Food influencers, once derided for loving everything and hating nothing, are apparently now trying to stand out by doing the opposite.
In particular, a content creator by the name of Cian Abion – whose account Life of Cian has more than 3 million followers on TikTok and more than 600,000 on Instagram – has gone viral in the last week for his uncouth take on foods sampled on a trip to Japan.
In a since-deleted clip, he complained that a creme caramel served at a long-standing Japanese cafe was too bitter (even though that is one of its selling points), spitting it out on camera in disgust. Later, he visited a Tokyo food truck known for its Texas-style barbecue and did the same thing after biting into a piece of A5 Wagyu, asking, “Is it supposed to taste like that?”
This is a grown man filming himself eating and expelling half-masticated food on the internet and complaining about it.
Abion was called out on Instagram by fellow content creators for his lack of respect towards food businesses. Photo: Instagram.com/@daadisnacks
Some argue that creators like Abion are just “keeping it real”, as though having an opinion that goes even slightly against the grain justifies the complete disregard for simple human manners. Even if the famous pudding at Tokyo’s Hekkelun was “overrated”, or the brisket at Slice of Life “dry”, spitting your food back out like a child immediately takes away any credibility you had to begin with.
AloJapan.com