I believe it’s “Culinary”.

In regards to food, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I mean, look at the foul smelling fruit, Durian. I have many friends who say it smells, literally, like sh!t. To me, it simply smells simply like Durian. They have gone far to disparage the taste, texture and smell; I can only respond that they’re missing out. It’s one of those things that you have to live with. Not everyone is going to agree with you.

Same with music, video games, culture. One man’s heaven is another man’s hell.

I suppose it is all a matter of personal experience. As, even though I eat meat, there are a lot of meat-based dishes that completely gross me out too. And given that a lot of foodies tend to be meat-centric… I typically stay out of those blogs.

But you touch on an important topic—and one which I recently wrote about on my personal blog ( http://photography.exkclamation.com )—that difference viewed through ignorance is often perceived as “bad”. And while I can’t quite get on board with the notion that saying this looks like a bowel movement is akin to racism, I do agree that terms like “crazy asian food” can be quite hurtful.

But you know what? As a whiter-than-white man who grew up in a traditionally meat-loafed family, this DOES look like “crazy” asian food. It looks *nothing* like what I grew up eating, and had it not been for patient friends like Ernie, or for living in a culturally diverse community like the Bay Area.. I would still be in that same mindset.

Nevertheless, thank you for the notice… (speaking for all white people here) …sometimes even those of us who do not mean harm by our remarks do make mistakes in expressing ourselves, and it is always good to call us out.

Because ultimately we can’t learn to love hongdoubing without trying it, just like we can’t learn to be sensitive without making mistakes (and being called on it) either.

I wouldn’t dread over figuring out the racism part. That word has been so over-used to the point where saying anything which happens to be related to demographics can be considered as racism.

IMO, the racism part probably stems from memories and experiences of Asian Americans who faced pretty mean people who used those words to hurt them. I myself can see why it might be racist, but others may not, and frankly speaking, it’s ok as long as people learn something like you said.

On the outside, those words may seem quite innocent or neutral but to those affected, not so. It’s sort of hard if people haven’t experienced something similiar which sort of why directly descriptive phrases like “crazy asian food” may bring out a bigger reaction.

On a side note, describing what you like to eat or may eat as looking like feces is quite offensive in general. Even if no one has tasted the dish or seen it before, describing any type of food as poo (I’ll admit, it’s kinda funny in some of my memories but trying hold myself back) it’s probably appropriate to keep that to ourselves or inner circle if self-control is hard to do. Adding on to that is how Asian is highlighted refers to many things beyond describing food.

Funny coincidence… a couple hours ago in our project room an older white lady started talking about how she was served beef tongue at a wedding this weekend and then about how she can’t stand the texture of some Chinese dishes (using jellyfish as an example). I know she was just sharing her opinion but I felt all offended, especially as she specifically said Chinese food (I don’t even know if she knows I am Chinese). I said I loved jellyfish and tongue and ignored her the rest of the morning.

Of course Red Bean Ice is decilious, especially in a sundae glass with vanilla ice cream. But plopped on a plate doesn’t look quite appetizing and even more puzzling is the flan. I don’t think it’s a racist thing, it’s just more of an aesthetic thing. At the same time, few would instantly fall in love with a new food just by looking at a picture without knowing what it is or how it taste.

That looks yummy!

If it’s not racism, at least it’s xenophobia, or ethnocentrism. There’s plenty of full-fledged racism in the way people express it, though.

Being of Taiwanese descent AND living as an expat in Taiwan, I’ve heard my fair share of stupid comments about the food here from other foreigners. I wouldn’t say that those comments are racist (for one thing, they come from non-Asian expats AND other Taiwanese-Americans alike), but as other commenters have said, they do come off as being both culturally ignorant and childish.

I think it’s one thing to say that something looks unappealing to you. After all, there is nothing wrong with being honest. And if you are also OK with sounding like a douchebag, it’s fine to say something literally looks like shit, as that Serious Eats commenter did. But, in my opinion, it’s another thing to start going off on how “you can’t believe how any human being could eat that” and how “people who eat that shit can’t possibly be human.” I’ve heard other expats/visitors here say things like that, and I think it is highly offensive to imply that someone’s culinary habits make them somehow less than human, especially when the food they are eating is simply the norm for them.

I wouldn’t say that it was racist. I mean, some foods just don’t look appealing, even if they do taste good. If you look at what Andrew Zimmern from “Bizarre Foods” has eaten around the world, it would be clear that the crazy/weird food isn’t only in Asia; it’s all over the freaking world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarre_Foods

There are foods that absolutely repel me, just by the sight or idea of it–balut for one, but also any kind of insect or rodent (like roaches, a Thai street food, or guinea pig from Ecuadorean cuisine). But would I eat any other foods from those respective cuisines, yeah, I would. In fact, I have already.

I don’t think it’s racist to say that a particular food looks disgusting, because we all have different taste. But it IS racist to say something like “Ew, that food looks like only a Chinese would eat it!” I don’t know…I’m not as bothered by it, because culinary appeal is very broad and subjective. Plus, being Chinese, a LOT of the food I’ve eaten, many people–including other Chinese people–consider gross. I mean duck’s tongue, pig’s intestines, chicken gizzard–you name it.