Mushroom diplomacy: US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sets off culinary craze in China

20.07.2023 - 12:16 / edition.cnn.com

It’s been several days since US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen left Beijing, and much has been said about her efforts to repair the US-China relationship.

But politics aside, her Beijing visit resulted in one unexpected success – she managed to dramatically boost business for a Yunnan restaurant chain while bringing jian shou qing, an unusual yet highly sought-after mushroom prized for its unique properties, into the national limelight.

Shortly after the treasury secretary landed in Beijing last week, her delegation was spotted dining at Yi Zuo Yi Wang (In and Out). Contrary to the eatery’s English name, there are no burgers here. This restaurant chain specializes in Yunnan food, a popular regional cuisine from part of southwestern China that borders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.

It all started when a food blogger posted about Yellen’s party’s meal on Weibo, a popular Chinese micro-blogging site.

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“When I walked by their table on my way to the washroom, I slowed down to take a glance at the dishes they ordered,” said Weibo user Pan Pan Mao in the post.

Among the dishes the food blogger claimed to have spotted were grilled fish with herbs, stir-fried pickled Yunnan wild greens with potato slices and cold rice noodles.

“Very Yunnan, very homey,” Pan Pan Mao commented.

The restaurant soon confirmed the visit on its Weibo account.

“US Treasury Secretary Yellen was here,” said the post, in Chinese.

“Speculating from the timestamp on the news, it was true that she came (to the restaurant) right after landing in China. Our staff said she loved mushrooms very much. She ordered four portions of jian shou qing (a Yunnan wild mushroom species). It was an extremely magical day.”

The hashtag “US Treasury Secretary Yellen’s first meal in Beijing is Yunannese” became a trending topic on social media, with related posts racking up 6 million views.

Many netizens expressed curiosity, wondering who picked the restaurant. Others noted they were impressed by Yellen’s chopsticks skills and her delegation’s down-to-earth choice for her first post-flight meal.

But the most heated discussions were focused on the multiple orders of the mushroom dish – jian shou qing.

An aide to the treasury secretary confirmed to CNN that Yellen did eat at the restaurant and greatly enjoyed the experience, including the mushroom dish.

This person added that Yellen enjoys going out to different restaurants, including popular local ones like Yi Zuo Yi Wang, whenever she travels with her team.

She also enjoys meeting different people in the countries she visits over a meal, this person continued, pointing to her upcoming lunch with Vietnamese women