This red agate bead strung upon a bamboo skewer encapsulates the most exquisite paradoxical aesthetics of Chinese cuisine—the tart astringency of hawthorn juxtaposed with the sweet crispness of its sugar coating; the refined elegance of imperial medicinal cuisine contrasted with the street-side bustle of hawkers' cries; the weight of millennia-old tradition set against the fleeting trends of social media.