I've tried, on many occasions, to convey to friends the daunting scope of our meals in China. I halfway suspect that they're the result of a cultural misunderstanding. I seem to remember reading at some point... probably somewhere on the vast Interweb... that you're given a ridiculous amount of food, and you aren't really expected to finish it. But the food is delicious, we're members of the clean plate club by nature, and it somehow seems ungrateful to refuse given the level of their insistence. To be clear, the feast below was really for about six people, but it's impressive nonetheless, and our Chinese compatriots clearly weren't pulling their weight, so to speak. It should probably be noted that this was an average to large business lunch for us. We've had much, much bigger.
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| Abalone Stewed in a Kidney Bean Sauce | Stir-Fried Garlic Squid with Broccoli |
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| BBQ Pork | Roast Duck |
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| Salt Crust Chicken | Clams, Shrimp and Chives with Lettuce Cups |
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| Fried Shrimp with Tea Leaves | Steamed Flounder |
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| Fried Rice | Mystery Greens with Garlic |
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| Not One... | ...But TWO Platters of Baked Pork Buns |
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| Fried Buns with Mystery Meat Filling | ...and Mercifully, Fresh Fruit for Dessert |
I was okay up until the buns started hitting the table and our hosts didn't eat more than one apiece. It hurts just to think about it, really.
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