New Year Banquet - 1st February 2008

Here is the food served at the local government's banquet to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year.

First we sit down to a nice empty place setting. 

There are a few nibbles to the side. Sorry for the blurring. Some spicy soy beans, cashew nuts and some sort of cake thing. Didn't try it, so I don't know.

Eventually two slices of dry 'toast' turn up.  Everyone looks at it in wonder for five minutes, daring each other to be first to try it.

As we are contemplating the toast a rather tasty bowl of chicken soup arrives. The 'toast' has been spread with dried herbs and tastes just weird. Unpleasantly weird. But the soup is good.

Then we are presented with this. On the left is some kind of doufu with pinenuts. There was also one pink prawn which seems to have gone AWOL. On the right fried fish. The fish was tasty. Could have done with a bit more of it, though.

Now we find out what the forks and knifes are all about. This, believe it or not is a steak served "Western Style". West of where, I don't know. They always do this in Chinese "Western Food" restaurants. Someone told them that all steaks come like this. Smothered in a black pepper sauce. This one also came with raw onion hidden under the steak, and a salad consisting of one slice of cucumber and two of tomato. Undressed of course. The steak itself, was tiny, but well cooked.

To accompany the steak, we are served a side bowl of Hunan style rice. This is rice boiled with cured pork and sausage pieces.  

Next a couple of pieces of breaded chicken and a few stewed eels. The eels were lovely. Not the best presented dish of the evening. What you see is what came.

Now, we are given this trio. One rather chewy rib, a spring roll containing the sweetest bean paste ever and one large deep fried crispy prawn. The bean paste was so sweet that just looking at it made my hands shake, so sorry for the blurring.

Then another bowl of soup arrives. Just some greens in a vegetable stock. One tiny button mushroom floats sadly on top.

The lonely mushroom's friends arrive. This is identical to the soup above but without the water. Nice fried mushrooms, though.

Sweet stuff. on the left something made from sticky rice and nuts. On the right, some jelly stuff.

And finally, fruit.