There's a reason why French people don't eat breakfast.

In France, breakfast is an art.

You have to sit down, order a cup of coffee, get a croissant, and gaze out the window as if pondering life.

I never managed to keep it up.

So I simply skipped breakfast.

Then I came to China.

One day on my way to work, I smelled something enticing. Following the scent, I found an auntie with a brush in her hand, spreading a red sauce over a piece of fried meat.

I asked her what it was.

She didn’t answer; instead, she made one for me and handed it over.

A pork tenderloin patty sandwich. 9 yuan.

Inside is fried pork tenderloin, wrapped in a baked flatbread, and that sauce in the middle—still hard for me to describe—but it’s red and fragrant.

I took a bite.

And suddenly I understood something.

French people skip breakfast not because they’re not hungry.

It’s because France doesn’t have pork tenderloin patty sandwiches.

I told my French friend, “Now I spend nine yuan every morning standing by the roadside, eating while scrolling through my phone.”

He said, “Isn’t that just being poor?”

I replied, “Do you even know what efficiency means? Your croissant takes five minutes to sit down, another five for your coffee, then more time scrolling after you finish—twenty minutes gone. Mine costs six yuan and takes two minutes. The eighteen minutes I save let me sleep a bit longer.”

He had no response.

Now that auntie recognizes me. As soon as she sees me coming, she starts brushing on the sauce.

This photo was taken one morning.

I hadn’t slept well. It was bitterly cold. I looked like I owed someone money.

But I held a pork tenderloin patty sandwich in my hand.

My French friend saw the photo and asked, “Why do you look so tired?” I said, “I’m on my way to work.”

He then asked, “Then why are you smiling?” I hadn’t realized I was smiling, but that pork tenderloin patty really did make me want to laugh a little.

Finally, he said, “Are you beyond redemption?” I answered, “Why go back? France doesn’t have pork tenderloin patty sandwiches.”

Do you have a favorite breakfast stall where the vendor knows exactly what you want without you having to speak?

#FrenchPeopleInChina #PorkTenderloinPatty #ChineseBreakfast #WorkingPeople #OfficeVibe #ForeignersSeeChina #LifeInChina #StreetLife #FrenchSnail #ChinaSweetheart

你们有没有一个固定早餐摊，不用开口，她就知道你要什么？

#法国人在中国 #里脊肉饼 #中国早餐 #打工人 #班味 #外国人看中国 #中国生活 #人间烟火 #法国蜗牛 #中国甜心