The other day I was scanning headlines and came across an interesting item: earnings are suffering at Hershey’s chocolate due to a disappointing China performance. That’s not how it was supposed to work out: back in 2013 Hershey, in an expansionist mood, acquired candy maker Shanghai Golden Money for $584 million, in hopes that it could become China’s…
All posts in Eating
Other China correspondents write about politics; I write about carp.
It is not lost upon me that this week saw perhaps the biggest political story to emerge from China in two decades. Thus, it only seemed right that my Bloomberg World View column this week would focus on how Chinese netizens feel about the Asian Carp that are rampaging up the Mississippi, into the Great…
Rich Gluttons Hold Extravagant Meal at US Embassy, Beijing, Congratulate Selves for Promoting Healthy Eating in China.
Bear with me, for a moment, as you read a passage from a dispatch now available on The Atlantic’s website: [Alice Waters] put me to work beside her, cutting grilled slices of locally Beijing-made sourdough bread (from a bakery with the jaunty name Boulangerie Nanda) already soaked in olive oil from the McEvoy Ranch, in…
Instant (Noodle) Inflation
How hot is inflation running in China? Fast enough that store clerks at my local convenience store don’t bother to replace the computer-generated price tags for instant noodles at a nearby convenience store. They just cross them out and write in the new (substantially higher) ones. Below, three impromptu price hikes on three well-known brands…
Conspicuous Consumption, Ningbo Edition: the Case of the Gold Dust Dumpling
The price of gold is currently hovering around a record US$1400/oz, leaving the sensible investor with, as I count them, three options: Buy it. Run from it. Eat it. Per the last option, I direct my readers to the Shang Palace Restaurant at the Shangri-la Hotel in Ningbo, China where, per chef’s instructions I suppose,…
In praise of the English spoken at Chinese McDonald’s outlets.
In case you’ve never had the experience, here’s what it’s like to walk into a Chinese McDonald’s and have the cashier assume – on the basis of your looks – that you’re not Chinese: You are greeted in English, and then handed a bi-lingual English-Chinese menu (typically kept beside the register). More likely than not,…
Shanghai Scrap’s Simple Guide to Expo 2010: Go After Dark.
Early yesterday afternoon I found my way down to the Expo 2010 (World’s Fair) site for what was supposed to be a ninety-minute visit, at most. But when I arrived the grounds were so empty (under 100,000 visitors yesterday), and the weather was so good, that I found myself spending the remainder of the day,…
Time out from Expo 2010 for some Cuttlefish Cheese Bread
We’re going to briefly interrupt Shanghai Scrap’s non-stop Expo 2010 coverage to announce that – based upon what we just had for breakfast – Starbucks is doomed. For those who don’t follow the venerable coffee company, it’s been faltering for several years now, largely due to over-expansion into questionable markets in the US (though that…
Fair & Balanced: Inside the South Korean Pavilion (my own Korean crisis)
Last week I posted several photos of the North Korean Expo 2010 pavilion to some mild interest from the North Korean aficionado community (oh yes there is), worldwide. At the time, I must admit, it didn’t occur to me to post images of the South Korean pavilion because – from the perspective of a US…
“We got yer pizza …” American cuisine well-represented at Expo 2010.
Another observation from my day-long visit to the Expo 2010 (World’s Fair) soft opening: if you like American fast food, you’re in luck. KFC. Papa John’s. Burger King. Mister Donut. Starbucks (let’s call a spade a spade, shall we?). They’re all there. And so are some of the usual Chinese suspects, too. Makes sense, of…