Experiencing the “West” through the “East” in the Margins of Europe

Abstract

Globalization often assumes a directionality that is associated with a one-way flow of commodities and ideas from the “West” to the “East.” As a result, Western food practices and symbols such as McDonald's and Starbucks have become symbolic markers of globalization. Non-Western commodities such as Chinese food or Japanese sushi, however, have also been associated with globalization. In postsocialist Bulgaria, Chinese food has become very popular and has been considered “exotic,” and paradoxically a symbol of “Western-ness.” This paper traces the changing consumption practices of Chinese food in Sofia, Bulgaria over the past decade to show that the experience of eating “other” cuisines is not simply to imagine and romanticize the experience of the “other.” Rather, Bulgarians use Chinese food to evaluate their political and economic position within the global hierarchy during intensive social transformation. Chinese food consumption in Bulgaria, therefore, engages with debates on normalcy and authenticity that offer more nuanced understandings of globalization.