We humans came out with the weirdest ideas for our food. Often times, it doesn’t even need to taste good. As long as it is instagrammable and you can use it to boost your social media contents then it is good to go. Even when the creators claimed their products to possess health benefits. One could not help but doubt it at the end of the day.
11 Viral Food That Makes Us Question Our Sanity
Okay, maybe some are not as dramatic as it sounds. Additionally, it could be quite practical, and let’s not forget delicious. By the end of each item in the list, we will decide whether it is a ‘Dope’ or a ‘Nope’ viral food. Basically it will be tagged as ‘Dope’ if it is practical enough that it’s worth the hype and ‘Nope’ for vice versa.
1. Rainbow Coloured / Unicorn Theme
Being the most beastly and beautiful of them all is the theme that gives food colouring company big bucks. Yes, the colourful theme that doesn’t elevate taste in any way but it is way too gorgeous to ignore. Unless the chefs are using natural food colouring from vegetables and fruits, or, add different flavours in each colour, you will only pay for the looks.
Personally, this is a ‘Nope’ for me. Not only that we can have the same food at a cheaper price without artificial colouring, but we can also get healthier ones too. Since food colourings are always paired with junk food, kids are made to believe that natural food are not delicious because it doesn’t look good. Do you get where this is going?
2. Black /Activated Charcoal
Guess one day someone just decided to go goth and wanted their whole body to be dyed in darkness. Don’t get me wrong, it is an elegant food trend. It’s bold, it’s minimalistic. What’s more, if the chefs are using activated charcoal powder, it can also be beneficial to your health(?).
However, again this an another ‘Nope’ viral food. I mean, it is so strange that people can get excited with burnt food items lookalike. While activated charcoal might help ease diarrhoea and gasses in our body, it will also affect our gut health and ruin our teeth. So consume with caution.
3. Over The Top Spiciness
As Asians, we welcome spicy food trends like an old friend. Yes some of us could go way too casual with this deadly trend but it is an adventure that foodies are willing to take. Although not all of us are obsessed with spicy food, we enjoy watching people eat and suffer from it. Are we secretly sadistic inside? Most likely, yes.
Sadly with all due respect, this is also a ‘Nope’. Man, why am I so negative today. Everyone has their own level of tolerance towards spicy food. A reasonable level of spice may help with digestion and blood flow. Still, someone died because of this trend… So yeah, don’t bite off more than you can chew.
4. Cheese, Cheese, Cheese
What’s not to love about overflowing cheese on every meal? You will be blessed with salty, tangy and milky taste in one bite. Setting off a western fusion vibe on your average meal. The public is basically racing each other to find some other food article that can be elevated by adding cheese. And they are doing it seriously.
And of course, this is definitely a ‘Dope’ trend. Why am I being so positive over this lump of salty fat you asked? Okay, hear me out. Some of these meals legitimately taste way better with cheese. Cooks can get inventive and explore a lot more delicious possibilities because of it. So it’s a ‘Dope’.
5. Durian Desserts
I mean why not? The king of fruits deserves the spotlight and no one should ever question his status on the throne. Stinkiness aside, people are really fond of this spiky fruit. Especially when the season came in, people put durian on top of anything.
I love it when local fruits and delicacies are appreciated so this trend is a ‘Dope’ for me.
6. Salted Egg
A substitution for cheese when you really think about it. This rich and salty yolk is so versatile that it can be used in any savoury dishes. It even comes in instant powder form now so everyone can get to try this trend at home.
Is it just me or every yellow viral food tastes heavenly? That’s right, this trend deserves a ‘Dope’. Some people may assume that salted eggs are highly overrated but it works like cheese and makes your food tastes better. Not to mention that we can easily make salted eggs at home so it’s actually convenient and reasonable.
7. Strawberry Anchovies Sambal
How can one even think of this? Some people do put citrus in sambal to get that tang, but, strawberries? Out of the box thinking indeed. It became viral especially after a famous local mukbang eater promoted it on his channel. Since we are used to having strawberries on desserts and pastries, it is just weird to eat it with savoury food.
While it is a very creative idea, this is just a big ‘Nope’ for now. If you want sambal that is a bit sour and sweet, just sprinkly lime and sugar on it. (Sorry Abang Strawberry).
8. Boba On Everything
Oh, the horror! What a way to put off fire on a hot trend ei? This puts cringey on a whole other godly level. So you just love boba so much that you want it on everything? Be my guest. But don’t broadcast your franken-boba-stein to the rest of the world. Please just let us live peacefully.
We don’t even have to explain why this is a ‘Nope’. To those that actually enjoyed this, do hit us up, we can introduce you to good ghostbusters.
9. Milo Maggie
Here are some more demons unleashed in social media. What an abomination. Hello, police? Please catch these people for causing public displeasure and wasting food. Just because instant noodles are cheap, doesn’t mean that you can exploit it for likes and shares… Geez!
It would actually be sort of acceptable if its just milo + noodles but they simply have to include the curry powder as well. Why was it even a trend? Nope, nope, nope.
10. Matcha
Now to cleanse your mind, the biggest and most aesthetically pleasing trend of all, Matcha. Popularized by its origin country Japan, green tea was the epitome of trendy and viral food. You can find matcha on beverages, cakes, crepes, KitKat, ice cream, cookies. To put it simply, any dessert you can possibly imagine. Literally.
This trend is so big for a good reason. It doesn’t leave any bad effects so far and it has its own unique addictive taste. Why is it weird? Because the obsession people have on matcha is real. Some even tried it with hot pot and cola for crying out loud. Using it civilly, however, makes it a ‘Dope’.
11. Corona Theme
LOL! So this viral food trend just has to make it into the list. One of our bakeries did make the tissue roll cake design and an eatery have even created a virus burger during MCO. Definitely, a ‘Dope’ trend. Especially because this is how cooks express themselves in quarantine and it humours many.
Did You Enjoy The List?
So? How many of these have you seen or tried? Do you agree with the ‘Dope’ or ‘Nope’ tags? Some of this may not appear weird right not because we are still in the same era, but you will totally agree with it few years forward for sure. Share with us in the comment section below what you think of the items in this list and whether or not it deserves the hype.
Also Read: Expect An Upgraded KLIA When Travel Resumes, Including First Jamie Oliver Restaurant In Malaysia
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