green jelly ''worms'' are layered in a tall glass, before being topped with shaved ice and coconut cream. These beverages are so substantial because originally they were not a drink at all. In Vietnam, they are traditionally served in a bowl, not a glass, as a refreshing streetside snack.
Sugarcane juice
At first glance, sugarcane poles look like something you might edge your garden with. The magic happens when the thick, bamboo-like sticks are fed through a wringer and exude glorious chartreuse sugarcane juice. It is said to be rich in antioxidants and trace minerals, and is an all-natural thirst quencher perfect for summer. In Vietnam, cumquats are juiced alongside the cane, while in India it's ginger and lime.
Teh tarik
It's hot, milky and has a frothy, bubbled top, but this tea drink is not a chai latte. It's teh tarik, or ''pulled tea'', a Singaporean and Malaysian hawker classic. It begins with low-grade ''tea dust'', originally used out of necessity but now enjoyed for its strong, astringent flavour. Hot, sweet condensed milk balances the tannins. The final step involves the hawker flamboyantly and rapidly pouring the tea from one mug to another. This both cools and aerates the beverage, creating its signature frothed top.
Brown rice tea
At first glance, a pot of Japanese genmaicha looks like someone missed the bowl and tipped the rice bubbles into the teapot. Nestled among the green tea leaves are grains of dark-brown roasted rice. Originally a drink of the poor, who used roasted rice grains as a filler, genmaicha is now enjoyed for its hearty, nutty flavour. It's also known as ''popcorn tea'', because sometimes the rice grains pop like corn. The presence of the rice means it is lower in caffeine than normal green tea.