Snail Feast

Snail Feast

　　“In Kunming, serving snails on the dining table is still a novelty. I heard that the city’s first specialized snail restaurant has been open for over half a year, but it’s only heard of, never seen.” Recently, during an interview, a diner raised this question. Indeed, snail dishes haven’t shown up in well-known food areas such as Beidamen or along the Dianchi Lake roadside on the food street. They’re not found in easily accessible spots either. More importantly, in today’s Kunming—where diners enjoy a “myriad of choices” and are eager for “new culinary blooms”—the snail feast remains quietly under the radar as a unique cuisine.

　　On May 14th, led by a friend, I visited this snail restaurant called “Taiyi Snail Manor.” From the entrance of Nanyazhengqingyuan on Dianchi Road, heading east for several hundred meters lies the only route into the city center where the restaurant is located. Passing through a narrow alley no more than 500 meters long, lined with cramped rental housing, my car was repeatedly forced to stop and yield to the bustling crowd. There were also no clear signs or advertisements along the way. Truly, finding the place on the first try was no easy feat. The village where the restaurant is tucked away is called Yangjiadi. It’s hard to imagine that world-famous French cuisine resides here. Naturally, why the Snail Manor chose to hide in a village became the most pressing question for me.

　　Upon entering the manor, the kitchen and dining area appear to be casually converted from former office spaces. Only the wall displays introducing snails hint at the extraordinary nature of the cuisine. It’s said that the average French person eats 12 snails per year, amounting to 40,000 tons in 1999, with each snail priced at 45 euros. Currently, in Kunming, only a few high-end hotels or select Western restaurants serve snails—at steep prices. But at Taiyi Snail Manor, you can find nearly 300 snail dishes, including authentic, specially prepared French-style snails. The cooking methods blend Chinese and Western techniques, offering great variety. Yet, the current appearance of the manor doesn’t quite match the reputation of such refined cuisine. Luo Bo, the owner with extensive knowledge of snail farming, admitted frankly: “It only took 100,000 yuan to start this snail restaurant.”

　　Can Kunming residents accept snail feasts?

　　For Luo Bo, the technology for snail farming is now mature, and both breeding and supply are no longer issues. After thousands of experiments—and with the help of a professor from Peking University—he successfully developed and patented the once-troublesome processes of snail slaughtering, detoxification, and removing stickiness, along with the related technologies and products. Some restaurants, hotels, and supermarkets have already expressed interest in supply. So why hasn’t “Taiyi Snails” set up shop in the city, somewhere lively, to show its face?

　　Luo Bo sees setting up in Yangjiadi Village as laying the foundation and exploring the market. He doubts whether Kunming residents are ready to embrace snail feasts. The formation of a market is constrained by factors such as cultural background, economic foundation, consumption concepts, and humanistic literacy. In Kunming, snail consumption is still far from meeting these criteria.

　　Luo Bo believes that “snails won’t go big in Kunming. To scale up, we must root ourselves in Kunming, continuously improve breeding and related technologies, then gradually expand production capacity. Right now, our advantage—and what we can do—is provide technical support and ensure a stable supply.” As for scaling up further, Luo Bo’s vision seems broader and farther-reaching. She says, “If we don’t do it, fine. But if we do, we’ll go for chain operations. The first branch will be in Beijing, then gradually expand outward. We’ve already established a larger breeding base in Shanghai than the one in Kunming. We had planned to open the Beijing branch this year too, but now it depends on the situation.” She believes that ultimately, “snails themselves are the brand, snail feasts are the flag, and putting snails on the table doesn’t require heavy advertising.”

　　Luo Bo, who studied international trade, also hopes to export Kunming’s snails abroad—onto French dining tables.