1840年鴉片戰爭爆發後，大量晚清旅人前往西方取經，留下數量可觀的海外遊記。旅人於途中所感受的西方飲食文化，不僅是個人飲食習慣的挑戰，更代表既有生活體系與陌生文化的碰撞。晚清歐美遊記對西方飲食的負面批評集中於人為層面，尤以外在形式的鋪張與豪奢風氣的盛行為最，旅人對西方飲食的正面印象則來自於清潔衛生與科學化的實用性，見證科技文明之落實，呼應力求圖強的時代背景與出國動機。旅人熟悉的家鄉味在遠渡重洋後除了安撫脾胃鄉愁外，還能展示民族自信心，成為與西方文明抗衡甚至涵攝他者文化的工具，西人對中國食物的蠻荒認知與參與創新，投射出被扭曲與再造的東方想像，提供旅人觀看他者眼中的自我形象。

After the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1840, many Chinese traveled to learn from the West and wrote a large number of overseas travel writings. They experienced western diet culture on their journey. It challenged their diet habits and impacted their original living cultures. In their travel writings, the main criticism of western diet focuses on its extravagant diet style and the positive impressions of western diet come from good food hygiene and scientific catering. They witnessed the implementation of modern civilization on their journey and it echoed their motive to travel to learn from the West. However, familiar Chinese hometown food does not soothe Chinese travelers' homesick but also inspire national confidence. It becomes a tool to compete with Western civilization and subsume other culture. Furthermore, Westerns have the wild imagination on Chinese food and they also participate in innovating Chinese food. It projects the distorted and remodeling oriental imagination which offers Chinese travelers their own image in the eyes of the West.