竹炉山房

最近一阵“#白人饭”这个tag已经飘洋过海去到美国各大新闻网站的头条。

“白人饭”其实就是西式简餐，在中国群众中有着长久的历史，甚至可以追溯到1930年代国民党统治时。

在我儿时的1980年代，吃西式简餐甚至是一种奢侈，那时候喝牛奶、吃面包、午后立顿红茶，那是家里条件相当不错的孩子。

2003-08年在土澳，西式简餐在白人学生中非常常见，工作后发现澳洲同事甚至不吃午饭，一杯咖啡解决战斗。从08年到23年已经过去了15年，没想到这种已经有几十年的世界现象居然还能在中国社交媒体发酵，大惑不解，匪夷所思。

转念一想，如今的孩子因为懒，或者因为没有时间，或者父母也力不从心、不会做饭，所以在经济不好、外卖既不健康又质次价高时才又被逼无奈搞起了不需要花时间开火仓的西式简餐？

再说白一点：躺平的人多了。

记得疫情期间有个客户跟我哭诉，她刚在上海参加工作的女儿被滞留，社区发了一只冻鸡，给小女孩急得没法，因为家里连锅都没有，但不吃就饿死了，最后搞了一只锅将冻鸡丢进去煮熟了事——可为明证。

其实我西式简餐也已经十多年了，在外时就不提了，回来后早餐我习惯于买老牌的曼可顿切片白面包，夹上很简单的牛油果甚至很多时候什么都不夹；午餐、晚餐一般都是中餐或偶尔相对正式的西餐；周末会吃西式简餐（沙拉或三明治）——很有清肠胃的感觉。

这种生活方式没有什么值得夸耀的，因为中式大餐才是美食之精华不是么。无论如何，基本的中餐技能还是希望大家都要有，至少想要展身手的时候要能拿得出来吧，不然怎么对得起全球美食大国的称号？

In China - the land of hot noodles, steaming rice and warm soups - a new and unlikely food trend has swept across the country's social media platforms in recent weeks.

People have been sharing images of what most would consider incredibly bland foods, such as raw carrots wrapped in cheese, two-ingredient sandwiches and dressing-free salads - all unified by a single hashtag: #bairenfan.

Translation: #Whitepeoplemeals.

You're unlikely to find depictions of roast turkey dinners or cheeseburgers when exploring the images attached to this hashtag. What you will find are unappetizing pics of no-frills, cold, assembled dishes that require little or no cooking time - the kinds of foods many Westerners traditionally associate with lunch.

The trend really started to take off in May, when people started posting photos and videos of these simple meals on social media platforms in China, though there are posts with the hashtag dating as far back as last October.

In one such video, a woman on a train in Europe unwraps a plastic bag of lettuce and a bag of ham. She bundles them together, adds mustard and starts eating.

Other posts feature photos of raw vegetables and basic sandwiches - think a single slice of bologna between two pieces of white bread - that Chinese netizens' international colleagues or spouses have shared with them.

As the trend spread, Chinese netizens around the world started sharing their own experiences with these minimalistic meals, making #bairenfan one of the hottest phrases on various platforms and local media in the last month.

The rapid evolution of #whitepeoplemeals

The photos begged the question: is that really what people in China think Caucasians eat all the time?

"I feel it's important to recognize that perception is an evolving concept," says British Chinese chef Andrew Wong, the third-generation owner of London's two-Michelin-star Chinese restaurant, A. Wong.

"China is awash with Western cultural references - art, philosophy, fashion, food. This has happened in a relatively recent and short timeframe given the history of China's relationship with the West. It takes time to adjust to understanding the reasons behind some things and that includes certain foods."

In this case, the trend took only weeks to evolve. At first, most of the posts shared in China were filled with mockery and disbelief.

"My Australian colleagues have expressed the 'don't-give-a-s**t' spirit of white people meals to the extreme. It was a slice of bread last time. Now there are two carrots. The only ceremonial effort was putting them in a lunchbox," wrote one user on Xiaohongshu, a popular Chinese social media site.

Another user shared a lunchbox photo of two carrots with some baby spinach and expressed concern over whether its owner could "generate enough energy" with so little food.

Others complained about feeling empty and soulless after eating such meals.

And then the trend hit Twitter, with English-language users sharing their own photos and videos with the #whitepeoplemeals hashtag. (One such tweet gathered 4.3 million views in the last 3.5 weeks.)

I found out today that on Chinese social media, there's a trending hashtag that translates to white people meals lol

"I was so tired I ate a white people meal today"

One of hashtags is also "white people meals are still meals" pic.twitter.com/VGdedgrV2F

— Yan Fan 📍Tokyo - we're hiring! (@yanarchy) June 2, 2023

Many Twitter users, beyond the Chinese community, found the hashtag hilariously true.

"Well, you can't argue with this," one user said.

A Japanese Twitter user recalled her own experience in the United States: "I was kinda surprised that I saw people just bringing veggies in ziplock for lunch when I was an exchange student in the States."

Back in China, as the hashtag went viral globally, some media reports expressed surprise at how quickly the international community embraced the stereotype.

Multiple outlets reported that a new trending topic had emerged - #Whitepeoplemeals have been discovered by white people - and recapped the lighthearted responses from users around the globe.

But that wasn't the end of it. Another group appeared from the shadowy corners of the internet to show support for these simple meals, with a new hashtag - #Bairenfanyeshifan, or #whitepeoplemealsmatter - popping up on social media platforms in China.

Some said eating such foods will help them lose weight. Others looked at the matter through a more serious lens, claiming the trend reflects the lifestyle and hardship of today's society.

One post on 163.com, a Chinese blog/media site, explored the parallels between these simple meals and the current "quiet quitting" mindset - the idea of simply slowing your progress at work instead of literally quitting the job - of the tired workers in China.

The post thanked the bland and comfortless meals for "maintaining their lives" without requiring much effort, especially during lunch at work. In other words, the no-hustle approach aligns with how little they care about their careers.

Another positive highlighted in the post: unlike full Chinese meals, these ones don't make you drowsy, allowing you to avoid the urge to take an afternoon nap while at work.

Maggie Hiufu Wong. (2023-07-01). White people meals? The story behind China's 'coldest' food trend. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/white-people-meals-chinas-food-trend-intl-hnk/index.html