Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1874-08-05
A Chinese Dinner,

I III f,sii ldiltlSCb recently the pro-
prietOrs of the Su Yuen Tong Theatre
the new Chinese place of amusement
opened on jackson street, celebrated
the event by banquet at Seu Ching
ChOy ian Low restaurant, on the cor
ner of Jackson street and Washington
alley. A limited number of invitations
had been sent out. The gentlemen who
accepted and at five o'clock sat down
| to partake of a Chinese dinner were
| Judge NJ. c. Blake, of the Municipal
Court; L. q. COckrill, Chief of Police:
John l.. Durkee, Fire Marshal; l..
Quint, C.. Ben Darwin, Judge Ii. l..
JOachimsen, w. ID. Sawyer. ID. j. MUIR
! phy. Henry j. Howe, G.. ROsenbaum, b.
| b. Newman, Lewis Locke and repre-
| sentative of the press.
DIR. Li-Po-Tai, All YOu, ex Inspector
of the Sam lup Company; HO Man, of
the firm of Kun WO; All Jarck, of the
| tir'3 of Pee Tuck; and All Yung, agent
! for DIR. Li-Po-Tai, the owners of the
I theatre, welcomed the guests as they
arrived, and according to Chinese Gus
tom, invited each one to partake of a
small cup of tea, in token of hospitality.
/ The table was set according to the Gus
toms of this country. and before each
plate was a tumbler containing fine
bouquet, and an abundance of cut
flowers were strewn on the table, be-
tween the plate and dishes.
As those present sat at the table they
were informed that they must eat of
what was on the table to begin with so
that they might have an appetite for
! for what was to follow. The appetizer
consisted of plums, cherries, bananas.
Tim Sam (sweet meats), Sang QuOr
| dried fruit, Tong QuOr (candied fruit
and Nut Chin Ton Quor (fruit pre-
served in syrup. These fruits having
been done justice to, the walters gave
each of the guests n small bowl of Yin
Wah (bird's nest sOup). This SOUP"
said the doctor, ''is very rich, and the
birds nests cost from forty to sixty
dollars pound in this city. In China
birds pick up moss on the sea, take it
to cliffs and build nests with it. Men
are let down from the top of the cliffs
by means of ropes, and they gather the
nests before the birds soil them" After
the soup came dish of Bah kOp
(pigeOn stew. This was a stew made
of pigeons chopped into small pieces
and stewed with green onions and peas
in the pod. With this dish the walters
placed on the table Sam Pin (cham-
pagne), Cherry Win (sherry) ,and Muey
Guy Lo, powerful liquor extracted
from rice and favored with altar of
roses. Next in order followed Chin HO
(fresh oysters fried in batter), and Too
Iuen Chez Sharks fins in bat.er). But
few of the guests partOOk of the latter
dish, which, DIR. Li-Po-Tai remarked,
was very delicate" You have somer'
said All lung, the Doctors agent, ad-
dressing the reporter. THANK yOu,"
replied he. II never eat fish," ''Oh, me
see," said All Yung, .'me 'spOse you
Catholic to-day, Friday; no can eat
fish. All right" The next dish served
up was Moo Goo. a stew composed of
bamboo sprouts, ham, Chinese water
nuts and mushrooms. About this time
Chief COckrill remarked that he could
enjoy the dinner much better If he had
a small piece of bread. The Doctor
heard this. and beckoning one of the
walters, said, Min Bow" and in a mo-
ment the Chief was furnished with a
slice of bread. During the remainder
of the time the guests were at the
table, the Chief was heard to say Min
Bow" fifteen times, and each time he
was handed a piece of bread. The next
dish offered was Cum Chin Gye, of
which all partOOk heartily. This was
made up of a slice of lean ham, a slice
of chicken breast, and a slice of ham
fat, cut in the shape and size of a dol
lar, put on brochette and fried. Foo
of pieces of duck fried in batter and
stewed with mushrooms, green onions
and peas in the pod. Then came a
course of San Suey. This was a stew
of what is known as Chinese soft-shell
terrapin. The shell cut in slices, was
served with the meat. another nice
dish" SO the Doctor said, was Sam Chez
Yee Chez, which consisted of stewed
shark fins, ham and chicken. Strange
to say no one present agreed with the
Doctor about the nicely of this dish,
and when it was laid before him the
fire Marshal was heard to say, 81 wish
the Hall bell would strike now, so |
could leave this untouched His wish
was, however, not gratified, and mus
tering all the courage at his command
he managed TO get down one mouth
| fnl, after which he remarked with the
utmost simplicity to the gentleman on
his left, Il have eaten quite enough. /
don't think | want anv more dinner"
| Tempting dishes of Lin Chez Chuen
| Ap (boned duck stewed), and some Sut
Yew (boiled cOOcOO), were then placed
on the table, but they were lett un-
touched, except by Dan Murphy, who
said that he had made up his mind to
taste of everything; and he was going
to do it. He carried out his intention.
Yee Chez, a stew made of pike, fungus,
eggs and ham, was then offered, and a
plate of Hoo See dried Chinese Oys-
ters) was laid before each guest. These
oysters, having a peculiarly rancid
taste, did not agree with those who ex-
pected tG partake of delicious bivalves.
The course of stews was ended. with
Lut Chee-kee, a very excellent dish of
boned chicken, served with chestnuts.
After this came PAX Sap Yee (plain
boiled fish, Fang Wau (rOast Chinese
goose), San Bah Kah (roast pigeOn),
and Sen Chez (rOast pig). Then the
guests were served with another course
of sweetmeats and nuts, and a cup OF
| Cha (tea) each. After which they
were offered Lucy Lung Yin (Havana
cigars), and Yin ebay Chinese cigar
ettes.)
At the expiration of three hours. the
guests arose from the table, and, by in
vitation of DIR. Li-Po-Tai, visited the
new theatre, to witness the perform
ance of Chinese play, entitled, "Fung
| Sheong" consolidating six Empires).
This play is founded on events which
transpired three thousand years ago,
according to tradition.