Want To See How Gutter Oil Is Made? Of Course You Do

The making of gutter oil featured image
This video, produced by Radio Free Asia, was posted in May, but it just got a big spotlight thanks to Washington Post and Foodspin, so, thanks, guys, for showing us all how low the lowest low in food production can get.

Chengguan To Get Busier This Summer As Beijing Quadruples Street BBQ Fines

Lamb kebobs
This story was never good to begin with -- authorities crack down on street barbecue vendors, who by the way may be passing off rat meat as lamb skewers, because they think street barbecueing contributes significantly to air pollution -- but the folks in charge have found a way to make it worse: more chengguan are expected to deal with this issue, because now fines are serious, as in quadruple what they used to be.

This Is Why China Can’t Have Nice Things Like Salad Bars

Salad tower at Pizza Huts in China 2
If you only had one plate and could make only one trip to the salad bar, what would you choose? Take some inspiration from the pictures here -- posted to LabaQ and reblogged by the good folk of Kotaku -- which feature selected works from China's culinary Rodins.

China Has The World’s Worst Instant Noodles, According To Ramen Rater

Baijia Single Noble Black Bone Chicken Flavor Instant Sweet Potato Noodles – China (1)
Baijia Single Noble Black Bone Chicken Flavor Instant Sweet Potato Noodles, produced and sold in China, has been selected the world’s worst instant noodle brand in the world, according to American Hans Lienesch, a.k.a. The Ramen Rater, who apparently rates Ramen noodles professionally, having written more than 1,100 noodle reviews.

Gourmet Coffee Has Landed In Pyongyang

Third-wave coffeeshop in Pyongyang, North Korea
We know our friend Andray Abrahamian to be both a beer and coffee snob, so who better than he to discover an unnamed cafe in Pyongyang, next to the Pyongyang Hotel View Restaurant, that might well be North Korea’s first “third-wave coffeeshop.” (As Dray describes it: “For those of you unfamiliar with the term, ‘third wave’... Read more »