Food, Glorious Food During Lock down Between UK And China
Hi everyone, hope you are having a wonderful day, welcome back to my channel!
I’m Yuri Ou, as in ‘Oh my gosh, I am starving!’
Topic for Today: Food, Glorious Food During Lock down Between UK And China, but also remember to stay safe and stay healthy out there!
Being at home during the lockdown has really activated cravings for a lot of people! I’m hungry just thinking about what we’re about to discuss to be honest! While there are a lot of people taking the opportunity at home to work out and take part in various fitness challenges, many others are seizing this time to cook up a storm in the kitchen orrrr…… otherwise expand their waistband.
Naturally, the story that has grabbed the headlines in recent months has been what people eat or have been eating in China, yes I know, you’re wondering why someone would want to eat bat, right? Or rat? ……Or some of the other unusual, or exotic if you like, culinary choices Chinese people tend to make….
BUT, it’s important to remember that these are deemed exotic for a reason, and that is because firstly, certain dishes ARE NOT available nationwide, and secondly, NOT everyone actually eats some of the things that the media would say are ‘common’.
For sure, it has been awesome to see so many people from all corners of the world celebrating food during lockdown, learning new skills and trying delicious new takes on well known recipes. Of course, this has been in part down to constraints on ingredients, that is to say recently there have been many times where you have to make do with what’s in the cupboards! Even I was confused by David Beckham adding coleslaw to bangers and mash!
There have been some great examples of utilizing stock, with anything from sour kids cereal using Mountain Dew to a hotdog wrapped in a waffle because the hungry chef was out of buns! Over in China however, stocks and the general need to innovate with what lines the shelves at home has not been a major issue. Sure, there was a brief spell of panic buying, though this subsided quickly once everyone understood that the supply chain still remained, as it does in the UK too.
Doesn’t that Great Wall of toilet paper look a bit silly now?
The major difference is the incredible array of food and drink, among many other things, that can be delivered and in quick times too.
Hugely popular Food Ordering APPs such as Meituan Waimai, and E Le Ma (literally meaning are you hungry?) present people with plethora of choices all the way from your typical rice in a polystyrene container right through to fine dining. Additionally, with convenience stores like 7-11 and Family Mart, supermarkets like Sam’s Club, ParknShop, Carrefour and even coffee shops like Starbucks and Costa Coffee all present on these APPs, people residing in China have largely not had to worry about mixing it up. The other huge difference to note is that the majority of these businesses will offer delivery times of under an hour, with some fast food chains like McDonalds and KFC able to deliver within 30 minutes and even 15 minutes!
With that said, that hasn’t stopped many Chinese and Westerners too from honing their cooking skills, with some becoming TikTok stars of the kitchen! A video from China showing how to make ‘lasagna-style’ meat pie from A Ya (阿雅小厨), a Chinese chef with over 11 million followers, generated over 14 million views and half a million likes! ……..Sooooooooooooo it’s safe to say, everyone has an appetite for food-related content, especially during the pandemic!
That's it for today, off to see what that meat pie is all about! So, Bon Appetit, like and subscribe, and let me know in the comments what weird and wonderful dishes you have cooked up recently?!
I appreciate you, if you haven't subscribed yet, take a moment, click the subscribe button, because this channel is all about China, genuine insights from me and my team, who have all spend time living in both UK and China.
Take care my friends, have a wonderful day today, and I will see you soon!
Yuri O x