In my mind, Beijing ranks first among “food deserts” and Hangzhou ranks second.
When you think of Beijing’s food, what comes to mind?
Many people may think of specialties such as Beijing roast duck, Beijing noodles with soybean paste, and Beijing bean juice.
When you talk about Hangzhou’s food, what do you think of?
Many people may think of West Lake Vinegar Fish, Longjing Shrimp, Dongpo Pork, Hangzhou Xiaolongbao, West Lake Beef Soup and other special delicacies.
Obviously these two cities have a lot of special food, why are they called "food deserts"?
Why do these two cities top the list?
Today we will take a look at whether we are innocent or not?
1. Local specialties are not recognized by everyone.
Beijing and Hangzhou do have a lot of special delicacies in the eyes of locals. For example, Beijing’s bean juice and noodles with soybean paste are foods that many old Beijingers love to eat three meals a day.
However, when foreigners come to Beijing and taste the soybean juice noodles with soy sauce, they all complain that the soybean juice has a rotten and sour smell, which is really unacceptable.
What kind of special delicacy does this look like to outsiders?
It is clearly a "dark cuisine". After tasting it once, foreign tourists and migrant workers are never willing to eat it a second time.
The same is true in Hangzhou. West Lake Vinegar Fish can be said to be the signature of Hangzhou cuisine. Although the appearance of the dish is quite exquisite and the presentation is good, after tasting it, foreign tourists found a pungent vinegar and sour smell, which was really unpalatable.
If you want to become a gourmet Internet celebrity city, then the food you make must not only be loved by locals, but more importantly, foreign tourists must like to eat. Only when foreigners like to eat, can the local tourism market be developed.
2. The taste is niche.
The second reason is that the dishes in Beijing and Hangzhou have a niche taste and do not belong to the popular consumer tastes.
The characteristics of Beijing cuisine are crisp, crispy and delicious. To put it bluntly, there is nothing memorable about it.