BEIJING: A mother from eastern China who faced online criticism for making simple breakfasts has turned heads and gone viral with her bizarre breakfast creations.
Clothing shop owner Zhang Liping from Zhejiang province lives with her husband and their 16-year-old son.
Last December, Zhang casually posted videos on social media of her son’s breakfasts, including several pieces of dry bread, rice crackers and a cup of hot water.
Netizens quickly pointed out the lack of nutrition this provided, with one accusing her of “neglecting her son”, and another humorously dubbing it a “stepmother’s breakfast”.
Dissatisfied with the backlash, Zhang unleashed her creativity, crafting bizarre breakfast combinations.
One morning, her groggy son discovered a skewer of candied fruit, sour fish soup and milk on the table. In another video, she served barbecue, coffee and luosifen.
Other memorable breakfast pairings included durian with beef hotpot, strawberries with xiaolongbao, a type of soup dumpling, and braised chicken feet accompanied by cola.
Zhang also created unusual food combinations, such as a “Chinese burger” made of spicy strips, cabbage and apple slices, or corn steamed buns shaped like aliens.
The peculiar breakfasts became known as “thunder breakfasts” online, a term that praised her efficiency in creating meals.
The contrast between her inventive meals and her son, calmly eating them in a half-asleep state, amused many people online.
Her videos have amassed more than 900 million views on mainland social media, drawing nearly 1.3 million followers.
One netizen said: “You can never guess what Liping’s next breakfast will be. Maybe stinky tofu with tiramisu?”
While another wrote: “Liping’s thunder breakfasts are filled with a mother’s clumsy yet endearing love. She has shown she is no cold-hearted ‘stepmother’.”
Zhang told Jimu News that her son has breakfast at 6am before school, so she always wakes up at 5am to prepare it before heading to work.
“My son has never liked traditional Chinese breakfasts like dumplings, buns or noodles. He only loves meat and sweets,” she said.
This picky eating led Zhang to move away from traditional breakfast norms, with encouragement from netizens pushing her creativity to new heights.
“Now, I give it my all for his breakfast. When he enjoys it, it energises me,” she said.
What touched her most was the praise for her family dynamic.
“Many netizens say my son is emotionally stable and gets along well with me, and that our family atmosphere is happy. That makes me truly happy because it is the real us,” Zhang said.
In one video, her son ranked his favourite breakfasts, preferring durian with hotpot.
Zhang plans to keep experimenting with quirky breakfasts, using her creativity to support her son through his school years.
“The online fame will eventually fade, but a mother’s love behind the thunder breakfasts will never fade,” she said.
Zhang has become a symbol of China’s “abstract parents” – a term used to describe seemingly illogical yet often amusing and inspiring parenting styles.
Another example is Brother Shaobing, a father who pressures his young son during shooting games, leaving homework as his son’s only way to unwind.
Meanwhile, some Chinese parents adopt “reverse parenting”, mimicking their children’s laid-back lifestyles by spending time on phones or watching television, while delegating chores like cooking and dog-walking to the kids. - South China Morning Post
