July and August in Yunnan are jùnzi season — the local word for the wild fungi that spill out of the mountains and into dinner tables. Among all these one stands out: the truffle.
Truffles shaved in paper-thin slices over pasta are certificates for good dating dinner, their price that can hit USD$50 for just 28 grams. In Yunnan, they’re tossed into scrambled eggs without ceremony, folded into a bowl of noodles, or dropped straight into a pot of rice noodles — as casually as tossing in a handful of button mushrooms.
A restaurant truffle-and-egg stir-fry, with at least 500g fresh truffles cost ¥128!
Yunnan is the world’s largest producer of black truffles, harvesting nearly 300 tonnes a year — ten times France’s output — with China producing about 80% of the global total. In peak season, wholesale prices hover around ¥300–600 per kilo, making them an affordable indulgence for locals. And allowing me and my sister, poor college students, to order a dish of the luxury product:
Fungi hotpot — some varieties turn poisonous if undercooked. So at that restaurant, one server’s sole job is to guard our chopsticks until the timer said OK.