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Hongkongers love a good food trend, whether it’s dalgona coffee, Basque burnt cheesecake, soufflé pancakes, cheese-top tea… the list goes on. But the things that go viral do not always gain traction for the right reasons. Case in point: the notorious ‘three-colour bean’. What English speakers might refer to as a ‘mixed vegetable’ medley – the ubiquitous trifecta of frozen corn, peas, and carrots that all households seem to have a bag of to use as a cold compress – is known colloquially in Hong Kong as ‘three-colour bean’, maybe because the mass-produced diced veggies are more or less uniform in size.
It all started in a breakfast shop in Taipei, which – for reasons incomprehensible to those with functioning taste buds – decided to create a ‘three-colour bean’ milk tea. Let that sink in… then consider what that drink looks like, and what consuming it feels like. Forget the chewy bounciness of tapioca balls – these solids go the crunch route. Even the owner, after sampling it, reacted with “I have nothing to say”, but the damage was done – ‘three-colour bean’ milk tea took off, and the ‘three-colour bean’ craze went viral.
Not long after, the trend came to us in Hong Kong, and ‘three-colour bean’ has been having a field day on Threads, drawing ire left, right, and centre from the chronically online, no thanks to a restaurant in Kwun Tong. Freedom Ramen hopped on the bandwagon to release a ‘three-colour bean’ ramen ($38) that, self-admittedly, does not come recommended by the owner. Instead, the shop issued a challenge of sorts in advertising their creation: “You may choose not to eat it yourself, but you absolutely must treat your friends to it.” We can’t argue with the shock value, and seeing that Freedom Ramen is the kind of place that serves a ramen dish with a coriander broth that’s heaped with coriander leaves, it seems that they are in the business of creating polarising foods.
According to netizens who have trekked out to Freedom Ramen to try this souped-up abomination for themselves, the feedback is a mixed bag: some immediately expressed disgust, others ate it with enthusiasm, some commended the restaurant’s bravery in serving this ‘three-colour bean’ ramen, and there were those who found it anticlimactically underwhelming. Well, what did we expect from a bowl of noodles that the owner themself doesn’t even like? One user commented, “It’s perfect for friends you’re about to fall out with” while another netizen even reported that you could pay extra to get a double amount of ‘three-colour bean’ for your ramen, to which we say, we’re good, thanks.
Local online bakery Miss Marble capitalised on the trend as well, in a way that elicited an even greater outcry. Following in the footsteps of the ‘three-colour bean’ milk tea, Miss Marble concocted an unholy ‘three-colour bean’ avalanche cake with a cheese foam topping. When the outer film layer is unwrapped, the carrots, peas, and corn all come cascading down the cake like lava. Netizens were swift to take to their keyboards to unleash a deluge of backlash that could prizes for creativity and humour, including such gems as “I would sue you even if I had to borrow money” and “Get your kitchen scraps and leave the planet immediately”.
Having said that, let’s not be too quick to bash this trend – ‘three-colour bean’ is the cornerstone of the nostalgic Hong Kong-style macaroni soup that we grew up eating at our neighbourhood cha chaan tengs, so while its random resurgence does raise some eyebrows, at least it’s not an ‘ingredient’ that’s completely alien to our palates.
What do Hongkongers need to brace for next? Intentional rage bait or genuine curiosity to research and develop a new product? With Lunar New Year just around the corner, who’s to say someone’s not already dreaming up a ‘three-colour bean’ turnip cake…
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