typJo

CSP10 - Entry 02 - Guangzhou

It’s true. The Chinese love their food, and the Shanghainese are proud of their food. They gloat, “Nothing can be compared to what Shanghai has to offer.” After spending two months in Shanghai, I identify myself as a Shanghai-er, and I am most certainly proud of our food. But after being in Guangzhou under the special treatment of the Guangzhou/Panyu government officials, Shanghai is in danger. Guangzhou/Panyu has so much to offer. From dim sum breakfasts to roasted pig to the sweetest lychees (that I have ever had in my life), Guangzhou & Panyu are quickly climbing to the top. But the American side of me still places Guangzhou behind Shanghai for one reason.

I heard “Oohs and aahs” during lunch, and not too long after, a waitress carried a large platter with a roasted piglet on top. It had tomato eyes with its mouth open and teeth showing, while its legs were tied neatly in the back. Before I could say anything, the waitress whipped out her scissors and conducted surgery on the piglet right there in front of me. She started in the middle and worked her way around the entire piglet like she was cutting a piece of paper. She neatly placed all of the pieces on the platter. Just when I thought she was finished, she chopped off the ears and the tail, and placed them on top of the pieces like candles on a birthday cake. 

I’m normally okay with the fact that meat comes from animals, but there is still a piece of me that cannot stand the way the animals are butchered and displayed like prizes from a battle before being eaten. Several times on the trip, our meals began with a plate of “Salted Drunken Chicken.” I always crossed my fingers that the head wouldn’t be on the plate. How can people eat when they see the face of the animal that they are eating? The lonely head with its eyes closed on a big plate waiting for people to jab at. It makes me wonder though. Europeans do the same thing. They show-off the animals they killed for a grand feast. When did it become disgusting for restaurants to display the “other parts” of the animal during the meal? Did it start in the United States? Does every culture do this?

There are numerous horror stories and films that revolve around “the butchering knife.” Everyone knows a story about a crazy girlfriend who used a butcher knife to chop off her boyfriend’s head, or murder stories of men using butcher knifes to kill their wives. Our fear of butchering probably stemmed from these stories, but now, it looks like this fear is finally being conquered. Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, has inspired people to become conscious of how the food they eat affects their health and the planet. In San Francisco, butchering is becoming a “fun activity.” 

Will more Westerners be more open to the idea of displaying the butchered parts of the animal? Shiver.