Just wait until Huaisang figures out the concept of 'movies.' They're like plays, sure! That you can watch without ever leaving your house. All of Shen Yuan's coolness points will vanish like so much fairy dust.

But he'll always be a big nerd. "Traditional? Sure, by a certain standard," he says with a chuckle and a grin. "A-Sang might want to roll his sleeves up before trying these, they're liable to drip." Shen Yuan is already doing the same; he never tried nachos in Beijing, but he saw them eaten in a few American movies and knows the mess is part of the point.

"See all these condiments? It's like a game, the point is to pile as much as you can on a chip and deliver it to your mouth without spilling."