When I first came to China there were a few good and bad surprises. Food wise, there was amazing cheap street food. Beer wise it was cheap but awful, while on the soft drink side, there was Bing Fun.
Bing Fun which literally means Ice Peak 冰峰 is mainstay of Xian orange sodas, as well as being a trailblazer for the country, Initially I had thought this was just a Chinese rip-off, but it turns out they really got their own story.
History of Bing Fun 冰峰
Ir was founed way back in 1953 Xi’an Futian Foods in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China. Since then it has not just made itself the orange soda for the city, but also encouraged other cities to do the same. Nowadays very city has their own version of orange soda, as well as increasingly other drinks.
Due to their longevity they are also very much part if the street find scene, with combinations with Xian Cold Noodles, Yan Rou Pao Mo, as well as with the Chinese Hamburger (Rou Jia Mo) being seen as the q quintessential Xian set meal.
Is Bing Fun any good?/Bing Fun Fanta Quest
Quite simply it is amazing, with it being far less sweet than Fanta and almost have more kin with Orangena. It is also very cheap when compared to Fanta, back in the day it cost just 2 RMB (30 cents) a pop, but is now closer to half a dollar, or more.
Can though you mix Bing Fun with liquor? Well, yes you can, with it even being possible to have it as a chaser after Bai Jiu, both far the most obscene drink in the universe.
These factors also make it a greta drink when you are on Muslim Street and beer is not an option. And much like Snow Beer the sheer volume of Chinese people mean that quite literally millions of them drink it every day.
Therefore Bing Fun is also one of the most popular orange sodas in the world, this making it extremely string on the #FantaQuest Trail.