Everybody Must Eat

It's a natural fact of life. When you're a child you are inevitably taught that everybody poops, but we miss the whole reason why we must poop: because we must eat.

With this in mind I explore the food that every Chinaman eats. From the blue collar worker to the wealthy businessman and everybody in between, this is the food you can find on any number of street corner.

Zhengzhou, the base of my operations, is more or less in the middle of China. As such, noodles from the North are a staple and rice from the South is abundant. Slurping is the preferred method for transferring foods into the mouth-hole; shoveling is a close second. If you're not eating off a foot high table and squatting on a six-inch stool, you're doing it wrong.

If you were in the US, or any Western country really, you would probably be reluctant to eat at half these places. But when the meal costs the equivalent of $1-$2, your mind becomes confused. It's so cheap, why not? Other people are eating it too, it must be good. But wait, why is it so cheap? You're thinking too much now, slow down and take a bite. Enjoy the spicy undertones added by the green pepper, or the crunch of the lotus root.

We all need to eat. You might as well try and enjoy every bite.