Day 8 continue
Dinner was at the hotel restaurant that night. I can hardly remember what each dish was any more, so I guess it the best I can. :) One thing I do remember is that they were all delicious!
1. Ma Lan Tou, some kind of weed considered by the westerners.
2. Stomach and tongue of either pig or cattle.
3. Snow pea and golden needle mushroom.
4. Pork with garlic sauce.
5. Duck tongue.
6. Smoked fish.
7. Mystery soup. I can't remember what this was anymore. :)
8. Fish fillet.
9. Stir fry river shrimp.
10. Eel.
11. Geoduck soup. I had geoduck in sushi and sashimi before. This was the first time I had it in a soup, and it was really good.
12. Guo Ba with beef.
13. Assorted vegetables.
14. Lu Hao with dried tofu.
15. Baby back ribs.
16. Duck blood, sheep stomach, and eel.
17. Whole fish.
18. Another mystery soup. :)
The dinner cost 670 RMB ($90). My cousin Ping planed to pay for it since my cousin Bo bought the dinner the night before. (BTW, none of my friends or cousins let me pay for any meal in China. They insisted on paying for it using one reason or another. This is their way of showing how much they were happy to see me.). But I couldn't let her do it. Out of all my cousins, Ping is probably the one with the least amount of money. She never went to college due to many reasons. With only a high school diploma, she had been working in a state-run factory for twenty-some years until it closed down several years ago, forcing her into early retirement at the age of 45. She had been doing temporary jobs ever since. I don't know how much money she makes in a month, but the dinner could cost a quarter to a third of her salary. No matter how much she wanted to buy me a dinner, I didn't have the heart to let her do it. So before the dinner, I gave my dad (her uncle, whom she respected very much) some money, asked him to settle the bill during the meal when everyone was eating. Otherwise, I would be fighting a losing battle against her, her hu*****and and son to grab the check at the end of the meal. I hope she could understand.
(To be continued)
Dinner was at the hotel restaurant that night. I can hardly remember what each dish was any more, so I guess it the best I can. :) One thing I do remember is that they were all delicious!
1. Ma Lan Tou, some kind of weed considered by the westerners.
2. Stomach and tongue of either pig or cattle.
3. Snow pea and golden needle mushroom.
4. Pork with garlic sauce.
5. Duck tongue.
6. Smoked fish.
7. Mystery soup. I can't remember what this was anymore. :)
8. Fish fillet.
9. Stir fry river shrimp.
10. Eel.
11. Geoduck soup. I had geoduck in sushi and sashimi before. This was the first time I had it in a soup, and it was really good.
12. Guo Ba with beef.
13. Assorted vegetables.
14. Lu Hao with dried tofu.
15. Baby back ribs.
16. Duck blood, sheep stomach, and eel.
17. Whole fish.
18. Another mystery soup. :)
The dinner cost 670 RMB ($90). My cousin Ping planed to pay for it since my cousin Bo bought the dinner the night before. (BTW, none of my friends or cousins let me pay for any meal in China. They insisted on paying for it using one reason or another. This is their way of showing how much they were happy to see me.). But I couldn't let her do it. Out of all my cousins, Ping is probably the one with the least amount of money. She never went to college due to many reasons. With only a high school diploma, she had been working in a state-run factory for twenty-some years until it closed down several years ago, forcing her into early retirement at the age of 45. She had been doing temporary jobs ever since. I don't know how much money she makes in a month, but the dinner could cost a quarter to a third of her salary. No matter how much she wanted to buy me a dinner, I didn't have the heart to let her do it. So before the dinner, I gave my dad (her uncle, whom she respected very much) some money, asked him to settle the bill during the meal when everyone was eating. Otherwise, I would be fighting a losing battle against her, her hu*****and and son to grab the check at the end of the meal. I hope she could understand.
(To be continued)
