Areca Seed (Bing Lang)
Saturday, 5. August 2006, 16:47:09
Betel nuts (bing lang) If you've been in southern China or Taiwan and noticed splatters of what appears to be blood-red bird droppings all over the ground, then you've wandered into a betel nut zone. The betel or areca nut, the seed of the betel palm, is phenomenally popular in South Asia for its chewing tobacco-like qualities. Possessing many of the qualities of nicotine - including its addictiveness - betel nuts are often served chopped up, mixed with spices, and wrapped in a betel leaf (from a different kind of betel plant). Then they are chewed up and spat out in ghastly red jets.












