In an interesting social media trend, Chinese users on platforms like Weibo and Xiaohongshu are recreating and joking about “white people food”, which refers to plain and simple packed lunches commonly consumed in the West. The trend has gained momentum with users sharing photos and reviews of cold sandwiches, raw vegetables, and other plain ingredients. Chinese international students have been particularly surprised by the simplicity of their peers’ lunches overseas.
The trend was further fueled by a viral video of a woman in Switzerland eating a bag of lettuce with ham and mustard on a train. This led to many commenters sharing stories of their colleagues’ low-effort lunches in Europe, the US, and Australia. Some Chinese netizens consider these plain meals as the “lunch of suffering” and find them outrageous.
The fascination with these lunches stems from the fact that many Chinese people are accustomed to cooking with a variety of ingredients, unlike the simplicity of “white people food”. The TikTok user @li2dog breaks down this type of food into three aspects: no spices for flavor, minimal preparation, and consumption at work or school. Some Chinese bloggers believe that these lunches are not meant for enjoyment, but rather to induce guilt and serve as a reminder to focus on work.
Similar assessments have been made by Chinese individuals living in Europe, with one person in Germany describing a colleague who has been eating the same meal for 10 years: a handful of oatmeal mixed with low-fat yogurt, half an apple, and a carrot. Such plain and repetitive meals have raised questions about the meaning of life and the ability to sustain oneself on minimal sustenance.
There’s a new trend in China where people make and eat spiceless “white people lunch”, as form of self torture.
And their commentary has me crying 😭 pic.twitter.com/aRfK3VStaD
— Del Walker (@TheCartelDel) June 13, 2023
Marcelo Wang explains that the fascination with these meals comes from the fact that many Chinese people are used to cooking with a lot of different ingredients. However, some believe that these plain lunches are not for enjoyment but rather to induce guilt and serve as a reminder to focus on work.
Overall, the trend of recreating and discussing “white people food” reflects the cultural differences and perceptions of simplicity in food choices between China and the West.
