US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, who recently visited Beijing, China, reportedly consumed a type of mushroom known for its psychedelic effects during a meal at a Beijing restaurant.
The incident, which Chinese state media disclosed following Yellen’s departure, generated quite a bit of attention, including a significant amount of social media chatter.
The mushrooms served to Secretary Yellen, called Jian shou qing, are known for their psychedelic properties, according to a New York Post report.
The report descrigbed effects of the mushrooms as unpredictable. One local expert was reportedly quoted saying someone hallucinated for three days after mistakenly consuming them.
Yellen’s alleged consumption of hallucinogenic mushrooms during her official visit to China occurred against a backdrop of increased tension between the two superpowers.
News of the Treasury Secretary’s consumption of potentially halucinogenic fungi began with a Webio post by a user identified as Pan Pan Mao in a CNN report.
“When I walked by their table on my way to the washroom, I slowed down to take a glance at the dishes they ordered,” the Weibo user posted.
The Chinese food blogger claimed to have spotted dishes like grilled fish with herbs, stir-fried pickled Yunnan wild greens with potato slices and cold rice noodles on Yellen’s table.
“Very Yunnan, very homey,” she commented.
“US Treasury Secretary Yellen was here,” Yi Zuo Yi Wang restaurant staff confirmed in a post to its Weibo account.
“Speculating from the timestamp on the news, it was true that she came right after landing in China,” restaurant staff said. “Our staff said she loved mushrooms very much.”
“She ordered four portions of jian shou qing,” the statement continued.
Despite this unusual culinary experience, the Secretary continued with her mission, focused on discussions surrounding the economic relationship between the United States and China.
Yellen’s stop at the restaurant sparked a flurry of posts on the Chinese social media network Weibo and a deluge of reservations, staffers said, according to the Post report.
“It was an extremely magical day,” a restaurant spokesperson said of the secretary’s visit, the CNN report noted.
The restaurant’s name means “In and Out” in English.