If Europeans made street food the same way Indians do (ORIGINAL VIDEO)

For some reason people like to chop this video up when they share it, but here is the full version:

Keywords: European street food, Indian street food, street food in India, street food in Europe

Is carbonara American?

"Carbonara is the most American pasta dish. We can pretty much say that is an American invention.

I mean, you can pick my Italian accent. I'm very much Italian. I'm not going crazy. I'm just saying the truth. Let me break it down for you.

So, we got to go back in Italy, in the 1940s during World War II. Cuz before 1940, nobody ever heard or wrote about this dish. The most widely accepted theory is that carbonara was born by the combination of US military rations and pasta. Those ration usually included powdered eggs and dried bacon.

The US soldier used to ask Italian cooks around the country to prepare some pasta with their rations. And that's how carbonara was unofficially born.

Talking official, the very first written recipe was in Chicago in 1952. The very first Italian recipe was just two years later in 1954 on La Cucina Italiana. Gruyere and curdled eggs. Yes, you heard me right. Groviera e uova rapprese.

But it gets even worse. In 1986, Gualtiero Marchesi, the greatest Italian chef ever, wrote his official recipe about carbonara, saying it, that it cannot be made with scrambled eggs. Carbonara needs to be a creamy sauce. That's why according to Gualtiero, cream is not just required, it's essential for the best result.

So how? We arrived to nowadays where Italians think that there is just one holy carbonara recipe which cannot be changed. Absolutely no cream, absolutely yes, guanciale, no bacon.

Well, I don't know. I don't know how we arrived to that. I know that I was born and raised in Italy for 24 years of my life. I used to believe that the carbonara was that and cannot be changed. It was holy. But you know, now opening my mind, studying a little bit more, I found out that it's not true.

A lot of things actually about what Italians believe about their cuisine, it's, are not correct. Now, I'm not saying that Italian cuisine is bullshit and it's not good. The nowadays recipe of carbonara is amazing. It's probably the best one. I don't know if just because I'm used to it, but it's incredible."

Related:

If carbonara is supposed to never have cream, explain the addition of cream in Gualtiero Marchesi's carbonara recipe? : r/ItalianFood

"There is no widely accepted story about the origin of carbonara but there's a widely accepted recipe and that one does not contain cream or garlic."

"Ironically, the oldest published Italian recipe for Carbonara... had garlic in it. No cream, but it did have a creamy sauce made with eggs.

There is no one 'correct' way to make Carbonara, unlike what modern Italian purists like to say. These are some of the oldest published recipes for it in Italy:

The first ever Italian recipe came out in 1954, which... used pancetta, along with spaghetti, eggs, Gruyère and garlic, printed in the magazine La Cucina Italiana. A year later it was published in the cookery book 'La Signora in Cucina', again with pancetta, and this time with Parmesan instead of Gruyère.

In 1960 we finally get to see guanciale, which most modern Italian food purists say is unchangeable, in 'La Grande Cucina', in a recipe that also includes CREAM.

My point with this is, unlike what Italian food purists claim, there is no singular 'correct' or 'traditional' recipe."

If carbonara is supposed to never have cream, explain the addition of cream in Gualtiero Marchesi's carbonara recipe? : r/ItalianFood

"In the 1970s and 80s, cream was a common ingredient in carbonara. As an example, the most famous Italian chef of that time, Gualtiero Marchesi, used cream in his recipe, but plenty of other people were...

cream was a common ingredient.

see eg https://www.repubblica.it/il-gusto/2022/04/06/news/carbonara_la_ricetta_tom_cruise_gwyneth_paltrow_jamie_oliver-344223973/

where they describe a celebrity "Masterchef" of the 1960s, where a Roman actor, Renato Rascel, uses pancetta and cream rather than guanciale (and wins the silver medal) - gold going to a risotto dish.

Ugo Tognazzi (another actor, and famous gourmet)) instead shows off his amazing carbonara recipe served in New York in 1964:,,

mezzo chilo di pasta, per la precisione spaghettini. E poi, 6 uova (3 intere, 3 solo tuorli), pecorino (ma appena 30 grammi) e parmigiano (100 g). Poi un etto e mezzo di bacon (proprio così, bacon), un etto di prosciutto crudo, grasso e magro, 50 g di burro, un bicchiere di panna, e poi peperoncino, cognac o brandy. In quanto alla preparazione: sbattere uova, formaggi, panna, sale e pepe in una terrina, mentre in padella si soffrigge il bacon al quale poi viene aggiunto il prosciutto. Gli spaghettini, al dente, vanno conditi con il burro e poi con la salsa, il soffritto e, tocco finale, con il Cognac."

"then why do you think the resistance to not having cream in carbonara today come from"

"ts a general pushback to 80s italian cuisine, which had cream in everything.

the idea is that its cheating to get the creaminess from cream rather than egg, and it dilutes the flavour

similarly, modern italian risotto aims to achieve 'creaminess' with a minimum of butter, by emulsifying(?) the risotto with a shaking motion"

If carbonara is supposed to never have cream, explain the addition of cream in Gualtiero Marchesi's carbonara recipe? : r/ItalianFood

"It's a crystallization that happened in response to the internet, where italians discovered that another group of people claiming to be italian started to make " traditional " recipes"

Links - 30th December 2025 (2 [including Ultra Processed Foods])

I study the effects of ultra-processed foods... here's why I still eat 'the bad ones' - "he opened up about his daily diet and admitted that he indulges in UPFs as they taste good and can save time. He said: 'Just because something is ultra-processed doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad for you.' 'I use, for example, a marinara sauce that’s low in sugar and sodium, but when I’m making a nice pasta dish, it cuts down the preparation time. I’m not going to make a marinara sauce from scratch.' A 2019 analysis by Hall and his colleagues found that ultra-processed foods led participants to eat about 500 calories a day more than when they ate a matched diet of unprocessed foods, suggesting they are addictive. Despite the findings, Hall says he hasn't been put off UPFs and he 'treats them as recreational substances.' Opening up about his typical daily diet, he made another surprising revelation: that he doesn't eat breakfast. Some nutritionists say skipping breakfast has consequences, as it may lead to low energy, poor concentration, overeating later in the day, or blood sugar imbalances... At a scientific conference in November 2024, he reported that the first 18 trial participants ate about 1,000 calories a day more of an ultra-processed diet that was particularly hyperpalatable and energy dense than those who ate minimally processed foods, leading to weight gain. When those qualities were modified, consumption went down, even if the foods were considered ultra-processed, Hall said."

Impose tax on baked beans, MPs told - "Baked beans should be taxed as part of the war on Britain’s ultra-processed diets, MPs have been told.  Prof Chris van Tulleken, the NHS medic and author of Ultra-Processed People, said it was time to “appropriately” tax supermarket foods such as the breakfast staple and bread.  The healthy food campaigner’s proposals threaten to hike the prices of British favourites like beans on toast, as well as fish fingers and even yoghurts."

Dietitian shares new details about what happened after eating ultra-processed foods for month - "a dietician who ate nothing but ultra-processed foods (UPFs) for a month has revealed why she believes they have been unnecessarily demonized by the health and scientific community. Jessica Wilson, 42, from California, made headlines last year for her experiment which saw her consume almost exclusively foods with more than five ingredients, including pre-packaged and frozen meals and takeaway food. Now, in an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com she reveals that 'UPFs can be part of a healthy diet and policymakers need to change the conversation'. One of Ms Wilson's biggest frustrations of the lack of a clear universal definition for UPFs, which she says just confuses consumers. From her research, she says she has been given 'multiple definitions of UPFs from different researchers and doctors' and she was once told that a fresh croissant from a bakery in Paris would be considered a UPF because milling flour from wheat is considered a form of processing. 'People are grasping for straws and trying to insert themselves into a trending topic and it’s not a good look,' the diet expert says. After taking on the UPF diet challenge, Ms Wilson says she has adopted a more relaxed approach to food which has helped reduce her stress levels. Meanwhile, society has become more obsessed than ever with reading food labels and plagued by what she calls 'analysis paralysis'. While burgers, chips and chicken nuggets are some of the best-loved examples of products that fall under the umbrella UPF term, Ms Wilson found from her experiment that there lots of UPFs that aren't bad and actually nutritious. Research shows that more than half of the calories consumed in the US come from ultra-processed food sources, a statistic that has been held up as a bad thing. But Ms Wilson believes this simply shows they are 'essential to many people in our current society' due to their affordability and being processed doesn't necessarily mean bad... Two weeks into her diet, Ms Wilson was surprised to report a range of benefits. She found she was less hungry, she moved around more unintentionally, she experienced less fatigue, needed less caffeine and she wasn't as 'grumpy' after work. Even her wife, Elisha, commented that she was 'complaining less and doing more'. By the third and fourth weeks, Ms Wilson said the positives continued but she struggled slightly with keeping track of the things she ate and she got 'bored' of the UPFs she had in rotation. However, once she had finished the challenge, the dietician she actually felt than she had before. To her surprise, she also toned up and noticed a difference to her physique. The diet expert told this website: 'I don't use a belt daily but I do use a waist leash to walk my dog and that leash got looser and I needed to tighten it. 'So my weight did not change but I had an improvement in body composition.'"

Rise of ultra-processed food PHOBIA: Experts warn fears about UPF means people are eating less healthily - "They also warned that a number of UPFs – such as baked beans, vegetable-based pasta sauces and some soups – are actually very nutritious and can contribute to a healthy diet. The scientists, from the universities of Aberdeen and Liverpool, said the focus of public health guidance should remain on eating a diet full of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains while limiting foods high in fat, sugar and salt. In the new article, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, they argued that less well-off people could be most affected by any blanket health warnings about UPFs without more scientific evidence... The article states there is a potential 'social cost for many people with more limited resources' of removing convenient options. Meanwhile there could be negative mental health impacts on 'those who worry about their health or live with eating disorders, particularly if social circumstances make avoiding UPFs difficult'."

New study challenges what we know about ultra-processed foods - "What we found challenges the simplistic UPF narrative and offers a more nuanced way forward. Two ideas often get blurred in nutrition discourse: liking a food and hedonic overeating (eating for pleasure rather than hunger). Liking is about taste. Hedonic overeating is about continuing to eat because the food feels good. They’re related, but not identical. Many people like porridge but rarely binge on it. Chocolate, biscuits and ice cream, on the other hand, top both lists... Nutrient content mattered – people rated high-fat, high-carb foods as more enjoyable, and low-fibre, high-calorie foods as more “bingeable”. But what people believed about the food also mattered a lot. Perceiving a food as sweet, fatty or highly processed increased the likelihood of overeating, regardless of its actual nutritional content. Foods believed to be bitter or high in fibre had the opposite effect. In one survey, we could predict 78% of the variation in people’s likelihood of overeating by combining nutrient data (41%) with beliefs about the food and its sensory qualities (another 38%). In short, how we think about food affects how we eat it, just as much as what’s actually in it. This brings us to ultra-processed foods. Despite the intense scrutiny, classifying a food as “ultra-processed” added very little to our predictive models. Once we accounted for nutrient content and food perceptions, the Nova classification explained less than 2% of the variation in liking and just 4% in overeating. That’s not to say all UPFs are harmless. Many are high in calories, low in fibre and easy to overconsume. But the UPF label is a blunt instrument. It lumps together sugary soft drinks with fortified cereals, protein bars with vegan meat alternatives. Some of these products may be less healthy, but others can be helpful – especially for older adults with low appetites, people on restricted diets or those seeking convenient nutrition. The message that all UPFs are bad oversimplifies the issue. People don’t eat based on food labels alone. They eat based on how a food tastes, how it makes them feel and how it fits with their health, social or emotional goals. Relying on UPF labels to shape policy could backfire. Warning labels might steer people away from foods that are actually beneficial, like wholegrain cereals, or create confusion about what’s genuinely unhealthy."

Starmer has outed himself as a cultural elitist... and it’s about time - "The truth is, in the days when a politician could proudly enjoy the odd concerto for the enormous boon it is, the likes of Beethoven weren’t considered the preserve of the few. It’s noteworthy that Starmer chose both the Pastoral Symphony and Emperor Piano Concerto as “passions” because, he explained, they gave his father solace at the end of a 60-hour factory week. The rich history of nineteenth and twentieth-century Working Men’s clubs and institutes, which gave the labouring classes access to liberal education, speaks to a similar, lost time."

Cigarette butts fuelling growth in ‘superbugs’, study finds - "A study conducted across 35 Chinese cities suggests cigarette stubs help to spread antibiotic resistant genes – segments of DNA which give bacteria the ability to survive treatment with antibiotics, and give rise to ‘superbugs’.  Scientists took samples from more than 100 public parks, and found “opportunistic” bacteria from a smokers’ mouth combined with hazardous chemicals found in cigarettes, before proliferating and mutating. Then, when the butts are dropped, the bacteria can leach into the surrounding environment."

German nurse killed 10 patients ‘to reduce workload’ at hospital in Wuerselen - "A German palliative care nurse has been jailed for life after being accused of killing patients to reduce his workload.  A court in Aachen, western Germany, found that the 44-year-old male nurse murdered 10 patients using lethal injections and attempted to murder 27 others at a hospital in Würselen... The case echoes that of nurse Niels Hoegel, who was handed a life sentence in 2019 for murdering 85 patients. He is believed to be modern Germany’s most prolific serial killer... In July, a 40-year-old palliative care specialist, named in the media as “Johannes M”, went on trial in Berlin accused of killing 15 patients with lethal injections between 2021 and 2024.  In at least five cases, he was suspected of setting fire to his victims’ homes in an attempt to cover up his crimes."

Winning Second World War was not worth it, says D-Day veteran - "Alec Penstone, who played a vital role sweeping for mines during the D-Day landings, questioned the state of the country for which his fellow servicemen gave their lives during an appearance on Good Morning Britain on Friday.  Asked what Remembrance Sunday meant to him, he said: “My message is, I can see in my mind’s eye those rows and rows of white stones and all the hundreds of my friends who gave their lives, for what? The country of today?  “No, I’m sorry, but the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result of what it is now.”... Asked by host Adil Ray what he meant by his comment, the veteran, who described himself as “just one of the lucky ones” for surviving the war, said: “What we fought for was our freedom, but now it’s a darn sight worse than when I fought for it.”"
Left wingers will hear the words of this original "Antifa" member and push for more freedom: for "anti-Zionists" to assault Jews, migrants to live off the public purse and transwomen to use women's toilets

Common Sense Extremists on X - "“At least you’re not speaking German!” Probably doesn’t land as hard when now there are entire neighborhoods in your country speaking Arabic and Hindi…"

Plumber sues auctioneer after truck shown with terrorists - "All Mark Oberholtzer wanted to do was upgrade his ride. What he got instead was a world of trouble from half a world away.  The Texas City, Texas, plumbing company owner is suing a Ford dealership for more than $1 million in financial losses and damages to his company’s reputation after a pickup truck he once owned ended up with Islamic militants fighting in Syria’s civil war.  A photo of the truck, with his Mark-1 Plumbing decals still attached, went viral, leading to thousands of harassing phone calls.   “By the end of the day, Mark-1’s office, Mark-1’s business phone, and Mark’s personal cell had received over 1,000 phone calls from around the nation,” Oberholzer’s lawyer wrote in the lawsuit, filed December 9 in Harris County, Texas. “These phone calls were in large part harassing and contained countless threats of violence, property harm, injury and even death.”  Oberholtzer said this wouldn’t have happened if the dealership had just removed the decals before the truck was resold...   In October 2013, Oberholtzer took the truck to AutoNation Ford Gulf Freeway in Houston for a trade-in, according to the lawsuit.  He got a 2012 Ford F-250 and said goodbye to his old truck.  He started to peel off the company’s decals from the truck’s doors but a salesman stopped him, according to the lawsuit. The man told Oberholtzer that peeling off the decal would damage the paint on the truck, according to the lawsuit.  Oberholtzer said the salesman told him that AutoNation would remove the decals before the truck was resold...   Oberholtzer had to temporarily shut down his business and leave town, according to the lawsuit, resulting in financial losses. He’s also had visits from Homeland Security and the FBI.  And he still has to deal with phone calls, which continue to come in a year after the photo first appeared.  He now carries a gun for protection, according to the lawsuit."

Meme - "Why do balls hurt when hit, but not when fucking? How
can guys fuck so hard it sounds like a white man running in flip flops but when they get tapped on the balls, it's painful and nauseating?
Edit: I'm female and just genuinely confused about ball pain"

Meme - "KOMI'S INVITING TADANO OVER
Man: DO You REALLY HAVE A CAT? CAN I GO TO YOUR HOUSE TO SEE THE CAT?
Man in room: ? Where's the cat?
*Woman closes door*
Woman whispers into ear: MEOW."

The world's largest bacteria are visible to the naked eye - "The world's largest bacterium has been discovered amongst the mangroves of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.  Measuring over a centimetre long, Thiomargarita magnifica is over 5000 times bigger than the average microbe.   An eyelash-sized bacterium is breaking records and boundaries as it redefines what single-celled life can be.  Thiomargarita magnifica is a titan of bacterial life. It is over 10 times bigger than the previous largest bacterium opens in a new window and is large enough that it can be picked up with a pair of tweezers."

Tony The Tiger Helps Sex Worker In Grrreatly Offensive Prank Video - "Tony the Tiger typically helps young kids seize the day in his Frosted Flakes cereal ads. But a new prank video shows the cartoon mascot helping a distressed sex worker hook new customers.  In the video, which surfaced online Wednesday, two men argue about which one of them will patronize a 43-year-old sex worker named Candy.  "You can ride the baloney pony," a man says as he counts a fistful of money in front of Candy.  "You can have her," says the man's unimpressed friend.  "No, I don't want her," replies the man with the money. "You're stuck with her."  The video cuts to a depressed Candy, who is walking down the street alongside her cereal pimp, who apparently has a position on sex work: "It's gr-e-e-a-t!"  "I don't care Tony, it's such a stupid job anyway," Candy tells the sugar-coated-cereal-pushing cartoon tiger."

Instagram - "Super Sentai Yellow Heroes at a baseball game in 2015."
Team Yellow

In a leaked phone call, CBC management was asked why can't the CBC get interviews w/ Conservatives. : r/CanadianConservative - "Remember when Trudeau was having lunch with Rosemarie Barton before the debates - and referred to her affectionately as “Rosie” during the televised debate?  Nothing was done. Their bias has been incredibly blatant year after year. I don’t bother listening to anything from the CBC as I know it will be some left wing hit piece. Yet…they take my tax dollars."

Federal budget 2025: Canada looks to join Eurovision - "The federal budget announced Tuesday proposed a plan that would boost funding for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and its French-language counterpart, Radio-Canada — and included in that plan was the possibility that Canada could participate in Eurovision.  According to the budget, $150 million would go toward the broadcaster “to strengthen its mandate to serve the public and to better reflect the needs of Canadians” in 2025-26"

CBC hired 84 percent racialized, Indigenous, or disabled while having job vacancies for top talent: Internal report - "The CBC far exceeded its “equity representation” target in the last fiscal year, with 84.1 percent of new hires being “Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, and racialized people,” according to the public broadcaster’s new corporate report. In the “reflecting contemporary Canada” subsection, the report shows the CBC had aimed for 65 percent of new hires to fall within the three groups, but surpassed it by 19 percentage points.  Some employment lawyers believe the CBC’s fixation on race and disabilities in its hiring process is limiting the broadcaster from accurately reflecting the Canadian population, and could fall into hiring discrimination.  “Moving away from merit-based hiring is a disaster no matter what the makeup of your organization is,” said Toronto-based employment lawyer Puneet Tiwari, partner at Levitt LLP. “If an employer wants a more diverse workplace, it should be an equal opportunity employer, but still hire based on merit. As an Indo-Canadian whose grandparents came here in the 60s, I’ve seen more representation across all media outlets.”  CBC hiring doesn’t appear to reflect the overall ethnic demographics of the country. Canada’s most recent census data from 2021 showed that approximately 4.9 percent of Canadians were Indigenous, 26.5 were visible minorities (with 67.4 percent being white), and 27 percent had disabilities. The country’s demographics and population has dramatically changed in the last four years through immigration, however, increasing from 38.1 million in 2021 to 41.7 million in 2025...   At the same time, the CBC described how they’ve had difficulties hiring top talent due to the precarious state of the journalism industry.  “The shortage of specialized talent, both domestically and internationally, increases recruitment difficulty and costs. This challenge is compounded by a declining interest in media careers, particularly in journalism, which may adversely impact customer experience and revenue.”... the CBC faced backlash when Juno News reported the public broadcaster had hired at least 20 temporary foreign workers through the federal government’s Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIA) program since 2015, claiming there were no Canadians available to fill the jobs...   Journalist Travis Dhanraj, a visible minority journalist, resigned from his role as a CBC news host in July, calling the public broadcaster’s diversity push a branding exercise.  “With the CBC, everything is completely performative. They don’t actually care about hiring the best journalist, or letting the journalist even do their jobs…I think they’re [focused] on ticking boxes,” said Kathryn Marshall, one of the employment lawyers representing Dhanraj. “I think they tokenized him…they wanted him to fit a mould they thought a racialized on air personality journalist should be like”"
Proof that diversity is the way to recruit top talent

Woman, 23, ducked out of agreed paid sex with man then posed as brother to threaten him into paying S$8,100 - "A woman agreed to meet a man she met online for sex in exchange for S$400 (US$312), but later said she could not go through with it as her period had started.  Despite being paid S$150 for her "time", the 23-year-old woman asked the man for more money.  When the man ignored her, the woman posed as a fictitious, angry older brother and lied that she was only 17, threatening to report him for underage sex unless he paid up.  Fearing exposure, the man transferred money multiple times, totalling S$8,100, before finally lodging a police report.  Chang Wai Chain, now aged 24, was sentenced to 11 months' jail on Monday (Sep 15). She pleaded guilty to one count of cheating, which the prosecutor stressed could have been extortion had the charge not been amended. The court heard that Chang had been on the online Sugarbook platform, which connects "sugar daddies" and "sugar babies", as a 23-year-old female named "Jasmine". The victim, a 51-year-old man, contacted her via Telegram and they agreed to meet at his home for sex.  On Apr 4, 2024, they met as arranged. She had a soft drink, chatted briefly with the man, then said she would not have sex because of her period. The man gave her S$150, instead of the agreed S$400, and no sexual acts took place.  The next night, Chang contacted the victim, saying she had lost the S$150 and wanted more for a party. The victim agreed and sent her S$200 via PayNow.   When she later demanded more money and he refused, she pretended to be her own brother. In messages sent to the victim on Apr 8 and Apr 9 last year, she lied about her age and told him he had committed a crime by offering to have paid sex with a 17-year-old.  Eventually, she threatened to report him to the police and expose him on social media. He initially paid her S$3,000 and she kept pressing for more over several days.  The victim finally lodged a police report on Apr 11, 2024, as he feared the demands for money would not cease. In total, he was cheated into transferring Chang S$8,100.  During police investigations, Chang lied repeatedly, claiming she did not have an agreement with the victim for paid sex and claiming that she had asked him for S$6,000 only because she felt he had taken advantage of her.  She also falsely claimed that a friend had sent the underage messages as a “joke” from her phone, and repeated this lie in six police statements between April and June last year."

UK-supplied ambulances sold off to fund repairs for officials' cars - "Ambulances supplied to Malawi by Britain under a three million pound scheme to help stop women dying in childbirth were quietly sold off by local officials to fund repairs to their own vehicles.  A fully-equipped Toyota Land Cruiser ambulance and six tricycle scooters capable of ferrying women from villages to clinics were sent to Karonga, a remote district near the Tanzanian border, under the UK Aid Match Maternal Health programme.  The scheme, which covered Malawi and Kenya, was funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and ran between 2015 and 2018.  But all of the vehicles, along with medical equipment including an ultrasound machine, were quietly auctioned off by the Karonga District Council earlier this year, prompting outrage among locals and civil society groups who say the sale is a betrayal of their communities and risks undermining trust."
Clearly, colonialism is to blame for Africa's problems and the solution is even more money

Man spends up to $1,000 to 'test' escort service he found on Locanto: 'The call girls on the platform are fussy' | STOMP - "A man wonders why escort services are allowed to advertise online after he spent up to $1,000 to "test" one he found on classified advertisement website Locanto.  Stomper Eric said he came across the platform while looking for a "licensed social escort service".  To be clear, while the business may be registered, it cannot be "licenced" as an escort service.  The Stomper said: "Since it was there, whether legal or illegal, I tested the personal service it offers. It offered call girls from A Hotel Joo Chiat and A Hotel Dickson. They call themselves Monroe Club.  "Do the police know about this? They are everywhere at Orchard Road from Hotel Supreme to Mercure Singapore on Stevens at a much higher price compared to those in a budget hotel. And they move from one hotel to another to avoid suspicion and the authorities. "This was obviously operated by a well-organised syndicate."  He said he spent up to $1,000 on the escort service and griped: "It doesn't offer good service as described on the platform. Their service is worse than the licensed Geylang brothel girl.  "The call girls on the platform are fussy with many do's and don'ts. They are mostly from lndonesia, Vietnam, China and some from other countries on social visit pass. They are part of a huge syndicate with an international network."  The Stomper asked: "Why they are allowed to actively engage on a public platform in Singapore? I have doubt that the authorities are not working on this area.  "It's cause for concern that Singapore has become a place where this sex service is easily available and for those paying taxes in Geylang to run a legal brothel, but these syndicates avoid paying taxes while running a movable brothel from a hotel to the public housing estate."  The Stomper also claimed he was scammed on Locanto.  He said: "The most absurd and unbelievable is the platform is offering all kinds of services. This range of services is a cause for concern. Some offered a dating service for sugar mummies, but it was a scam.  "I have been scammed by paying $500 to join as a member to get a sugar mummy.""
STOMP really publishes a lot of things

I moved to Italy for a better life. Six months on, here’s why I’m giving up - "Every local I’ve encountered has been charming, spirited and welcoming. The local nursery is an eight-minute amble down the hill and costs nothing. The food is fresh and reliably divine.  The weather has been perfect – hot but never humid in the summer, mild in the spring and autumn.  The country’s leader, Giorgia Meloni, has injected Italy with a shot of optimism and national pride. Most of the locals appear to approve of her – I’ve only heard hysterical American expats wail about her being a “fascist”. In short, Italy feels like the polar opposite of the UK, which was recently ranked – in the Global Mind Project’s annual Mental State of the World report – as the most “stressed” country in the world and the second most “miserable” (ahead of only Uzbekistan). I say this with sadness, because I’m proud to be British and I miss what it used to be. The property market in the UK is just as depressing. I own a studio in London, on which my mortgage repayments doubled earlier this year.  It’s taken me eight months of enormous strain to evict my tenant whose contract had expired and had stopped paying their rent in full, but until recently refused to move out regardless (on the advice of the council, no less, owing to rules that are only getting worse for landlords under Starmer).  I’m now having to sell it for significantly less than I bought it for five years ago.  In Italy, while the “buy a cottage for €1” scheme is largely a farce, it is possible to purchase a fixer-upper with an acre of land for less than €80,000.  As I’ve already mentioned, childcare is free, and people are generally cheerful. So why are we packing up and leaving?  The bureaucracy, for a start, would test the patience of a saint. One day, when it’s a distant memory, I will laugh about how complicated it is in Italy to post a letter or book a doctor’s appointment, but the rage we wrangle with on a daily basis is currently still too hot. I could also do without the devout Catholicism (our son was subject to two hours of religious indoctrination every Wednesday at nursery, which felt a bit overzealous for a toddler).  And, as child-friendly as this nation is, there are not many opportunities for young people coming out of secondary school.  The last reason is my fault, not Italy’s: the language barrier has done for me. I’ve done an intensive Italian course, which certainly helped me get by, but the truth is, I am simply bad at foreign languages. I am shy and awkward enough around strangers in English... This has led me to conclude that no matter how beautiful the scenery or welcoming the society, I will never flourish anywhere in Europe, and is why we’re headed next (and hopefully, for good) to the US."

People are just realizing why there is a bulge on your beer glass - "The nonic pint glass was invented by Hugo Pick back in 1913 to 'provide an improved drinking glass'... The distinctive bulge serves not one but three smart functions. Firstly, it gives drinkers a much better grip, even when the glass is slippery with condensation - preventing embarrassing (and wasteful) drops. Secondly, it makes the glasses incredibly easy to stack and un-stack - very handy for harried bartenders during a busy shift. Unlike standard pint glasses that often stick together when stacked, nonic pints also rest perfectly on each glass's bulge, allowing them to be separated quickly without frustrating delays. But the biggest benefit - and the reason behind the unusual 'nonic' name - is that the bump cleverly protects the delicate rim if the glass gets knocked over."

Voices: We’ve never been healthier or more mindful. No wonder we’re all so miserable - "The rise of sobriety has coincided almost perfectly with the rise of loneliness. They – we – sit in a sober, sugary haze, absorbing humanity and connection through a screen. The digital detox generation might be physically healthier, but emotionally, they’re running on empty... There’s a happy medium that most people naturally find – one or two drinks a night, enough to soften the edges but not enough to erase the plot. The problem isn’t alcohol itself; it’s our relationship with it. We have come to treat booze as either poison or crutch – a moral binary that leaves no space for the ordinary joy of having a drink. Look to France or Italy. There, wine is a companion to life rather than its purpose. The idea of drinking to oblivion is considered strange. Alcohol is folded gently into the rhythm of the day – a glass with lunch, another with dinner – never with the goal of drunkenness in mind. Compare that with Britain’s boom-and-bust relationship with drink: we abstain religiously, then binge like Vikings at the weekend. It’s not a coincidence that countries where alcohol is demonised, or outright banned, tend to be more repressive and miserable. Prohibition doesn’t purify people; it represses them."

On having any Criticisms at all of Restaurants

Related: Food Review Flame

Some people think that posting anything less than a glowing review of a restaurant is meant to be some way of getting back at them. Even generally positive reviews which mention one thing that could've been improved on can be negatively received. 

The reality is that good and bad restaurants both exist. Not everywhere is going to be a 5 or even 4 star place. If everything is awesome, nothing is awesome. And sometimes that's fine. Sometimes price/value, speed, convenience or even needing to use up gift cards can be more important than food quality. 

Restaurants, even small ones, are not entitled to our money. Many people don't eat out often, so when they do they should have access to informed opinions about where they are planning to spend their hard-earned money. 

In addition, taste is subjective. There're places and dishes which other people like which I don't, and vice versa. And sometimes, the very reason I like a dish is the exact same reason someone else hates it, and vice versa. And that's fine. As they say in Latin, de gustibus non est disputandum (In matters of taste, there can be no disputes). But how will you know if tastes differs if no one is willing to talk about that? 

Furthermore, not everyone appreciates negative feedback. I have been asked by an establishment for feedback in the past and the response has been negative. Clearly they were just asking for the sake of asking. If you look around I'm not the only one who's had this experience. If even places that actively ask for feedback aren't always sincere, imagine how unsolicited negative feedback might be received. I've even been told that when I get items for takeout I should call them and give them feedback. That's a lot of time and effort I need to go through to provide something that they may not even care about.

This is to say nothing of third party reactions. I've had dining companions chide me for offering areas for improvement when asked (even when I only mentioned one thing when I could've said multiple). I've even been told that if I tell them anything negative, they may spit in everyone's food. Once, a place asked me how my item was and I said that it tasted weird. They then offered to remake it for me and I accepted. However, the person that I was dining with got upset about this and started complaining. So clearly, there can be negativity even when giving places attempts to "let them make things right". Apparently the polite thing to do is to pretend that everything is great. 

A while back, on Quora I read an answer (which I can't find anymore) by someone working in a restaurant (either a server, cook or restaurant manager) saying that customers who give negative feedback about the food are entitled, that restaurants have their own ways that they do things that they're not going to change for a customer, and that if you don't like how they do them, that's on you - but that if it's something obviously wrong like forgetting the salt, you should tell them. And indeed, when something is that obviously and (almost-)objectively off (or when items are missing or wrong), I do let them know.

And if an establishment does ask me what I thought, I do still tell them, even if I think they don't really want to know (a little spit in food never killed anyone anyway, and if the staff are really so spiteful, it's unlikely that the food is good enough that I'll want to go back).

Food and "Chemicals"

Alan Levinovitz on X

"There's been a LOT about why RFK Jr is a terrible pick, but I want to focus on something that is very concerning to me, but no one seems to be mentioning.

He appeals to a widespread, common-sense idea that the problem with our food is that it has "lots of artificial ingredients". Get the artificial ingredients out — no chemical additives! no food dyes! no high fructose corn syrup! — and our health problems magically resolve.

This is 100% incorrect, and fundamentally misunderstands the problems with our food system. 

Here's the truth: If people keep eating large amounts of highly caloric foods made with organic sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup, colored with beet juice instead of Red No4, our health problems will remain precisely the same. 

 

Now in a strange way, forcing manufacturers to use "natural" ingredients COULD improve our food system, but not in the way people think. It wouldn't make the food healthier, but it would make it MORE EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE.

And that would reduce consumption. Like a tax!

 

Unfortunately, RFK Jr. does not seem to understand that the problem with our food system is the UBIQUITOUS EXISTENCE OF CHEAP, CALORIE-DENSE, HIGHLY PALATABLE FOOD.

That's it. That's the whole problem. It has precisely nothing to do with food dye or high fructose corn syrup. 

 

Food manufacturers employ the very best in the business. If you focus on "artificial additives" they are going to spend millions on how to produce "natural" versions of the same food, at the same price point.

*taps earpiece* What's that? You say they're already on it? 

People want easy answers to complicated problems. We want to believe that Haagen-Dazs "Five" is the solution to our problems.

Five simple natural ingredients! Free ice cream for everyone now that it's only got five natural ingredients, and sugar instead of corn syrup!

That's not how it works. But someone like RFK Jr. encourages this simplistic, misguided approach.

At any rate, I've been on this beat for a decade. Here's a piece I wrote in 2015 that explains how these misconceptions work.

For the fun TL;DR, scroll down to the bottom of the piece, where you can see the fake diet I invented, and click on how I exploited misconceptions to make it sound plausible.

This tweet is a perfect example of how RFK Jr. will encourage the kind of misunderstanding I'm talking about here.

Is sugary cereal "healthier" than hamburgers?

Well, I'll tell you this much — the reason sugary cereal is bad has nothing to do with the screenshot of chemically-sounding ingredients.

The reason sugary cereal is bad — "worse" than hamburgers — is because it is easy to eat lots of it, it is calorie dense, it doesn't sate you, and it is extremely cheap! Not the f*ing ingredient list! 

 

This thread blew up, so it has been impossible to respond to everybody. But one of the main objections I've seen is this: "Oh yeah? Then explain why I lose so much weight and feel so much better when I go to Europe?"

The implication is that stricter European standards for food products make for foods that are healthier, sate you more quickly, etc.

But is that the reason? Or is it possible there are other reasons?

I happen to be familiar with this kind of argument because I heard it a lot when I was writing about gluten. People who were gluten-free in the US — notably not people with celiac disease — would say that in Europe they were able to eat bread with gluten, because it was [insert claim: organic, different gluten levels, whatever].

The truth is that in both cases, the answer to the mystery has nothing to do with the food. It has to do with the change in context.

I'll explain a little more: When people feel better going gluten-free, or lose weight on a new diet, there are two main factors that don't involve the specifics of the new diet:

1. They are paying more attention to what they eat and changing their habits. If you are eating unhealthfully, just doing those things will, unsurprisingly, improve your diet! You could go keto, or go vegan: As long as you are fundamentally changing your (previously unhealthy) diet, you're going to feel much better.

2. You feel empowered! The change makes you feel like you can do something. That you are doing something. That what was once hopeless is now possible. And that makes you feel really good. It's important!  

 

So let's consider the "Why do I feel better / eat better in Europe?" question. Is it stricter European regulations on food ingredients?

Well, there's another possibility:

You're in a different context. You're not at your office, next to the vending machine. You don't have access to the same stores and restaurants. You have to fundamentally change up your (previously unhealthy) eating habits. And that is going to make you feel better! If you are consuming less calorie-dense food, less frequently, you'll also lose weight.

Not only that, but often people are going to Europe on vacation. They're walking around! They're relaxed! They're not stress-eating from their fridge and their pantry, because they don't have a fridge or pantry and they're not stressed!

 

So what's more likely: The European standards for food create a miraculous new food environment in which, thanks to the stricter standards on ingredients, you simply get healthier and fitter?

Or European portion size is smaller, you're on vacation, in a different context, and those changes lead to healthier eating habits.

In my opinion, the choice between the two explanations is crystal clear. I usually really enjoy responding to everyone but it's impossible right now. One more response to something I keep hearing: "Well, maybe you're right, but at least RFK Jr. wants to do something about our unhealthy food in general!"

This is truly the weirdest take. For decades medical professionals have been calling for drastic changes to our food culture. The much reviled food pyramid, while wrong about the relative dangers of fat, did NOT recommend eating as many Twinkies as possible.

There have been many, many attempts at targeting soda consumption (with taxes, by trying to get celebrities to not endorse it).

There have been many attempts to stop companies from advertising sugary foods to kids, or making it seem like they are healthy. 

 

There are endless advocates for home cooking, for more balanced diets with foods that aren't as calorie-dense, sate you, and don't leave you craving more.

And...you're not going to believe this, but almost all of these advocates didn't take unfounded positions on "artificial vs. natural" or the danger of "chemicals" and vaccines, or the virtues of hydroxychloroquine.

Sure, some of RFK Jr.'s desired changes are reasonable! If he were the first person to come up with them, I'd be very impresssed.

But he's not. He's one of many, and the way he came to his positions, along with all the other positions he holds that are ridiculous, make him completely unfit to be advising the nation on how to eat more healthfully.  

 

Here's another response to a common objection. People keep saying that American obesity rates and associated health problems are due to artificial ingredients that aren't allowed in Europe.

But how does this explain basic variation in obesity rate by country? Why, for example, does Tonga have an obesity rate 22% higher than the US? Why do Romania (a European country!) and Kuwait have comparable levels to the US?

Why does Canada, which regulates food more or less like the US, have an obesity rate that's 12% lower than the US? 🤔

The answers are complicated, but I'll tell you what isn't the answer: The relative levels of "artificial" ingredients in these countries' foods! 

 

Thousands of anti-seed-oil folks furiously googling at this very moment to see if Canada banned seed oils.

If you've read this far, you may enjoy this anecdote about J.I. Rodale, founder of Rodale Press, and an early advocate of eating organic — and taking "natural" supplements — as panaceas for good fitness and preventing cancer.

At one point, he claimed, "I'm going to live to be 100, unless I'm run down by some sugar-crazed taxi driver."

 

Rodale taped an interview for the Dick Cavett show in 1971. His last interaction with Cavett was to offer him his special "asparagus boiled in urine."

The interview never aired, however, because Rodale had a heart attack onstage, right after the interview ended, and died.

You cannot make this stuff up.

Rodale Press continues to pump out books full of nutrition and health misinformation, just like their founder would have wanted!  

Lastly, for everyone saying "hey buddy what are your qualifications, RFK Jr. just wants to follow the science!"

Here's a very anti-establishment physician who was adamantly against lockdowns during the pandemic, discussing how RFK Jr. comes to his conclusions:"

 

Related: How 'Diet Gurus' Hook Us With Religion Veiled In Science

"As a scholar of religion, it's become increasingly clear to me that when it comes to fad diets, science is often just a veneer. Peel it away and you find timeless myths and superstitions, used to reinforce narratives of good and evil that give meaning to people's lives and the illusion of control over their well-being. 

Take the grain-free monks of ancient China. (My specialty is classical Chinese thought.) Like all diet gurus, these monks used a time-tested formula. They mocked the culinary culture around them, which depended on the so-called wugu, or "five grains."

According to the monks' radical teachings, conventional grain-laden Chinese diets "rotted and befouled" your organs, leading to early disease and death. By avoiding the five grains, you could achieve perfect health, immortality, clear skin, the ability to fly and teleport. Well, not quite. To fully realize the benefits of the monks' diet, you also had to take proprietary supplements, highly technical alchemical preparations that only a select few knew how to make. All of this may sound eerily familiar: Look no further than modern anti-grain polemics like Dr. David Perlmutter's Grain Brain — complete with its own recommended supplement regimen.

Despite basic logic and evidence to the contrary, the philosophy of the grain-free monks gained popularity. That's because then, as now, the appeal of dietary fads had much to do with myths, not facts. Chief among these is the myth of "paradise past," an appealing fiction about a time when everyone was happy and healthy, until they ate the wrong food and fell from grace.

The Chinese monks represented this "fall" as the discovery of agriculture. In Abrahamic religion, it was eating from the tree of knowledge. In either case, bad food is routinely scapegoated as the original cause of our damnation, and we've been trying to eat our way back to paradise ever since.

The mythic narrative of "unnatural" modernity and a "natural" paradise past is persuasive as ever. Religious figures like Adam and Eve have been replaced by Paleolithic man and our grandparents: "Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food," is journalist Michael Pollan's oft-quoted line.

The story also has a powerful moral dimension. It's the Prince of Evil, after all, who tempted Eve. Once secularized, Satan reappears as corporations and scientists who feed us chemical additives, modern grains and GMOs, the "toxic" fruits of sin. (No matter if science doesn't agree that any of these things are very toxic.)

Paradise past. Good and evil. Benevolent Nature with a capital N. The promise of nutritional salvation. After you've constructed a compellingly simple narrative foundation, all you have to do is wrap your chosen diet in scientific rhetoric.

For Chinese monks, that rhetoric involved "five phases theory." For ancient Greeks and Romans it was "humors" — four fluids thought to be the basis of human health. Now it is peer-reviewed studies. Thankfully for diet gurus, the literature of nutrition science is vague, vast and highly contested — just like religious texts — making it easy to cherry-pick whatever data confirm your biases."

 

 

 

Links - 7th November 2024 (2 - Simu Liu Bubble Tea Meltdown)

6ixBuzzTV on X - "#WATCH: Toronto actor Simu Liu shuts down bubble tea pitch for cultural appropriation."
Kangmin Lee | 이강민 on X - "A Chinese-Canadian claiming a drink that was invented in Taiwan, played a Korean in Kim’s Convenience, and complaining in a Western language, on a Western television program, while wearing Western attire. Your "cultural heritage" sounds a bit… appropriatory doesn’t it?"
When you just hate white people
Simu Liu strikes again! No surprise it's him kicking up a tantrum again

Asian American boba brand finds opportunity after Simu Liu sparks cultural appropriation debate - "The company seemed to imply on the episode that their drink was better than traditional bubble tea and its founders have since apologized. “I would be uplifting a business that is profiting off of something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage,” Liu said during the Oct. 10 episode. He also pointed out there was nothing on their packaging that acknowledged boba's cultural roots in Taiwan. Boba’s origin story actually goes back centuries and can be traced outside of Taiwan, according to Juily Phun, an assistant professor in Asian American Studies at Cal State LA who curated an exhibit on the beverage’s history and impact. The root vegetable cassava, which is used to make tapioca starch, the main ingredient in boba, started in South America. Colonization led to cassava being exported to African nations, Pacific Islands and parts of Asia... Today, boba shops are ubiquitous. Big conglomerates like Starbucks and Jamba Juice have experimented with boba for limited stints. Even then, boba was such a small part of the menu that it wasn't seen as a threat to Asian American boba businesses... Today Twrl drinks, which include flavors like ube (the purple yam commonly associated with Filipino cuisine) and hojicha (Japanese roasted green tea), are in Sprouts supermarkets nationwide, Whole Foods stores in 10 states and on Amazon."
What's so compelling about a product that isn't better than what's already on the market? Left wingers think white people aren't allowed to improve non-white things
Clearly, all the bubble tea shops that never mention Taiwan need to be closed down
It seems Asian Americans deserve to have a monopoly on the bubble tea business in the US and if they don't, it's racist
How dare Twrl culturally appropriate Filipino ube!

'Shang Chi' Actor Simu Liu Roasted After He Accused Bobba Bubble Tea Owners Of "Cultural Appropriation" On Canadian Reality Show Dragon's Den - "Liu also posted to X, “i truly do not care what you spend your money on. buy boba, or don’t, or buy bottled mass produced boba that feels weirdly appropriated, or don’t. it literally does not matter to me. all i ask… is that you not empty your life savings into altcoins and NFTs.”...   X user 300mirrors also noted, “You seemed to care a whole lot in that video while you were embarrassing those people who were so proud of their product.”
White people are not allowed to sell bubble tea
People also got offended that the entrepreneurs said normal bubble tea was unhealthy. I guess Singapore needs to be cancelled for saying that it is, since it contains so much sugar and palm oil

Libby Emmons on X - "And just like that, Manjit Minhas, once super excited about backing alcoholic bubble tea for distribution into the US, pulled her support, spoke about cultural differences, and begged people to stop threatening her online because it's like really hurting her feelings, you guys."

Scratch Point on X - "It's difficult to have sympathy for people who allow themselves to be walked all over.   This was not a "learning opportunity" to welcome, it was a celebrity using his influence to crush an up-and-coming business by claiming they were stealing his culture despite already working with a distributor in Taiwan. Which, by the way, shouldn't even be necessary.   It's just funny to see an Asian trying to guard what he perceives to be his culture despite being completely Westernized. If that's how he really feels, stop starring in Western media, stop playing Korean roles while being Chinese, stop speaking English, wearing Western clothing, etc.   You don't get to keep "culture" to yourself while willingly partaking in & benefitting from someone else's culture.  These people need to stop apologizing to eternal victims. Double-down & tell them their feelings on the matter are irrelevant. They need to be firmly told "no" for once in their coddled lives."

Nina Infinity on X - "Aren't you Chinese? Didn't you play a Korean dude in Kim's Convenience? Some, like you, might call that cultural appropriation. 🤔 But hey, when it benefits you, who cares. Right?"

Simu Liu’s unhinged boba tea meltdown sinks small business - "Quebec City entrepreneurs Sebastian Fiset and Jessica Frenette, owners of Bobba—a new health-centric bubble tea company—appeared on the show in hopes of landing a financial investment for their young startup. But after being accused of cultural appropriation by guest judge and C-list Marvel film actor Simu Liu, they’ve more recently found themselves, and their company, sinking in hot water. During the now infamous television appearance, the innocent duo showcased their innovative company, which takes traditional unhealthy asian bubble tea and transforms it into a much healthier and just as delicious alternative... While other fellow ‘Dragon’ investors appeared visibly uncomfortable by the Chinese Karen’s unhinged tantrum directed at the French-Canadian entrepreneurs, Liu continued to rant... Liu, who is not from Taiwan, is a well-known bit part actor on unfunny Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience, a show which often mocks and reinforces stereotypes about people of asian descent. He has also been featured as a token asian actor walk-on role in Barbie, but has never really garnered the star power to match his white hot emotions.  Following the episode, Liu’s weak fanbase, made up of mostly woke, liberal scumbags, rallied to the so-called actor’s defense and began attacking Bobba with boycotts and even death threats (surprise, surprise—ed). The relentless attacks by the self-described inclusive left forced Bobba to issue an unnecessary apology... Despite Liu’s tenuous idea that the drink is a wholly Taiwanese intellectual property, the Bobba founders sourced their ingredients in Taiwan and went out of their way to consult with a Taiwanese boba guru who had blessed their product prior to appearing on the show.  “I want to be a part of bringing boba to the masses, but not like this,” Liu whined during the broadcast, much to the horror of the regular Dragons who take a much more respectful approach to contestants...   Days after when Liu reluctantly tried to call for calm among his faithful following of mask wearing grifters, the damage had already been done to poor Bobba. The founders were receiving death threats and other investors had backed out of the company after the onslaught of negative woke-faux outrage. The entire bubble brouhaha has left the small business drowning in debt. Celebrities, who like Liu, are also not Taiwanese, including The Rock, Johnny Depp, Lucy Lu, Tom Cruise and John Cho all came out in favor of their fellow Hollywood huckster, sucking and blowing at the same time.  Out-of-touch Calgary-based Chinese Canadian food writer and equity consultant (for real?—ed) Carmen Cheng of the government funded CBC says she grew up drinking bubble tea...   In addition to being a race baiting culture hustler, Simu Liu is owner of the sparkling water company Sanzo. Sparkling water, invented and popularized in Europe, has evolved under Liu’s ownership of the company having recently launched a line of ‘asian-inspired’ flavors."

Meme - Ziyupr: "Shot I Chaser"
"I'm Taiwanese and I love to see non-Taiwanese take an interest in our culture. I certainly won't cry about cultural appropriation. One thing I don't love: A Canadian-Chinese actor trying to represent Taiwanese people!"
*Blocked by Simu Liu*
I guess minority voices don't matter when they go against the left wing agenda. Clearly this Taiwanese is too stupid and ignorant to know that he's a victim of cultural appropriation

In Taiwan, boba tea fans bemused at Canadian ‘cultural appropriation’ spat - "Standing in line at her favourite boba tea shop in Taiwan’s second-biggest city, Lisa Chen was perplexed to hear that her preferred beverage had been embroiled in a headline-grabbing controversy halfway around the world.  After a Montreal-based company pitched a “convenient and healthier” canned version of boba tea on Canada’s version of Dragons’ Den last week, a firestorm ensued... Chen said she did not see the problem with the beverage becoming part of the globalised food landscape with variations that are increasingly detached from its Taiwanese roots.  “It’s great that more people can enjoy boba tea,” she told Al Jazeera.  “In Taiwan, we’re constantly coming up with new kinds of boba tea, so I think it makes sense that people abroad are doing so as well.”  Lin You Ze, who worked at a boba tea shop in Taichung from 2019 to 2022, had a similar reaction when he came across the controversy while scrolling social media.  “I don’t think it’s a big deal that they took boba tea and added their own twist to it,” Lin told Al Jazeera.  “Boba tea can be quite easy to make and a lot of the things you need originally came to Taiwan from somewhere else anyway, so it’s all connected.”  Lin said the focus should be on the quality of the product and not the background of the company’s owners.  “If they made a delicious new boba tea that’s healthier, then that’s good for everyone, right?”  Yang Zou Ming, whose uncle owned a boba tea shop in Taichung, was less impressed with Bobba’s pitch, although he said he did not have a problem with people who aren’t Taiwanese selling the drink.  “Boba tea should be made fresh, and you lose that if you put it in a can and store it for a long time,” he told Al Jazeera.  “But I don’t see a problem with people across the world selling different kinds of boba tea.”...   In Taiwanese media, reaction to the controversy in Canada was muted, while discussions online paid more attention to whether the products were healthier as claimed than questions of identity...   In 2019, a Taiwanese court concluded that since anyone is allowed to make boba tea, the question of who invented it was irrelevant. Clarissa Wei, a Taiwanese-American journalist and the author of a Taiwanese cookbook, Made In Taiwan, said the heated reactions to the Canadian company’s boba products stem from issues of culture and identity among Asian diaspora communities.  “Bubble tea is a very dear symbol to a lot of the diaspora and has become a symbol of what it means to be Asian American and Asian Canadian,” Wei told Al Jazeera.  “In some ways, bubble tea is more important to Asian minorities in Western countries than it is to Taiwanese in Taiwan, who don’t think as much about the meaning or the symbol behind it.”  The Asian diaspora’s connection to boba tea, particularly among certain generations, has been referred to as “bobalife” – named after a 2013 song of the same name."
Basically Asian Americans have no culture, so they seize on bubble tea and are obnoxious about it

Joel Clements | Facebook - "With all the “cultural appropriation” talk regarding the bubble tea pitch on Dragon’s Den, I wonder what impact it will have on all those Chinese run Sushi joints? ‘Cause that’s cultural appropriation too, isn’t it? 😳😂 Not to mention Simu Liu, who is of Chinese heritage, played a Korean character on Lee’s Convenience. Hmmm… #BubbleTea #dragonsden #SimuLiu"

Lulu Cheng Meservey on X - "Insane that Simu Liu would cancel a boba startup for “cultural appropriation.” As a higher ranking Asian (didn’t become a professional actor), I am casting a counterspell and inviting people of every race and creed to partake in Asian culture.
Addendums:
1) Cultural exchange is good.
2) Appreciation is not appropriation.
3) Creating heterogenous new cultures doesn’t take away from existing cultures."
Left wingers like to claim that rights are not like cake - more for one doesn't mean less for another, but they view culture like cake

John Coogan on X - "The “ownership has to be Asian” claim is funny because are we sure that’s where the value accrual is happening? What if the Taiwanese manufacturer has higher margins and takes home more money in total?"
Melissa Chen on X - "This guy is a walking definition of a “boba liberal”"

Kelden Formosa on X - "The origin story of bubble tea 🧋 is really fascinating. It relies completely on the types of cultural appropriation and experimentation that Liu criticizes in this clip. 🇭🇰🇹🇼🇬🇧🇳🇱 Fun, short history here:"
What Makes Bubble Tea Popular ? Interaction between Chinese and British Tea Culture | Francis Academic Press - "During the Dutch colonization of Taiwan (1624-1662), the European way of drinking tea-adding milk and sugar to tea was introduced to Taiwan. It did not become a trend but laid a foundation of the creation of bubble tea. In the middle of the twentieth century, under the influence of Hong Kong-style milk tea, milk tea became popular in Taiwan. Unlike Hong Kong-style milk tea, the making process of bubble tea itself is not cumbersome, so it is easy to realize standardization. Within a short span of 30 years, bubble tea has swept across the world. In 1987, Lin Xiuhui, manager of a Taiwanese dessert shop called Chunshuitang, accidentally threw tapioca balls, known as “powder balls,” into milk tea during a boring business meeting, only to find that they tasted good.[5] Then bubble tea officially came into being. The rich variety of tea, ingredients and fruit stimulates the further development of bubble tea. Oolong tea and green tea can be alternative to black tea, and other ingredients such as taro, grass jelly, sago can also be added to bubble tea. In addition, to make bubble tea take on the international market, businessmen actively learn about local food customs, and create an attractive image of bubble tea with creative and marketing techniques, using local raw materials to upgrade bubble tea from to a beverage without borders. For example, to cater to Americans’ sweet teeth, ice cream, honey and syrup are added to bubble tea in the American market, while the French, who care about the appearance of food, chocolate is used to decorate their bubble tea"

McDonald's in Vietnam

There is a claim that McDonald's has struggled to succeed in Vietnam because Vietnamese street food is just so good, like in the following meme:

"Street food in Vietnam is so common, quick, and cheap that international fast food chains like McDonald's struggled to succeed after entering the market."

However, a little bit of research shows that this claim is utterly wrong.

TransitionsAbroad.com notes (and I don't think anyone would disagree) that:

"Street food is more the norm than the exception in most parts of Asia, where the weather often permits locals to be outside year-round and where the convenience of kitchens equipped with refrigerators or modern stoves is not the reality for many homes. Regardless, Bangkok is an extraordinary place to sample street food — or any food."

In other words, in most parts of Asia, and definitely Thailand, street food is common.

Meanwhile, the Unforgettable Travel Company opines (and I don't think many would disagree) that:

"Cooked fast and hot and to order, eating on the street in Thailand is typically safe and incredibly cheap too"

So in Thailand, street food is quick and cheap.

If the reason why McDonald's has not had much success in Vietnam were really because "Street food in Vietnam is so common, quick, and cheap", then we would expect McDonald's in Thailand to be similarly unsuccessful (amusingly, one cope I got was that "this has nothing to do with other parts of Asia. The statement says Vietnam. And the statement is true").

Yet, the numbers paint a different story. According to the official tally of McDonald's Systemwide Restaurants among International Developmental Licensees, in 2023 there were 33 McDonald's in Vietnam and 230 in Thailand.

So on a per capita basis, there was one McDonald's per 3,066,401 people in Vietnam, but one per 311,530 in Thailand. In other words, McDonald's was 9.8x more popular (or common, at least) in Thailand than in Vietnam. So "common, quick, and cheap" cannot explain why McDonald's is not successful in Vietnam.

Also note that KFC is even more popular in Thailand than McDonald's, with 288 outlets as of March 31, 2024, according to Devyani International Limited (which bought over the Thai franchise in January 2024). And in Vietnam itself, KFC had 135 outlets in 2020 and 145 in 2023, which is an even more convincing refutation of the claim (I won't even go into Lotteria, since people may quibble that they're not American).

So we would need to look into country-specific factors to understand why McDonald's is not successful in Vietnam.

I'm not entirely persuaded by this article, but it's at least more convincing than the meme:

Why McDonald’s Failed in Vietnam.

"Reason 1: Mcdonald’s Fast Service Wasn’t Faster Than Vietnamese Cuisine
Reason 2: The Local Competition Was Tough
Reason 3: The Vietnam War Had Created Political Hurdles
Reason 4: McDonald’s Used the Western Pricing Strategy in the East
Reason 5: McDonald’s Menu Didn’t Coincide With the Local Culture of Sharing Food"

Laos Durian Dreams Grow as Plantations Rise to Feed China

Laos Durian Dreams Grow as Plantations Rise to Feed China
High-speed railway fuels investment in 'king of fruits' amid worries over forest loss

Chinese businessman Tao Jian spends an entire day navigating muddy roads on the Bolaven Plateau in southern Laos, inspecting his durian empire of 50,000 trees. The area is nicknamed the country's coffee capital, but soon it may also be known for the smelly, spiky "king of fruits" for which China has an insatiable appetite.

Tao's company Jinguo -- literally "golden fruits" in Chinese -- just had its very first harvest this year. "I believe Laos will soon become the world's fourth-largest durian producer, after Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia," the 54-year-old said.

Chinese investors like Tao are flocking to establish durian plantations in Laos, aiming to export their pungent produce back to China. The sprouting industry -- part of a broader influx of Chinese investment including the launch of a high-speed railway connecting China and Laos -- promises to be an economic boon for one of Southeast Asia's poorest and least developed countries.

At the same time, the durian craze could come at a high cost, according to local villagers and experts who are concerned about pollution and the loss of forests and biodiversity.

Another sticking point is that China does not yet allow Laotian durians into its market. But the two countries are reportedly in talks on this, and investors are convinced it is only a matter of time. Bounchanh Kombounyasith, Laos' director general of the Department of Agriculture, was quoted in a state-owned Chinese newspaper on Sept. 24 as saying that Laotian durians will be exported to China soon, as the two nations were preparing market access documents.

The fruit omits an odor so overpowering that it is banned from public transportation in places such as Hong Kong and Thailand. But its distinctive aroma and sweet taste have earned a huge following in China, driving a rapid expansion of trade. China takes in as much as 95% of global durian exports, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. And last year, it bought $6.7 billion worth of the fruit from Southeast Asia -- 12 times more than in 2017 -- according to Chinese state media.

Much of the region has mobilized to cater to China's craving. In the last 12 years, Thai durian production almost tripled. Vietnamese coffee farmers have pivoted to growing durians. Rainforests in Malaysia were cleared for durian plantations. But it is still not enough -- the reason investors are increasingly looking at landlocked Laos, with its suitable climate, cheap labor and vast uncultivated land.

Durians can sell for anywhere from $10 to hundreds of dollars per kilogram, depending on the variety. Healthy and mature trees can generate lucrative returns for decades. But as it takes more than five years for them to bear fruit, farming requires meticulous care, a large plot of land and high, long-term investments.

Even though the durian is native to Southeast Asia, the industry in Laos is only just taking root. Until a decade ago, the fruit was mostly found on trees in the backyards of Laotian families, not cultivated on a large scale.

But Chinese investors have the means to build the industry, as well as an urge to park their cash outside of China.

Tao used to invest in real estate projects back home, but in 2017, he saw a housing crisis looming and decided to shift away. "My vision is to leave China, but to invest in something related to China and to cater to the demand of 1.4 billion people," he said.

China's desire for durian persists even though its overall economic picture is bleak, with the government resorting to a host of stimulus measures to shore up flagging growth. Like Tao, many Chinese investors are searching for profitable ventures abroad, spurring outbound investment to new highs -- with Asia as the largest recipient.

Another Chinese player that has joined Laos' durian rush is Jiarun, an infrastructure builder. It has vowed to establish the world's largest durian plantation in Attapeu, a remote province in southern Laos. In 2022, the company secured a 50-year lease from the Laotian government for 5,000 hectares of land, 15 times the size of New York's Central Park. The company intends to plant durian trees across more than half of that area.

"We want to combine the Chinese agricultural model with Laotian resources," said He Ruijun, 42, deputy manager of Jiarun's local subsidiary. "Southeast Asia is now a land of opportunity, unlike China where the room for growth is now limited."

China has been the largest foreign investor in Laos since 2016. Providing extra momentum is the Laos-China railway, a crucial component of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. Launched in December 2021, the train line shortens the travel time from Laos' capital of Vientiane to Kunming, a major trade hub in southwestern China, to less than 10 hours.

"For fruit producers like us, the Laos-China railway is very convenient, as it saves costs and time," said He.

Transportation of durians is a race against time, as ripe, fresh fruit can rot within days. Trains are the most cost-effective and reliable means of carrying them. The Laos-China railway has already proven a game changer for Thai durians, which are increasingly transported to China via the link.

Cutting open one of the first durians harvested from his Laotian farm, Jinguo's owner Tao looks forward to a near future when such fruit quickly ends up in Chinese shops. "In less than 48 hours [after being harvested], durians will get to the Chinese consumers," Tao said.

While early investors like Tao have harvested their first crops, newcomers such as Jiarun's He have just started to clear trees for orchards.

When He first set foot in the dense tropical forest, he was both terrified and amazed by the rugged landscape and the sounds of wildlife at night. When his company's bulldozers entered the forests, he saw something unexpected. "We ran into elephants -- a mother and a calf," he said. "I felt uneasy because we occupied their homeland." By his account, the animals left and never came back.

Jiarun's durian plantation is not far from two national conservation zones but sits on a production forest area, which can be used for cultivation and logging, according to Laos' Forestry Law.

"It's an untouched land. We were reluctant to develop it," said He. "But then I think the 'economic forest' can be just as beautiful, and that it can bring economic growth to the villagers and the government."

Laos contains some of the last remaining intact tropical forests in mainland Southeast Asia, home to diverse species of flora and fauna. But the area of primary forest in Laos decreased by 14% from 2002 to 2023, according to Global Forest Watch. Illegal logging, infrastructure construction and large-scale agriculture are among the main drivers of deforestation, which accelerated to 137,000 hectares in 2023 from 93,000 the previous year. Local farmers have also razed forests to make room for cassava, one of the most profitable agricultural products in the country.

On Chinese social media, Jiarun promotes its durian project as a green initiative and calls its approach tui lin huan lin, which means replacing the original forest with trees of high economic value. And Jiarun is not the only Chinese durian grower in Laos to tout this "reforestation." A Hong Kong company leased 5,100 hectares of nearby land in 2022, aiming to develop eco-friendly tourism in durian orchards.

But experts say plantations can never replace pristine forests. "Some aspects of a monoculture plantation appear similar to a forest, but the biodiversity is much lower," said Miles Kenney-Lazar, a scholar at the University of Melbourne who studies plantations in Southeast Asia.

Additionally, villagers might lose access to forest food, such as mushrooms and bamboo shoots.

In communities near the Jiarun farm, many locals remain unaware of the vast durian orchard next door. A group of villagers told Nikkei Asia that they were not consulted before the land concession was granted, nor informed about its progress since.

Those who know about the plantation have mixed feelings. "If the project is done properly and follows the law, I will support it because it benefits our country's economic development," said one resident.

Others worry about pollution. "I am very concerned that this project will cause negative impacts to our environment, especially due to the use of chemicals," one said, referring to fertilizers and pesticides. In 2016, a Chinese-driven banana boom in northern Laos left workers sickened and water sources polluted, which prompted the Laotian government to ban the opening of new banana plantations.

Balancing economic development and environmental conservation has always been a delicate issue for agriculture-reliant countries like Laos. The government has high hopes that the durian industry will help alleviate poverty. During a recent visit to durian plantations in the south, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone urged investors to create jobs and build infrastructure without contaminating the land.

The Jiarun farm has received strong political support. Last October, Sommad Pholsena, vice president of the National Assembly of Laos, praised Jiarun as "an outstanding example" of Laos-China cooperation, according to Beijing's mouthpiece China Daily.

On the ground, it appears that the project has yet to blossom. Two years after acquiring the land, Jiarun has only managed to plant durian trees on 1% of its plot. Worse still, the earliest trees died due to water mismanagement and insect infestation. The manager He still believes the future is bright. "It will be a really pretty scene," he said, "when all the trees are dripping with durians."

 

Owner spices up choice by ditching coriander

"Owner spices up choice by ditching coriander
ALICIA NALLY

FOODIE: Mai Sal Pak Chee Thai restaurant owner Shaun Lim has a strong dislike of coriander.

A VISIT to a Lake St Thai res- taurant is meant to be for Far North coriander haters.

Mai Sai Pak Chee means "do not add coriander" in the South-East Asian language.

Manager Shaun Lim, who is Korean and runs the restaurant with his wife, has made a big deal about trying to love the aromatic garnish but finds it too offensive.

"I don't like it because of the strong smell," he said. "Our chef is Thai and he loves it. He's trying to use more but I'm stopping him."

Mr Lim said there were two main reasons he gave the restaurant such a comical name.

"The first one is people here love Thai food but a lot don't like coriander so I wanted to help them be able to make sure their food didn't include coriander if they travel over there," he said. Second, while coriander was essential in Thai food, it would be cooked in Cairns to a customer's liking."

Transylvanian potato borsh with smoked meat/ham

On reddit, someone posted some Transylvanian Soup

This was identified as Ciorba ardeleneasca de cartofi cu afumatura (Transylvanian potato borsh with smoked meat/ham) and a translation of the recipe was provided. Since it expires on 15 August I have archived it here

Ingredients:

• 1 kg wax potatoes
• 300-500 gr cold smoked (cured) deli meat/ham (500 gr if the meat has bones like pork ribs. We have smoked pork ribs, which are ideal)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 medium sized carrots
• 2 apio stocks or 1 small celeriac root
• Optional: small bell pepper, parsley root, or parsnip root
• 1 tbs sweet smoked paprika
• 200 gr tomato passata or 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 bunch fresh tarragon or ½ bunch fresh tarragon and ½ bunch flat leaf parsley
• 200 gr sour cream
• Salt
• Pepper
• Optional: Apple Honey Vinegar
• Optional: pickled hot peppers (like jalapeno)

Steps:

1. If the smoked/cured meat is very salty, leave it in cold water for 2-3 hours before use. Discard water.
2. In a large pot, put 4 l cold water and the smoked/cured meat and place it over medium heat. Discard the foam that will form on top. The meat should be very tender, the boiling time will depend on the cut. For a pork rib about 1 hour should suffice.
3. Remove the meat from the pot, discard any bones, and cut the meat in medium cubes.
4. In the meantime, prepare all the veggies. Celery/celeriac, carrots, and onion (and bell pepper, parsley/parsnip root if using) should be diced.
5. Peel the potatoes and cut them in 2x2 cubes. Place in cold water until use.
6. If the soup in which the meat has boiled is too greasy, remove some of the grease. If it looks okay, add the diced veggies from step 4 and bring them to a boil. Add water if needed. Once the soup is boiling add the potatoes. Once the potatoes are boiling add the cubed meat.
7. Taste before adding any salt. The cured/smoked meat is salty, and it might be enough!
8. Add the smoked paprika and stir.
9. Boil the soup until all the veggies and the potatoes are cooked through.
10. Add the tomato passata or chopped tomatoes and bring back to a boil. Taste. Add salt/pepper to taste.
11. Turn off the heat.
12. Chop the tarragon (and parsley if using) finely and add to the hot soup. Stir. Place the lid on the pot and leave to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
13. It is served with sour cream, apple honey vinegar and pickled hot peppers on the side. Add them to taste.