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NEWS > EVERYONE ELSE > TIBETAN MASTIFF SETS RECORD FOR MOST EXPENSIVE MEAL IN CHINA
TIBETAN MASTIFF SETS RECORD FOR MOST EXPENSIVE MEAL IN CHINA
August 7 2010
Beijing, China – There are many things in the human experience that divide us. Religion, race, politics and a myriad of other Obstacles have long interfered with relations between people around the world. However, there are a few constants, a few
similarities between people that bind us in common experience. Those few things, all of them fundamental to our survival, are almost always forgotten in the anger that the differences creates but they are also the base, the essential part of our humanity that makes our differences all the more glaring.
Perhaps the most easily identifiable of those common experiences is eating. The consumption of food has long been a ritual before combat and an opportunity to create peace. The breaking of bread has for centuries been a tradition amongst combatants that has gone far beyond the basics of survival. However, appetites are different throughout the world and despite base similarities, culinary peculiarities between different peoples can cause some friction. For the most part those differences are simply differences in taste but there are a few meals that tread into the realm of morality, particularly in the Far East. Now in China those differences are starting to become apparent in the increasing divide amongst the rich and poor in the country, particularly when it comes to one dish, Tibetan mastiff, which has topped the scales at $600,000 for a complete meal, the most expensive in the world.
“In China, people think of the Tibetan mastiff as a holy animal … a blessing to their health and security. These are not merely dogs to us, they are something much more than that and that is why the price has risen so high in recent years,” said Wen Li, a Mastiff enthusiast. “600,000 is a little high but it depends on the breeding and the size of the animal, much like lobster, the stronger the animal the higher the price. Obviously these animals are isolated to a select few but those few are very lucky indeed.”
Mastiffs can weigh up to 180 pounds including bones and other inedible parts.
“Traditionally, like any animal, one would not eat the entire thing. At 180 pounds there would be quite bit of meat and that would be spread amongst a number of 
consumers. In China these animals are much preferred over smaller dogs as those are generally considered for the poor. With the increasing upper class in Chinese society the fate of the Tibetan Mastiff has changed dramatically,” said Scrape TV Asian analyst Wu Yao-nu. “There was time when any dog would do but now the upper crust simply cannot be seen eating something as common as a terrier or god forbid a poodle. In most places in China poodles are considered little better than rats. I’ve even seen poor people turn over those dogs for rats. The elite would not even consider eating such animals, which brings us back to the mastiff.”
Most mastiffs go for about $100,000 at cost. Mark up varies from restaurant to restaurant.
“There is a hope, a faint hope perhaps, that this elite dish could translate to other countries. There is a growing unease inside China that the bubble could eventually burst. Because it is based on manufacturing and low wages that could eventually start to pose problems. As long as the majority of people remain poor and eating Chihuahuas they will be safe but there is no promise that that will continue,” continued Wu. “By branching out and trying new business ventures like high cuisine they could make a city like say Shanghai the Paris of the East, at least that’s the hope, and they are pinning a lot of those hopes on this high end and totally Chinese meal.”
Thus far there are no plans to introduce dog meat to traditional western Chinese food.
Emil Uliya, International Correspondent
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