Fast Food Nastiness

[Syn7]

Burger King and other forms of fast food are the only food when you are on a road trip. That is unless you pre-packed your girly lettuce sanshwiches before the trip.

You have no imagination what so ever if all you can find is fast food on a road trip.

[GoldenBrain]

On the road again…just can't wait to get on the road again...


Attachment 7899

[GeneChing]

...I could think of several threads to post this on here. But this one is on top, so here it goes.

Slaughterhouse near Shanghai pawns cat meat off as rabbit


Police raided a "black" slaughterhouse in Huai'an City near Shanghai that had been selling cat meat to Guangdong and Guangxi provinces under the guise of rabbit, The Telegraph reports:

The discovery was made at around 4:30am on Wednesday morning when a tip-off led police and food safety officers to a clandestine abattoir in Chang'an village in the city of Huaian, around 260 miles northwest of Shanghai. Inside one anonymous residential building, they found freezers packed with the brittle carcasses of dozens of domestic cats.

“The floor was spattered with blood and there was bad smell,” the local Modern Express newspaper reported in a grisly dispatch from inside the slaughterhouse.

The Modern Express claimed the abattoir’s specialty had been transforming the corpses of thousands of “homeless and domesticated” felines into a lucrative and illegal trade. Some of the cats were kept alive and shipped to the southern provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi where they were sold for around 10 yuan (£1) per animal. Others were slaughtered in situ or died in their cages before being sold to butchers or at local markets under the guise of “rabbit”.

The “rabbit” was then served in local restaurants, state media claimed.

This video from Jiangsu TV gives us the gritty details:

Though this may pain cat lovers (author included), the fact that your favorite pet is being eaten is small potatoes compared to the bigger issue that eating meat in China seems more and more like throwing darts blindfolded at a menagerie. With pork disguised as beef, rat disguised as mutton, and cat disguised as multiple meats (it's also posed as lamb), it's hard to tell what you're going to get, and where these substitutes are sourced. Not that the sources of the real meat are always so spectacular.

There's a vid in Chinese if you follow the link.

[Jimbo]

On the road again…just can't wait to get on the road again...


Attachment 7899

Years ago, I was given a coupon for a free lunch at a Hometown Buffet (the only time I was to eat there), and the time I was there, almost everyone else I saw was severely overweight. In fact, there was an entire family like that, and the youngest kid looked a lot like that photo! Each one of them had platefuls of food and a few big desserts. The kid, who was around 7 years old and probably outweighed me, started on his cake, and his mom said, "You can eat that after you finish your meal." As I recall, his meal consisted of something like a big burger, a hot dog, pizza, steak/potatoes/corn, etc., plus a couple types of cake and some pies.

I also remember seeing a guy who had to be 7' tall but was morbidly obese as well. While the food itself wasn't bad, I think the buffet-style restaurants make it very easy to habitually overeat due to all the variety in one place at a cheap price.

[GoldenBrain]

Once I was given a coupon for a free lunch at a Hometown Buffet (the only time I was to eat there), and the time I was there, almost everyone else I saw was severely overweight. In fact, there was an entire family like that, and the youngest kid looked a lot like that photo! Each one of them had platefuls of food and a few big desserts. The kid, who was around 7 years old and probably outweighed me, started on his cake, and his mom said, "You can eat that after you finish your meal." As I recall, his meal consisted of something like a big burger, a hot dog, pizza, steak/potatoes/corn, etc., plus a couple types of cake and some pies.

I also remember seeing a guy who had to be 7' tall but was morbidly obese as well.

This is the sad truth in western society, and the U.S. in particular. I stay FAR away from buffets, but even when I happen to eat at one I have some measure of self control. Just because the food is there doesn't mean I have to eat it all at once.

[GeneChing]

Happy Year of the Horse!

It’s the year of the horse, so let’s… eat a horse!?
Joan Coello 2 days ago


2014 is the year of the horse, according to the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac animals play an important role in Japanese new year traditions, even though they no longer follow the Chinese lunar calendar. Themed goods featuring the zodiac animal of the year can be seen almost everywhere you go when the new year comes around. Yokohama originated bakery Pompadour created this adorable horse character bun for the occasion!

Wait, what? There’s real horse meat in it?!

The Japanese have been known to eat horse meat, especially enjoying it as basashi (horse sashimi). But the raw delicacy doesn’t come cheap and definitely doesn’t commonly appear on the dining tables of regular families. This cute snack, Uma no Pan (horse bread), makes the pricey meat available at an affordable price of 189 yen (US$1.80). And word is, it’s selling like hotcakes.

But how does it taste? Our reporter Chie tries it, and this is her verdict:

The horse has an adorable face.

The savory snack fits in the palm, is decorated with shredded leek for a mane, and raisins for its eyes, giving it a cute and kind look. Plus, it’s a charming white horse! Fresh out of a fairytale.

There is horse meat in it!

This horse bun has a savory filling of horse meat stewed in soy sauce and sugar. Horse meat in a horse bun, this thing’s the real deal! The bread has a soft and chewy texture, which matches the flavorful filling in perfect harmony. The raisin eyes add a timely burst of flavor and boosts the overall satisfaction factor! It’s kind of similar to eating a steamed meat bun, but this meat bun would taste just as fine left cold.

There’s also a sweeter “Snake Bun”.

Last year was the year of the snake, so they made a snake character bread to commemorate the passing of the year. This one’s shaped like a coronet, with a comical head attached to it. It has a pudding cream filling (no snake meat, don’t worry). Unlike the horse bun, the bread for the snake bun is slightly sweet, fluffy and soft, striking a great balance with its cream filling. This one’s yummy too!




The question is, cultural differences aside, could you bring yourself to eat a pastry containing horse meat?

[GoldenBrain]

Awe, isn't that cute? It's kind of like the pigs in a blanket we used to eat in elementary school. You know, before they learned that eating that crap everyday will put you in an early grave.

[GeneChing]

Cuz nothing says 'tasty coffee' like azodicarbonamide.

Starbucks Admits to Using Food Additive in China While Subway and McDonald's Deny
Submitted by Charles Liu on Feb 12, 2014 11:00 am


Add a little bounce to your coffee

With the news yesterday that bread baked at Subway stores in China does not contain azodicarbonamide, we stated yesterday that "if you trust multi-national corporations, you can rest your worried souls." Unfortunately, that's not quite true. While Subway China is joined by denials of azodicarbonamide use along with McDonald's China, other multi-national corporations are taking a different track.

In a moment of corporate candor, Starbucks admitted to news agencies the Global Times and the Beijing Times that they use the chemical additive azodicarbonamide in food products sold in their China stores in an e-mail sent Monday night.

Although approved by the FDA, the use of this food additive has courted controversy after it was found the chemical could release carcinogens when baked at a high temperature. Used in springy yoga mats and bouncy shoe soles, the ambiguousness of the law concerning the use of azodicarbonamide has led to its widespread use in the USA; allegations of other US restaurants using the food additive implicate companies like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's, Jack in the Box, and Chick-a-Fils.

If you must enjoy a pastry while having your weekly language exchange and are still worried, Starbucks wants you to know that they are a multi-national corporation that follows the rules. As detailed in this admission of azodicarbonamide use, Starbucks states that azodicarbonamide is an approved food additive for pastry production according to GB2760 China Food Additive Standard, and as such is fully compliant with local food safety regulations in China. And since when have food safety regulations ever been suspect in China, huh?

Much like how the steady Tweeting of PM 2.5 emissions by the US Embassy in Beijing eventually led to a national awareness of air pollution, it again appears that a proactive US campaign is leading to social change in China. The rise of social awareness can only serve to put a spring in your step.

[GoldenBrain]

Azodicarbonamide is just one word for why we no longer eat out. Except for really nice restaurants where we know the chefs and know for sure the food is quality.

Here's a fact. If you want to eat healthy then don't eat any food that's in a commercial. Yup, that's fo-sho!

[GeneChing]

There are nearly 500 mentions of 'pizza' on this forum. Shows you where our minds are at...

China Pizza Passion Has Fonterra Riding Mozzarella Wave
By David Stringer Apr 8, 2014 10:56 PM PT


Photographer: Imaginechina/AP Photo
Visitors taste pizza during the 13th SIAL China show at Shanghai New International Expo...

While China’s economy may be slowing, its love affair with pizza is raging.

And from Hoboken, New Jersey, to Pudong, Shanghai, you can’t make pizza pie without mozzarella. That’s good news for Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. (FSF), the world’s biggest dairy exporter and China’s top supplier of the cheese.

The Auckland-based company plans to lift mozzarella output to 50,000 metric tons a year by September 2015, enough to garnish about 350 million pizzas. It forecasts demand for the cheese in China will gain about 20 percent this year and next.

Yum! Brands Inc. (YUM), operator of restaurant chains including Pizza Hut, estimates China’s consuming class will double to 600 million people by 2020, driving demand for fast food. Fonterra, which also supplies Domino’s Pizza Inc. (DPZ), is raising mozzarella output across its two New Zealand plants and aims to more than double the number of its offices and operations in China to 50 locations to meet dairy demand.

“Particularly in Asia, they like the stretch of mozzarella and couple of times a night in a Pizza Hut or a Domino’s, or a pizzeria, they’ll have stretch contests,” Rene Dedoncker, Melbourne-based director of Fonterra’s foodservice division, said in an interview. “The appetite of the consumer in China for Western diets and for pizza, which is seen to be quite iconic,” is forecast to keep growing, he said.


Photographer: Mario Laporta/AFP/Getty Images
Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. forecasts demand for mozzarella in China will gain... Read More

Units in Fonterra Shareholders Fund declined 0.2 percent to NZ$6.17 at the close, trimming their advance this year to 6.4 percent.
City Shift

China is consuming more protein and dairy as changing tastes are accelerated by a population shift to the cities. Urban inhabitants spend two and a half times more on food compared to those in the countryside, HSBC Holdings Plc said in a March report. That’s spurring growth in a global pizza market that was worth about $125 billion a year at the end of 2012, according to Euromonitor International Plc.

Fonterra, which got 13 percent of its revenue in China in fiscal 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, has invested NZ$72 million ($62 million) to raise mozzarella output at its Clandeboye, New Zealand, plant. New technology will enable the company to cut to one day from two months the length of time it takes to make the cheese, Dedoncker said.

“The growth of fast food and processed food throughout Asia is leading to higher demand for processed cheese and mozzarella,” said Mark Topy, a Melbourne-based analyst at Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. “There’s going to be some opportunities in that space for companies that can provide a long term supply of mozzarella.”


Photographer: Ariana Lindquist/Bloomberg
A Pizza Hut restaurant stands in Shanghai. China is consuming more protein and dairy as... Read More
First Pizza Chain

Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum!, which opened China’s first pizza chain in 1990, will add at least 700 new food outlets in the country this year and swell the number of Pizza Huts to 1,100. Papa John’s International Inc. also competes in China, with about 202 outlets, according to a March 25 filing.

China’s pizza market was worth about $2 billion in 2012, or 1.6 percent of the global market, an increase from 2007 when it accounted for about $822 million of a $111.2 billion world market, according to data compiled by Euromonitor International. Yum! took more than half its sales from China in the 12 months to Dec. 28, according to Bloomberg data.

To be sure, Fonterra faces global competition from Leprino Foods Co. and Saputo Inc. (SAP), Canada’s largest milk processor. Saputo may consider asset purchases to raise its mozzarella output, Chief Executive Officer Lino Saputo Jr. told a Feb. 6 earnings call.

“The majority of our growth in the next five years is all about China,” Dedoncker said in an April 4 interview. “I’d say there’s an 80 percent chance that anytime you have a pizza there, it’s Fonterra cheese.”

[hskwarrior]

.................................................. ...

[GeneChing]

Burger King China Release PooPoo Smoothie
April 17, 2014
By JOANNA FANTOZZI



It may sound completely disgusting, but apparently people who have tried Burger King China’s new PooPoo Smoothie, say it’s actually really delicious. Whether the unfortunate name is a mistranslation, or just an unusual joke, Burger King should hope it doesn’t deter customers. The smoothie is mango-flavored and contains little pulp-like “pearls” which are supposed to explode in your mouth upon consumption.

Kotaku has described the smoothie as similar to a Taiwanese boba tea, also known as bubble tea, which is known for the tapioca balls or pearls inside the smoothie-like fruit tea drink. The Asian culture blog has also said that the name “PooPoo smoothie” is only the English name of the drink, and that in Chinese, the name can roughly be translated to “mango ice smoothie with blow-up pearls cold beverage.”

Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter @JoannaFantozzi

Reminds me of a puu puu platter from Hawaiian pidgin.

[Syn7]

“mango ice smoothie with blow-up pearls cold beverage.”

Awesome name. They should have went with that. Guess it doesn't fit on the poster.

Isn't this just a bubble tea with crushed ice?

I always thought a smoothie was like an Orange Julius but with yogurt. So is a Julius really just a smoothie? They sell both and they are clearly different. The main diff being yogurt. Whattup? The ambiguous nature of many colloquial terms bothers me. I'm a maths/science(applied) nerd, so I like well defined perameters.

I feel like GoldenBrain will know the answer for this in great detail.

[GoldenBrain]

I always thought a smoothie was like an Orange Julius but with yogurt. So is a Julius really just a smoothie? They sell both and they are clearly different. The main diff being yogurt. Whattup? The ambiguous nature of many colloquial terms bothers me. I'm a maths/science(applied) nerd, so I like well defined perameters.

I feel like GoldenBrain will know the answer for this in great detail.

Hahaha! You know I can set the record straight on what a smoothie is. Just to be sure, I looked up Orange Julius recipes and found this...

1 1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup water
3 tablespoons egg white or egg substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups ice

A smoothie by definition is made with fresh fruit with or without yogurt so to me an Orange Julius is not a smoothie. With 1/4 cup of sugar it would seem to be closer to the soft drink family. It may sound weird but I have been off processed sugar for so long now I actually got a little queasy looking at that recipe.

And, for the record, I'm not consuming anything named poo poo...

[GeneChing]

Ever wonder what they do with the chicken that's not nugget?

KFC mystery meat leaves us puzzled, kills our appetite
Preston Phro 2 days ago


While KFC Japan recently unveiled their newest menu item featuring a collaboration with soccer player Ronaldo, KFC China has (accidentally) unveiled a somewhat different item: Horrific chicken wings.

The three photos below, assumed to be from China based on the receipt text, show what looks like deformed chicken wings. On closer inspection, it looks as if the wings were somehow combined with chicken feet, almost like the mouse with the human ear grown on its back.

However, according to the folks who posted the photos originally, these three chicken-feet-like protrusions seemed to actually be wing tips.


The photos below show what happened after the skin was pulled off, revealing something that looks like a bone underneath.



Honestly, the whole chunk of…what is supposed to be meat looks like it would be more comfortable guest starring in a haunted house than on a dinner menu.



The person who posted the photos speculated that the deformity was the result of hormones–though we’re not so sure. After all, no one tested it for evil spirits or alien DNA. How do we know that KFC hasn’t domesticated the face-huggers from Alien for their delicious mouth-in-a-mouth meat?

Japanese netizens were understandably baffled by the photos.

“What…what is that?”

“I wonder what it would have looked like if they’d pulled all of the skin off…”

“Wait, is this not normal?”

“Ohh! It looks like they finally found my leg!”

“Hey, if it tastes good, what it does matter?”

Um…well, we guess you have a point. But still, <shudder>…

Maybe some of our readers more familiar with the anatomy of chickens can tell us what this is. Because we’re still leaning pretty heavily towards that face-huggers theory. They look like they’d be tasty, if you ignore that acidic blood thing.