The last time we covered an interesting street snack going viral in China, it was stir-fried stones. Now, the crowd is going wild for perhaps the perfect hot day delicacy – grilled ice.
The delicacy first went viral on Weibo when a netizen posted a video showing cubes of ice being grilled over a charcoal stove. As the ice cubes get grilled, the chef adds on various seasonings. By the looks of it, it would typically be something spicy like chilli flakes, which might give the dish a bit of a kick.
@mustsharenews I think put the seasoning on anything also nice 🙃 #mustsharenews #tiktoksg #sgtiktok #chinatok #douyin #weibo #streetfood #china
According to sources, the dish was created by a hawker stall owner in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, saying it was a way to cool his customers during the hot summer days. At first, he made the snack as a joke, but it soon became popular amongst his customers. He added that the demand was so high that customers had to request the dish ahead of time to try it. However, the grilled ice dish is served for free, so no one actually has to pay for the snack.
Since then, the dish has been going viral on international social media. Netizens have also shared their opinion of grilled ice, mostly baffled yet intrigued by the concept. One netizen shared their confusion over the dish, wondering if it was cold or hot, while another netizen wondered how the ice doesn’t melt from the heat. Others have also pointed out that behind the gimmick, the snack is just seasoned water.
Would you be interested to try some grilled ice?
Sources: Oddity Central, TikTok
Adleena contributed to this article.
