Herbal Drinks

As usual, I was at my neighbourhood wet market - not just looking for eye candies but really to do my weekly marketing and to see what interesting vegetables they have.

For a while already, I have been noticing this dark purplish-brown plant that looks like a climber (vine?) with sharp serrated pointed leaves and tiny clumps of purplish flowers.

I have not been able to locate a proper name for this plant after digging though my meagre collections of book on medicinal plants and herbs.

If anyone knows the local or scientific name, please let me know!

They are to be found at many of the vegetable stalls and also at the various night markets.

Curiosity kills the cat and also the presence of my favourite belly-button at my regular vegetable stall also charged up the libido!

I went up to my twink and asked him about it. He told me that it was for making a very "cooling: herbal drink but one of the main medicinal claims for this herb was that it was supposed to help cure the sensation of numbness in the fingers and hands - especially when sleeping at night.

Ah-ah - I was thinking if that will help to increase one's sensitivity - especially at night at the height of one's libido :-)

He went on to explain that to extract the full medicinal value of this plant, it was necessary to boil the herbs for four hours and then filtered to make the herbal drink!

So I did the usual when it comes to new vegetables or herbs - right, bought a huge bunch of this herbs to make the drink in the afternoon!

It has no fragrance and when drunk neat is surprisingly tasteless - herbal drinks normally are a bit fragrant and/or at least a bit bitter!

Enjoy :-)