Can I Eat This Painting? The Mouth-Watering Art of Steven Tang

John Summers • Contributor

Jun 14, 2025 7:00 PM EDT

While you're busy snapping photos of your avocado toast for Instagram, Steven Tang is over in Hong Kong hand-painting entire dim sum feasts from scratch - down to the sesame seeds. And no, I don't mean drawing little cartoons of food. I mean realistic. I mean, so deliciously accurate your stomach will file a formal complaint if you scroll through this list without a snack nearby.

Tang is a self-taught artist who uses colored pencils and gouache to recreate the foods of his childhood - everything from bowls of ramen to freshly steamed buns. The result? Art that makes you question if it's a photo or just magic with pigment. Seriously, as I was making this listicle I got extremely hungry and I already have another tab open where I am tracking my delivery of noodles.

So get ready for a visual buffet of 26 insanely edible-looking paintings by Steven Tang. Warning: viewing on an empty stomach is not recommended.

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