You May Snicker, But. . . .

One of the most startling differences between China and the United States lies hidden in an seemingly innocuous little treat: 


the Snickers bar!


Last year, in Beijing, I became convinced that the Snickers in China were superior to Snickers in the US. However, I worried that this belief could be misguided due to several factors:


1. Normally I don't eat candy, and previously had shown no preferential treatment to Snickers vs., say, Butterfinger or Reese's. In fact, I have long been convinced that the perfect Blizzard from DQ is a combo of Butterfinger and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.


2. Change in overall diet: obviously, eating Chinese food constantly instead of American food could lead to a false taste test when biting into a sugar-laden Snickers. It seemed possible that my usual fare of American food, consisting of corn-starchy, sugary goodness could have resulted in a dulling of tastebuds when eating a Snickers in America -- sort of a, "Oh, gee, more sugar..." reaction from my tongue.


3. Possibly the initial novelty of it? Although, that was quickly gone when I started seeing Dove chocolates, Mars brand candy products, and tons of other candies readily available -- both Western and Eastern variety candies and sweets are plentiful.


Of course, I immediately told Kim about the awesomeness-that-couldn't-be-contained from every bite of my Chinese Snickers, and she brought her true creativity and resourcefulness to light on the situation, and suggested we buy American-produced Snickers to bring with us for a taste test! SCIENCE!

Top, Chinese Snickers. Bottom, American Snickers.

It wasn't long before we were able to find Snickers to buy here. By "wasn't long", I mean the day after we arrived, when shopping for stuff to use in the apartment. We were in Dennis, a large supermarket that sells everything from appliances to groceries, when we spotted the Snickers. You couldn't really miss the candy area, there were huge displays for Dove chocolate, various bins for Snickers, M&M's, and other assorted goodies. Imagine my thrill when I saw the price per regular-sized bar: 4 kuai! They were 5 kuai in Beijing! Course, the standard of living is lower in Jiaozuo, as obviously reflected in the price of a Snickers bar.


We immediately grabbed two to buy, and tossed them in our cart with our fuzzy blanket, hangers, sponges, "出入平安" floormat, incense, wastepaper baskets, and travel tea glass for Kim (which is already useless for tea, since it had a strainer that started to rust already -- today, we buy stainless steel innard glass tea cup things).


The first difference is in the packaging. In case it is hard to tell, the top Snickers in the photo above is the Chinese one, and the bottom is American. The Chinese Snickers packaging is definitely more festive, showing nuts exploding out of a Snickers bar, in an obvious taste bonanza. The American Snickers boasts simplicity and a reliance on name to sell the product. (Speaking of advertising, we are caught up on Mad Men now, thank you Chinese internet).


We sat down for the taste test, and unwrapped each Snickers. Notice the difference in the chocolate on top of each bar.

Left, American Snickers. Right, Chinese Snickers.

Next, we cut each in half, to take a peek inside. Notice the difference in coloring of the nougat.

Left, American Snickers. Right, Chinese Snickers.

While the American Snickers displayed precision with the even spread of nougat, placement of nuts, and overall presentation, the Chinese snickers appeared random and hastily thrown together. However, our next step shocked us.


We bit into the American Snickers first, carefully chewing our bites, noted the flavor, aroma, and consistency. We cleared our palettes with some water, preparing ourselves for tasting the Chinese Snickers. But nothing could have fully prepared us for what happened next.


As we bit into the Chinese Snickers, a double rainbow appeared! A unicorn raced through our livingroom! Our ceiling cracked, revealing the heavens above, raining kuai down upon us! Seriously, the Chinese snickers was that good. It kicked the hell out of the American Snickers. Hands down, without a doubt, our taste test has SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN that China can make a damn fine Snickers bar.


We didn't even want to finish the American Snickers, but did so because we are patriots.


Oh, we also have jobs teaching and doing real work, but will save that for another post ;).