Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang took a break from business to tour Beijing’s Nanluoguxiang neighborhood on Thursday, sampling local delicacies that ranged from a beloved noodle dish to a divisive fermented drink. The outing, captured by onlookers and shared widely on Weibo, offered a rare public moment of the semiconductor chief’s personal tastes.
At No. 69 Fangzhuanchang Noodles, Huang dug into a bowl of zhajiangmian — noodles topped with a thick soybean-paste sauce mixed with vegetables and meat, a Beijing specialty. “It’s so good,” he said, as a crowd filmed him from the street.
His reaction to douzhi’er, a gray-green fermented soybean drink with a sour taste that some locals enjoy and others avoid, was less enthusiastic. Huang visibly winced, and videos of the moment quickly trended on the Chinese social network.
Huang then bought a sweet drink from the popular Mixue Bingcheng chain to cleanse his palate. The Nvidia chief was touring Nanluoguxiang, a neighborhood known for its preserved traditional courtyard homes called hutongs, which mix residential life with shops and restaurants.