Vodka, fennel, five-spice lychee, Calpico & citrus — Tiya SF
SF's Chinatown is America's oldest, and its food traditions (Cantonese, dim sum, roast duck) have absorbed and influenced the city's other immigrant communities for over 170 years. Tiya's Chinatown plays on the shared spice cultures of Chinese and Indian cooking — five-spice powder (star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, fennel seeds) is closely related to garam masala and to the Bengali panch phoron blend. Lychee syrup infused with five-spice gives the drink its distinctive Asian-spice character. Vodka is the neutral carrier. Calpico (Japanese cultured milk drink) adds its trademark lactic sweetness. Fresh fennel adds botanical anise depth.
The five-spice lychee syrup is the drink's backbone — make it fresh and don't steep longer than 20 minutes or the anise becomes dominant. Calpico/Calpis is widely available at Asian grocery stores and H-Mart. Fresh fennel fronds have a more delicate, green anise flavour than fennel seeds — use the feathery tops, not the bulb.
Substitute gin for vodka for a more botanical, complex version.
Tiya takes the intersecting immigrant histories of San Francisco's Japanese and Indian communities and distils them into a cocktail menu. Each drink is named after a San Francisco neighborhood, building a portrait of the city through layered flavour — yuzu meets curry leaf, matcha meets chai, Calpico meets tamarind. A genuinely original vision in American craft bartending.
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