Everyone has been horrified by the increasing number of food scandals and we
all know that eating food from unregulated street vendors is fraught with
dangers, yet we keep doing it. The risks have done little to diminish the allure
of a spiced yangrouchuan.
Street food is more than just a way to fill one’s stomach in China; it is an
integral part of the food culture. Amidst towering skyscrapers and roaring
traffic, a bite into a steaming hot fritter from a street stall is a sure way to
be transported back into an era where bus conductors dispensed change and
allowed boarding and alighting almost anywhere. And so street food vendors
continue despite Chengguan, food scandals and ever tighter restrictions getting
in their way.