During trips to the grocery store, I like to stop in at the cheap Asian food troughs on Clement Street. The prices are rock bottom, but the flavors are high. This time, I noticed an absolutely stunning piece of pork with crispy skin hanging from a chain. It was also under a bright heat lamp, which made for a perfect photo op. As I whipped out my camera and took a few snaps I overheard some of the Chinese ladies talking suspiciously about me. They asked me in Cantonese about my camera. Luckily, I don’t speak Cantonese (I speak Mandarin), and just played dumb and said, “huh?” They didn’t pursue asking me anything further.
The only thing I could think of that would have roused their attention to my snaps is maybe they think I’m an agent from the health department. Other than that, I’m not sure why they wouldn’t be happy to get more publicity and admiration of their foods. Perhaps they’re just suspicious of anyone taking more notice of their joint other than downing some grub.