"A 'Cow Hair Crisp' indeed!" Food critic Zhang Hu from Chen's Gourmet exclaimed, bringing the flat peach to his mouth. As his teeth made contact with the fuzz, instead of the expected crispiness that most pastries possess, he experienced something quite different.
In fact, it was a spreading sensation of moistening Silence.
The fine fuzz broke quietly upon touching his lips, dispersing in his mouth and releasing an aroma with a subtle hint of astringency.
Astringency is not a taste, but a tactile sensation similar to spiciness. Unlike the "pain" of spiciness though, astringency is the dryness felt when something draws out the moisture.
After being delicately fried in warm oil, the cow hair-like crisp easily absorbed moisture. And as it wrung the saliva, spawned by the fragrance of the peach, out of the mouth, the true flavor unfurled upon the taste buds.
