A school canteen scandal has Chinese consumers rethinking their growing demand for pre-prepared and ready-to-eat meals
Sick with Covid in early September, Zhao Dandan hoped to find comfort in takeout food. It only made things worse. The meat—salty, over-seasoned, and excessively tender—tasted heavy and oily, Zhao says.
Prepared to Fail: Cafeterias and Restaurants Face Backlash for Pre-Made Meals is a story from our issue, “Online Odyssey.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine.
Tan Yunfei is the editorial director of The World of Chinese. She reports on Chinese language, food, traditions, and society. Having grown up in a rural community and mainly lived in the cities since college, she tries to explore and better understand China's evolving rural and urban life with all readers.
