Taipei City - 慶餘堂參藥號有限公司 - 枇杷膏, A Teacher's Best Friend.

枇杷膏 pí pá gāo 

Herbal throat drink

$500

枇杷膏 pí pá gāo is a traditional Chinese natural herbal remedy for basically having a sore throat. As a teacher, you can often get a sore throat and need to use a cough sweet/candy/drop for it. But, this one is the Chinese medicine alternative. 

Actually, upon opening the jar there is a white powder on top that needs to be mixed in thoroughly before use. This powder is the powdered seed of a plant (unsure as to what plant, I am afraid).

Take 2 tablespoons of the mixture and put it in your cup. Now, I like mine quite strong, so if it's your first time or you want it slightly weaker then I suggest instead of putting in less mixture, use a bigger cup.

Add hot water and stir thoroughly, then drink. 

Talking about the taste: Chinese medicine is almost always (in my limited experience) fairly bitter, and this is no exception. There is certainly a bitter taste, but also a malted taste, too. I would say it sits right on the line of being almost enjoyable and almost unenjoyable to drink. However, I do like being able to talk, so whether it is nice or not, I will drink it anyway. 

喉糖 hóu táng 

Herbal Throat Candy 

$100

In contrast, the herbal candy is much more palatable and has a mint flavour, making the taste much more appealing. In addition, it is a much cheaper alternative to the expensive 枇杷膏. 20 in each pack, will last you long enough for you to aid in the recovery of a sore throat.

Now, usually I am not much of an advocate of Chinese medicine (having tried it before, and not particularly enjoyed it). However, this seems to be very popular amongst many Taiwanese and the shop certainly does very good business. I would recommend trying it, as it's quite a unique experience.

Opening Times:

Monday-Saturday

08:30-21:00

Sunday Closed

Tel: 

0223218008

臺北市大安區信義路2段34號

No. 34, XinYi Road, Section 2, DaAn District, Taipei City.