The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-05-24
CHINAMEN AT THEIR MEALS.
The Kinds of Food that They Eat In San
Francisco---Luxury and Poverty.

The Kinds of Food that They Eat In San
Francisco---Luxury and Poverty.
A San Francisco correspondent of the
Cleveland Plaindedler writes: 1t is
mistaken idea that Celestials eat nothing
but roast rats and rice and few other
articles of plain and cheap vegetable
food. This is about the extent of the
bill of fare among the laboring classes,
just as corned beef or cabbage is among
our unwashed element. OF course they
eat roast hog-all Cinnamon, rich or
poor, do. 1t is part of their religion,
To the Chinese is accredited the dis
meat. When a Chinaman dies, among
other things placed on his grave is
sumptuous dinner-or whatever he may
call it. The chief feature of these edi-
bles is a whole hog roasted. The better
class of Celestials luxuriate in swell din
ners of canvas-back ducks, shell fish, tea
costing 81 or IS per pound, conserves,
and many other unimaginable toothsome
edibles only known to the Chinese epi-
curean. The irst-class restaurants are
beautifully adorned with red paint, red
paper, and other gingerbread work, and
at evening dozens of Chinese lanterns
swing from the verandas and entrances.
Most of the food used by them is
brought from China, especially rice and
tea. The tea used among the laboring
class is even better than the article
palmed off on us. They are experts at
preserving fish and fowl so that they will
keep almost any length of time. But it
does not make much difference to John
if it should become little stale-it
would give an additional flavor. The
aristocracy eat, or rather gormandize,
for two or three hours, and their dinners
are about as costly as ourfeasts of reason
and flow of champagne. When distin-
gulshed guests are entertained, the
feast is enlivened with music-that is,
they eat OF a course or two and take
recess of twenty or thirty minutes, walk
into the paIlor, and listen to the most
enchanting strains possible to conceive,
will return to the dining-room and again
tackle the edibles.
The poor class Cinnamon do not live
i'll state. For instance, you go to Chi
nese laundry about nine o'clock in The
morning, and there you will see the fes-
tive board, without spread, in the mid
dle of the room. Work has ceased and
every heathen has squared up to take
hand. In the center of the table is
large tray full of rice. Every man has
tin plate and two chopsticks. They are
of walnut wood, of about the size and
complexion of glove stretchers, little
f1attened at the end, SO that they can
scoop up rice. Each Chinaman backs
his plate to the tray and piles as much
rice on the plate as he can heap mp.
They are all chattering away at the same
time. In short space Of time the rice
has disappeared. Ordinarily it would
seem difficult feat to get the rice to his
mouth by means OF his two chopsticks.
With him it is no trick at all. He lifts
his plate up close to his mouth and then
gives the stick kind of twitch, like
ciamming wadding down gun. Each
Chinaman has q small teacup holding
about two swallows. When the sinner
at the head of the table has turned him
out cup John swallows it at one gulp,
without wincing, and the tea is smoking
hot. They pour it out as they drink it,
In larger cups the tea would get cold.
Chinese barber shops are even more
numerous than among the Caucasians.
Every Chinaman has his head shaved at
least once week. In addition to this
his neck is shaved, the dust is cleaned
out of his almond shaped eyes, the eye
brows trimmed and penciled, his nostrils
are renovated and fumigated, and the
wax is probed out of his ears.
Their queues are combed and braided
This tonsorial and cleaning operation is
regarded as a sacred duty, otherwise
John would not incur the expense. The
instrument used to shave the head is a
half-moonlike concern, OF rather like
scythe on small scale. Barber shops
are invariably located in cellar, and the
customer can be seen below, sitting in
doorway, on stool, while the artist is
going round his scalp like a cooper
around barrel.
AT the entrance of a Chinese shaving
shop, on the pavement above, is a four
legged frame about foot and a half
high. The legs are painted green, and
the knobs on the top of the legs are
painted red. This is to the Chinaman
what the striped barber pole arrange
ment is to us.