'Tripping Out' in China: Yellen Trolled After 'Magic Mushroom' Dish

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is reported to have displayed some impressive chopstick skills during her recent trip to China, dining on some local wild mushrooms at a casual Beijing restaurant. The fact that Yellen's first post-flight meal involved shrooms hailing from the province of Yunnan and said to possess psychedelic effects is what ignited a social media firestorm.

Chinese state media and an aide to the treasury chief have since confirmed that during her stay, Yellen tasted the local cuisine at ‘Yi Zuo Yi Wang’ (English: ‘In and Out’) – part of a Yunnan restaurant chain. While innocuous in itself, the news made the headlines after a food blogger posted about the meal involving mushrooms on Weibo, a popular Chinese microblogging site.

Later, the restaurant also confirmed the visit on its Weibo account, saying that Janet Yellen "loved mushrooms very much," and "ordered four portions of jian shou qing (a Yunnan wild mushroom species). It was an extremely magical day.”

Jian shou qing refers to mushrooms that scientists call “Lanmaoa asiatica.” Translated from Chinese, the name literally means "Seeing the blue hand,” as when the shrooms are touched the resultant bruising triggers a bluish-green color.

Deemed a delicacy in China, nevertheless, last year, the Botanical Society of Yunnan published an updated index of Yunnan’s poisonous mushrooms, with jian shou qing also singled out among the other funky fungi. All across China's Yunnan restaurants, the mushrooms are properly prepared to avoid any negative effects, as per local media.

Nevertheless, social media had fun toying with the idea that Janet Yellen “tripped” on magic mushrooms while in China.

Comments on Twitter joked that the delicacy could explain why the US Treasury Secretary made the unusual gesture of bowing to Vice Premier He Lifeng, her Chinese counterpart, several times while shaking his hand enthusiastically.

Others recalled the White House West Wing cocaine scandal.