Beijing rotted tofu
Manchurian traditional food. Partially fermented.

Summer before freshman year of high school in Beijing, at a very fancy restaurant, Eddie’s father convinced him to try this delicacy. Eddie tried it and gagged. Apparently he needed to wash out the taste with alcohol.

Eddie’s father really loved the rotten tofu, he genuinely though Eddie would enjoy it as much as he did. Because Eddie is American, he could not fully appreciate the rotten tofu. For him the symbolic value was not enough to cover up the fact that it really is just rotten food. His father has a stronger tie to the area, and may have even grown up eating this kind of delicacy, so to him, it tastes good.