Restaurant Dinners

A dinner at a restaurant can be ordered in the form of a table d'hote or a la carte

 The latter is only for dinners of a very informal nature among intimate friends, and must never be given in entertaining an honoured guest or in celebrating some important event.

A full course dinner usually consists of eight large and eight small dishes with

the addition of pastries, rice or noodles, and fruit. It is a long menu, and is, in truth, a great deal more than necessary. Ten years ago, however, such a menu would have been Con­sidered surprisingly short, as, at that time, a full table often consisted of about forty dishes or courses.

The dinner begins with four cold dishes which are placed on the table before the guests take their seats. Cold ham, an important item, is always placed before the guest of honour. Occasionally sliced duck takes the place of ham.

In recent years there has been a tendency to combine these four small dishes into one large dish called Ping P'en Following these, four hot fried dishes or Ch'ao Ts'aiwill be served one at a time. These always consist of something in season.

Then comes the main part of the dinner, the eight large dishes. According to Chinese custom the best should be served first. Sharks' fins, being considered the foremost delicacy, therefore take the lead. In North China bird's nest ranks equally as high. A couple of other dishes are next served. Then comes the second important dish which is usually a roast, such as barbecued duck or suckling pig. The rest follow in turn, a fish and a soup always making the last items. Chicken soup is a favourite in the South, while the Northerners prefer duck soup. The meal concludes with rice served in small bowls, dainty pastries and a large bowl of some sweet liquid like hot orangeade or almond tea.

Home Dinners

A higher standard of cooking is required in the preparation of a home dinner. Every detail of the culinary art can be more conveniently carried out in one's own kitchen. As it is more important to aim at quality rather than quantity it is usual to provide a dinner of only eight or ten dishes, which should include a choice soup. Some foreigners, perhaps mistakenly or joking­ly, call a home dinner "coolie chow", but, as a matter of fact, the most pleasing and tasty dishes are often met with at these meals.

Since the inauguration of the New Life Move­ment it has become a recognised practice to entertain at home, the food being prepared on the premises. If the host does not possess a cook sufficiently skillful for this purpose, he usually gets around the difficulty by enlisting the services of some capable cook known to him.

It often happens that the cook thus secured is in the employ of one of the host's many friends: he borrows the cook, and at the same time invites the employer to the dinner. At the end of the repast the host will remark on the excellence of the food served, while the friend, whose cook's services have been requisitioned, will say just the reverse. The other guests, if ignorant of the arrangement, are naturally astonished at the lack of modesty on the part of their host, and the seeming rudeness on that of the friend.

When the secret is disclosed, it is only right that the host should praise the ac­complishments of his friend's cook, while the friend should remain modest in regard to them.

A dinner at home has many advantages over one at a restaurant. The guests can be made more comfortable, and are permitted greater leisure in the enjoyment of the repast. Clean­liness is more likely to be observed in the pre­paration of the food, thus making it more whole­some. Lastly, it is generally more economical.

When a regular dinner is given at home, the host, from modesty, always calls it "plain dinner" Pien Fan

Plain Daily Meal

The daily meal is called Chia Ch'ang Pien Fani.e., ordinary plain home meal.

For a family of five or six persons a daily meal usually consists of three meat dishes and two vegetables. Soup may or may not be served. The main point of difference is that during the daily meal, all the dishes and the rice are served at the same time. Chinese are taught from childhood to regard rice as the main item of a meal and to partake only sparingly of meat and vegetables. Though there may be plenty of meat, children are always taught not to take too much of it.

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