In December, I attended perhaps one of my more memorable parties of 2018, and more or less by accident.

Satkargone, a small Danu Tribe village, like many villages in Shan State grows rice, but they have also carved a niche out for themselves in the region growing flowers, and after the rice harvest, Garlic.

I arrived in Satkargone just after the rice harvest finished, and to get ready to plant their garlic, the young people in town would get together in the evenings around a fire to peel last year's garlic to put the cloves in the ground the following morning.

As any evening around a fire is, the conversation was carefree, a small handheld TV played Looney Tunes clips, the ground was covered in garlic stems and peels, and man, could these kids peel garlic. The town has been growing garlic for generations, beyond memory, their garlic is smaller, but a richer more fragrant flavour. The valleys around the town have been trying to replicate and grow their garlic strain for years but never seem to get the same result, leaving the Danu farmers in Satkargone a nice market… until recently.

Chinese grown garlic from a few hundred kilometres north is less fragrant but far larger, and often sells for cheaper as more of China's farms industrialise. In recent years it's been harder for these farmers to sell their products in markets next to this new competitor.

Ever since I've moved to Shanghai, my trips abroad have often revealed similar stories to me, as the country becomes a bigger economic player, globalisation often has 'made in China’ stamped on the bottom. For better or for worse, even little untouched areas like Satkargone are feeling the effects of this, so who knows how many more of these garlic peeling parties will be left. Will China's increasing production strength drown their little industry as it so often does, or will their unique garlic find a place in the region’s growing taste for quality ingredients?

This is the original foodie network of Shanghai, either hidden down an alley or behind a set of subtle doors, these Fresh markets are dotted along almost every road in the city. Early in the morning, they are bustling with Shanghai’s older generations collecting the food they need that day, greeting shop owners by name, having a few extra freebies tossed into their bags and haggling over a couple cents.

Everyone has their go-to stands where they would swap recipes, ask the shop keeper what things are, how to cook it, what goes well with something else. Until the ’90s, few homes in Shanghai had refrigerators, so the Fresh Market is where you started every day, it really is a ‘see you tomorrow’ type of establishment, a central part of any neighbourhood.

There is an obsession with food in China, with the local TV show 风味人间 (Once Upon a Bite) hitting a sizzling 600 million views for its first episode. Many young people are passionate about exploring food as well, queueing up for the new restaurant and constantly checking their social media to see where their friends are dining. However, if you visit one of these fresh markets today, it will be clear the impact that online shopping, restaurant culture, and delivery meals have made, as very few from the younger generation have adopted the age-old market routine.

The ‘foodie culture’ in Shanghai goes back generations, but with countless new restaurants, culinary events, TV shows and Social Media Influencers whetting modern appetites in Shanghai, what will happen to these original food communities in the city?