‘Lunch of suffering’: Why Chinese social media users are mocking ‘white people’s food’

White people’s food is going viral in China – and not for good reasons. In the latest trend, Chinese social media are trying out the seemingly bland food enjoyed by Americans and Europeans and cataloguing their experiences.

Let’s take a closer look: The debate begins As per Buzzfeed, it all kicked off in late May after a Chinese woman in Switzerland posted a video of a European woman enjoying her lunch – which comprised lettuce and some slices of ham. The video captioned the locals’ tricks always shock me in new ways led to people quickly chiming in with their own brushes with the cuisine – courtesy of their friends, co-workers or passersby.

“My colleague only had a sweet pepper for lunch,” one user posted, as per The Sacramento Bee.

According to Buzzfeed, this post then sparked a debate around such ‘healthy’ meals favoured by white people. News outlets then published pieces soliciting feedback from Chinese abroad. According to South China Morning Post, one individual living in Denmark, who found out a coworker had just carrots and spinach for lunch, wrote: “Can they already generate their own energy without eating?” “My colleague’s lunch has not changed for more than 10 years, which is a handful of oatmeal mixed with low-fat yogurt, with half an apple and a carrot,” another expatriate in Germany posted. Meanwhile, social media users continued to post about the meals that they would witness white people eat every day. This viral video sparked a wave of online discussion in China around these “healthy” meals attributed to white people. According to the South China Morning Post, many of the meals posted on social media comprised salads, boiled eggs, chicken breast, sliced ham and fruits. “When I first came to Australia, I saw a woman who bought … raw sliced ​​mushrooms in the supermarket and sat down to eat it,” one woman wrote, as per The Guardian. “I was dumbfounded.” Twist in the tale While people kept posting videos and photos of their own ‘white people food’, some actually offered praise for the meals after trying them. One person even claimed that the meals helped them remain focussed on their jobs and helped ward of afternoon drowsiness, as per Buzzfeed.

Others took the opportunity to avoid the hassle of preparing elaborate meals for work.

“Instead of spending hours cooking the night before, tired office workers are taking inspiration from these kinds of meals, packing carrots, cucumbers, and raw bell peppers in their lunch boxes,” blogger Hayley Zhao wrote, as per Yahoo.com. “They’re replacing flavourful dishes with unassuming breads and raw vegetables, and finding an unexpected satisfaction in the seemingly bland fare.” As per News18, one Chinese poster, advocating for such meals, wrote, “I used to love watching cooking videos and trying out new recipes," but eventually found it too tiring. “As a labourer, I don’t have much free time after work,” the person added. “Self-cooking’s objective is, of course, to taste bad but be healthy. As long as you have the nutrients, it’s good. Being alive is good," another wrote, as per Moneycontrol. Then, in the last 24 hours, this trend caught fire. According to Moneycontrol, this is at least partly due to China’s ‘996’ work culture – where employers expect you to work from 9 am to 9 pm six days a week. ‘Lunch of suffering’ But the naysayers far outweighed the proponents. As per Yahoo.com, one Weibo user described their meal as: “It’s so confusing and outrageous to eat, it’s so lawless and outrageous.” The user also called a meal of broccoli, chicken, brown rice, and raw garden vegetables as the “lunch of suffering.” Another posted a photo of plain crackers, cheese, and ham with the caption: “The point of the white people’s meal is to learn what it feels like to be dead, but I’ve taken two bites and it was so bad it made me realize how alive I am.” According to the South China Morning Post, another budding philosopher chimed in:

“If such a meal is to extend life, what is the meaning of life?”

“Ah, the intoxicating white people’s meal,” wrote another with a photo of sliced tomatoes and a banana, as per News.Com.Au. As per Yahoo.com, another woman laid out the three pillars of ‘white people food’ as – “giving zero feeling to your food”; eating it “as a whole piece,”; and “most importantly” these “tasteless foods” help “separate work from life.” With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .