(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: Chinese Reaction to "White People Food"--"Lunch of Suffering" [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-25 Here at Top Comments we strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find! Serious things are happening in the world right now. What follows is not one of them. A recent trend on social media in China is discussion of “white people food,” more specifically, the sorts of things westerners tend to eat for lunch—sandwiches, salads and the like. The general consensus is that they strongly dislike such food, and they are amazed that anyone would eat it voluntarily. Some quotes: “lunch of suffering,” and eating such a meal results in learning “what it feels like to be dead.” Why? If you’ve ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant, you’ll have a clue. Chinese food is always served hot, it’s always spiced, and it’s cut into bite-sized pieces. Rather than eat their lunch at work, Chinese usually go home to eat a hot meal, and then return to work afterward. By contrast, westerners often eat their lunch cold (sandwiches, salads, chips, etc), with little in the way of spices. Further, even if you slice it, a sandwich is not something you can fit in your mouth in one piece, nor manipulate with chopsticks. The Chinese are mystified that anyone could eat food that’s cold and, by their standards, flavorless. The TikTok user @li2dog breaks down “white people food” into three parts. First, it has no spices (“zero feeling to your food”) because it does not prioritise enjoyment. Second, it involves as little preparation as possible: “Eat it raw, eat it as a whole piece.” And third, it is eaten at work or school. “The idea is when you get off work, you go back to eat your normal food and you feel the life back.” ... Another blogger opined that these lunches are “not for enjoyment, but to find guilt”. “In this way, I can always remind myself that I am here to work.” Another advantage of eating hot, cooked food, is that cooking kills off most food-borne pathogens, reducing the chance of food-borne illness or food poisoning. I think most westerners would be surprised that the Chinese think “white people food” is so vile, but we, too, often have extreme reactions to some foods that are foreign to us. (I had a Chinese colleague who, after some years of eating with coworkers at western restaurants, went back to cooking his own food and skipping the western stuff. I suppose he just got tired of eating food he didn’t like, As I recall, he was a pretty good cook.) Living as we do in a large, rich, and powerful country, we don’t often consider how those from other cultures judge various elements of our own culture. While we may have expressed dislike for foods of other cultures, it might be a surprise to discover others express dislike for ours. I think it’s healthy to realize that, sometimes, the feeling is mutual. Comments are below the fold. Top Comments (June 24-25, 2023): From ZenTrainer: cenobite’s comment in ZenTrainer’s post lambasting the Virginia Democratic Party for refusing to run a state house candidate in a competitive district. From RosyFinch: Sometimes a graphic is just right as a comment. I share Besameʼs utter joy at the removal of a dam (in the process of restoring habitat for salmon to spawn). From Dan Bacher’s post on the removal of the Copco 2 dam on the Klamath River. From blueoregon: Hi- I would like to nominate Sue Blue's comment in Joan McCarter's diary, One Year After Dobbs... Top Mojo (June 23, 2023): Top Mojo is courtesy of mik! Click here for more on how Top Mojo works. Top Mojo (June 24, 2023): Unfortunately, Top Mojo did not populate today. Maybe it will be included tomorrow. Top Photos (June 23, 2023): Thanks to jotter (RIP) for creating it and elfling for restoring it. Top Photos (June 24, 2023): [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/25/2177455/-Top-Comments-Chinese-Reaction-to-White-People-Food-Lunch-of-Suffering Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/