Ex-Twitter MD thought he was eating 'kurkures' at Google's Beijing office. But, it turned out to be...

Parminder Singh was visiting Google's office in Beijing.

Parminder Singh, former managing director of Google and Twitter, took to X on Sunday to narrate an amusing incident that happened with him while he was at Google’s office in Beijing. Singh talked about how he mistook a Chinese delicacy for ‘kurkures’ that he had back in India as a snack. His post has gone viral and has sparked a flurry of hilarious reactions.

Singh, who is currently chief commercial officer and chief digital officer at Mediacorp, was in the office cafeteria and spotted a large plate of what he thought were ‘kurkures’. “I was in the cafeteria at Google's Beijing office when I spotted a large plate of what looked like fried 'kurkures'. I helped myself with a generous portion.”

A colleague commented, ‘Wow, I didn't know you were a fan of these’”. ‘Yes, of course. I grew up eating something similar as a snack in India’, I replied,” he added.

However, soon, he realised that they were not the popular Indian snack but duck tongues. The same was confirmed by his colleague. “I had been relishing crispy coated duck tongues! Now, whenever I see a plate of 'kurkures', I double-check to make sure it’s not Chinese tongue-di kabab!” he wrote further.

I was in the cafeteria at Google's Beijing office when I spotted a large plate of what looked like fried 'kurkures'. I helped myself with a generous portion.
A colleague commented, “Wow, I didn't know you were a fan of these.”
“Yes, of course. I grew up eating something similar…

— Parminder Singh (@parrysingh) January 21, 2024

In a separate tweet, Singh wrote, “Just for the record, I’m happily adventurous with my food. I have eaten everything from snakes to insects, and of course duck tongues! But when I expect kurkure, I want kurkure!”

Just for the record, I’m happily adventurous with my food. I have eaten everything from snakes to insects, and of course duck tongues! But when I expect kurkure, I want kurkure!

— Parminder Singh (@parrysingh) January 22, 2024

Needless to say, the post soon garnered a lot of attention on X. Social media users flooded the comments section with their own accidental food experiences.

“I filled my plate with something looking like sev-bhajia in Kuala Lumpur. I found the smell a bit strange. When looked closely, every strand of sev had a pair of tiniest eyes. It was some kind of deep-fried minuscule fish!” a user wrote.

Another user commented, “Ditto happened with my missus (who is a vegetarian). Bought loads of prawn crackers on the pretext that it’s sabudana papad.”

“A famished me found an instant noodles cup in the snacks tray at a hotel in Guangzhou. Seeing the tiny green circle sticker relieved me. ‘Vegetarian food at last’, I muttered as I grabbed the cup. It had a large colourful photo of a prawn covered in noodles. Evidently, fish is considered vegetarian there. Similarly, in Disneyland in HK, I went to buy a packet of popcorn and asked if it was veg. ‘Yes sir. This vegetarian. Cooked in fish oil!” a third user remarked.

A fourth user added, “I had a Colombian colleague offer me some chocolate covered snacks once and they turned out to ants covered in chocolate. I didn’t mind the taste though, they were crunchy.”