For The Real Deal, You Gotta Pay
It’s an all too common scenario after a night out in
Shanghai. You awake the next morning with a thudding headache and a fire in
your throat. At this point you wonder: Did I really only drink beer last night
or was it something else? Fake beverages - alcohol mixed with non-essential and
unsafe chemicals - is a rampant problem in China. Often the only indicator that
you have consumed a fake beer, vodka, whiskey or wine is the morning-after
affects. It can be extreme. Some friends of mine got together over dinner and had about
three beers each. After returning home and going to bed, each one had problems sleeping. Instead they were fighting headaches, burning throats, and nausea. All this pain from just three beers
each.
"You can’t rely on bars or even some supermarkets to guarantee the booze they sell is legitimate."
It can be hard to know the quality and safety of your drink
by taste. A good look at the labeling of your drink is always required. You
can’t rely on bars or even supermarkets to guarantee that the booze they
sell is legitimate. The corner store right next to my building, a legal
franchise, sells fake Australian wine. How do I know? The wine description on
the label is so fuzzy that I can’t even read it. The cans of western beer often
taste like acid and it gets you thinking: I never remembered Bud or
Heineken tasting like this!
At a drinks function one time, a German expat who has lived here in Shanghai for over a decade said the only way to guarantee that you drink safe alcohol is to pay the right price. That means not buying cheap drinks and being wary of discounts. The more you pay, the more likely your beverage will be real.
At a drinks function one time, a German expat who has lived here in Shanghai for over a decade said the only way to guarantee that you drink safe alcohol is to pay the right price. That means not buying cheap drinks and being wary of discounts. The more you pay, the more likely your beverage will be real.
The same rule also applies when buying other food goods, particularly meat. Being a conscientious consumer in China boils down to a simple rule: price determines quality.
In China, there is an unwritten culture: shop around (货比三家，huo bi san jia) which means whatever you want to buy, you must use your brain and compare them and depend on your judgement and experience to choose. It is not strange, it is also in everywhere in our world. Foreigner likes direct, hope the product you buy is really you need. In China you always need to think, and you must know it is difficult to get everything. Although I was born in China, i am still treated. Especially for a foreigner, many experiences, you need to feel. Then you will be likely to understand the culture in China and the nature of people.
ReplyDeleteBar is too usual place, only for foreigners like it and some young Chinese girls and boys.
If high price can't get real quality, how about? Give you a suggestion, you can go to stared hotel, and you can get good service and good environment and good quality for your drink.
I think your idea of Huo Bi San Jia is exactly what I am thinking - without knowing. In China there is so much variety and classification and options for consuming that you really need to think: Is this the right product? Many times I have bought something because of its low price and I think: Now I'll waste even more money because I have to buy it again - what I originally got is not going to be good enough or its simply not the right thing. Yet another interesting challenge to challenge yourself with while living in China.
DeleteI also agree this happens all over the world.
As for the hotel option, you are right. It seems to be common in China to travel to a hotel, where you are not a guest, and have a drink in its often excellent bar. They usually even have live music.
As morbid as it sounds, when someone dies of fake alcohol poisoning it may spur local officials to act, sort of like with the melamine incident. I'm guessing lots of bars and liquor stores may be scammed by alcohol suppliers, and have no idea that they're selling something fake. This happened recently: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/man-arrested-after-14-die-from-counterfeit-liquor-poisoning/496258.html
ReplyDeleteI read that Moscow Times story. Surprising enough, Moscow Times says that the alcohol that poisoned 14 people may have come from China. I think you are right, it's a matter of time until there is a deadly fiasco. One like Nestle had here in China a few years back - selling poisonous baby milk powder.
ReplyDelete