Micah Sockwell was munching on an ice cream inside a Dairy Queen in Beijing when his Chinese friends proffered a local snack. He could not see it clearly through its wrapper, but what he saw was not very enticing.
"It looked a little messy, like something I would not be very willing to try," said Sockwell.
His friends insisted, and he eventually gave in. He had only recently arrived in China, so he did not quite catch all of what they said, but it was obvious that they were not going to let up until he had a taste.
"I only realized the snack was spicy duck neck after eating it," Sockwell said. "The taste was unforgettable. It was so spicy that I ate the ice cream to counteract the heat."
His friends laughed. Not only was he comically mixing Chinese and American flavors to tame the heat, but he failed to get any of the juicy meat off the duck neck. Still, Sockwell found the spicy duck neck hard to resist; he tried another one.
A kindergarten English teacher in Changping district, Sockwell, a 30-year-old American, has been in Beijing for two years, during which time he has gained an affinity for Chinese food and snacks. Not only have they become a part of his daily diet but he has also incorporated the snacks into his classes. He uses them to communicate with children by sharing the delicious snacks he found.
Sockwell has become accustomed to spicy food and is quite adept at eating snacks like duck neck. "Now, I can just stick the whole neck in my mouth and suck the meat off like I do with chicken wings."
Local Chinese snacks have become popular among many expats in China, and even some foreigners overseas have started to try them. For them, trying different Chinese snacks is a delicious and exciting way to understand the different local tastes and cultures all over the country.
Latiao following grows abroad
Kat, a New York University student in her 20s, recently fell in love with the Chinese snack latiao (spicy chips) during her vacation in China with her Chinese boyfriend.
She even made a video about her first attempt at eating the popular Chinese snack, saying she was surprised that it tasted so good despite its simple packaging.
In the video, she said she expected latiao be very spicy like other Chinese snacks she had. She was shocked that it was sweet, and even more astonished at its affordable price. "It is amazing because you can't buy anything with eight cents in the U.S.," she said in the video.
The video was viewed over 10,000 times within three weeks and attracted around 100 comments on bilibili.com, a popular video-sharing site in China. Many viewers were astonished that foreigners also like to eat latiao.
Kat is returning to the U.S. soon. She plans to take latiao back to share with her family and friends.
Actually, latiao has already gained its international foodie fan base. On its page on U.S.-based shopping sites ebay.com and amazon.com, latiao receives a lot of praise.
An Amazon customer named Brianna Lee gave it five stars and commented that, "[Latiao is] spicy hot and tastes real good. Great substitute for meat and better for you! The price is very cheap."
Although it is popular, some foreigners are skeptical about the packaging of some Chinese snacks, while others are more concerned about the ingredients and food safety.
"Latiao is tasty, but dirty," said Austin Guidry, a blogger and vlogger (video blogger) who moved to China from the U.S. five years ago. He enjoys trying different kinds of snacks but worries about the quality.
"People heard much news about the irregular food processing in some factories. There are always food scandals happening somewhere in China, which creates a bad image not only in China but also abroad," he said, adding that the scandals hinder the promotion of Chinese snacks overseas.
