Stylish Sweet Potatoes
Trendy traditional street snacks in the fashionable area of Beijing
Beijing- Sanlitun, is the name of a place in Chaoyang District of Beijing. “tun” means small village in Chinese. But this “village” is exactly one of the most fashionable place in Beijing, even in China. You can easily find any global fashion brand here, as well as some trendy shops and popular restaurants,whether on weekdays or weekends, on smoggy days or sunny days, the place is packed almost every day.
Sanlitun,
the fashionable area
of Beijing
Some people go to Sanlitun
to buy the hottest item , but someone line up not for a limited
edition handbag or sneakers,
but a roasted sweet potato,
the food you wouldn’t expect
to meet in such
a trendy neighborhood.
Roasted Sweet potatoes used to be one of the most popular street snacks in north China, especially in winter.
Nowadays,it is getting harder and harder for those living in the inner city of Beijing to find their familiar roasted sweet potato stalls. But with the change of people’s consumption concept and the influence of social networks, some traditional street snacks such as cheap and common sweet potatoes are being upgraded to more expensive and more stylish food products.
street sweet potato VS upgraded sweet potato
This is a small sweet potato shop
located in Sanlitun.
Many elements of this shop are keep reminding you that this is not an ordinary snack bar and their roasted sweet potatoes are not ordinary neither
The stylish version of sweet potato is not an isolated example. In fact, many traditional street foods in China have been upgraded to exquisite trendy cuisines.
Doufuhua is also known as Tofu pudding .
the Tofu pudding's rich topping
the Tofu pudding's rich topping
Flavors of tofu pudding vary by region. In the north of China, people like to have salty tofu pudding with soy sauce, salt or even with meat .
the upgraded Youtiao with black sugar powder and sesame
the upgraded Youtiao with black sugar powder and sesame
Youtiao, a deep-fried flour stick, which perhaps is the most common snack in China. The upgraded Youtiao is no longer an ordinary snack at a street stall, but a delicacy from a fine restaurant with cozy atmosphere.
Shaobing (Chinese burger)
Shaobing (Chinese burger)
Shaobing, a kind of Chinese burger .Shaobing are important roles for an authentic Chinese breakfast. They usually are packaged in small paper bag and the foodies can eatwhen walking. Now you can sit comfortably in an elegant restaurant and enjoy the advanced shaobing with steak,bacon, ham or various organic vegetables.
According to the information of Dianping.com(a Chinese app similar to Tripadvisor), there are more than a dozen restaurants specializing in snack food in the Sanlitun area , with per capital spending of more than 50 yuan(7.2 USD).
A previous report has shown that China’s millennial has become a major consumer of dining out,especially those born in the 1990s.
Social media and Dianping.com are the main channels for Chinese consumers to get restaurant information.
Accordingto a recent report (iresearch), Social media and Dianping.com are the main channels for Chinese consumers to get restaurant information. For most of Chinese millennial, social networking are life itself. Weibo has replaced flyers, food channel has been replaced by Wechat public accounts,and Dianping.com has replaced gourmet magazines.
It's not hard to find that those popular snack shops on social networks share some common characteristics, which are creativity, atmosphere and feelings. The upgrade of traditional Chinese street snacks reveals the change of Chinese young consumers' attitude towards food consumption in the era of internet.
Chinese millennial may not be as price sensitive as their elders, but they are really care about the environment , the service , the feeling. And, last but not the least- the number of the “like” after they posted a selfie with the food .
Credits
Videograph - Panjie, Mengyi
Photograph - Pluto
Video Editing - Panjie, Yuexin
Graphic - Yuexin
Juxtapose - Pluto
Writing-Mengyi
Design - Mengyi
Special thanks - Callus 3.3
