A Tale of Two Food Blogs: Culinary Tourism in Hong Kong from a Chinese-American Perspective

Imagine you are about to go on a vacation. How will you build your itinerary? Depending on your time, money, and interest, you may choose anything from theme parks, national parks, museums, cruises, skiing, just to name a few. If you have an opportunity to travel abroad, chances are that you will treat your taste buds with international cuisines. In fact, when you travel across America or simply enjoy a night out in your neighborhood, you may dine at an ethic restaurant. By consuming food from another culture, you participate in a booming industry known as culinary tourism. Folklorist Lucy Long coined the term "culinary tourism" in 1998 and defined it as "the intentional, exploratory participation in the foodways of another culture – participation including the consumption, preparation, and presentation of a food item, cuisine, meal system, or eating style considered to belong to a culinary system not one's own" (Chrzan 40; Long 21). According to the International Culinary Tourism Association, among tourists of different ages, sexes, and ethnic groups, dining is one of their favorite activities wherever they travel because it is an interactive way to explore local food and understand local people (Kivela and Crotts 360). It can even enhance the authenticity of their visits (Okumus et al. 257).Please note: A chage was made to correct an error in the caption in figure 5 of this article after initial publication (10/6/17). A Tale of Two Food Blogs: Culinary Tourism in Hong Kong from a Chinese American Perspective by Rosemary K. Yee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License