River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-07-09
\ Chinese Dinner.


gives the following account Of dinner
in San Francisco:
"A few years ago | was asked to a
swell banquet in Chinatown, San Fran
cisco, by Mr.. j w Mackey. the bonan
IA king. One Of the guests was w. J.
Florence, the distinguished comedian.
We had both expressed an ardent de
sire to partake of an high-class. genuine
Chinese dinner, and our host, sharing
this curiosity, arranged with a govern
mcnt official, mandarin, who had run
a restaurant in Hong Kong, to superin-
tend a dinner We sat down. six in all.
one of the guests being the Chinaman
who had edited the feast. Before com
mencing he made tour of the table
and gave each guest a small cup Of hot
wine, accompanied by an emphatic and
friendly chin-chin. In front of each
guest were three plates. about the size
of a little girls toy tea-set-three
inches in diameter On these plates
we eat all our dinner except the soups.
which were served in giniature bowls.
Each one had his chopsticks apd a two
prongcd silver fork. At each place
was a pile of melon and apricot seeds,
and this pile was replenishcd constant
IL during the four hours we were at the
table. During the courses everybody
had a turn at cracking The melon seeds
They We're not very good, but it was a
mild sort of entertainment 10 nibble at
them, and they came in hot from the
oven. and. on the whole did not taste
badly. On the table when we sat
down were several dishes of preserved
fruit of different kinds. placed one on
top of the other to form a kind of pyra-
mid. and in a row along the centre Of
the table were other dishes larger in
size and holding the most substantial
Viands On one were slices of lobster
and sailed walnuts. very good. both OF
them; on another were goose gizzards
cut in thin slices; on another shrimp
salad; and on another thin slices of
chicken. These were all meant to
give an appetite for the dinner which
followed | sat next TO the mandarin.
and he helped me from all the different
dishes within his reach. When we had
tried all these things the first course
was brought on, which turned out to
be birds nest soup. and very good |
thought ii. After that we had stewed
chicken. with young onion sprouts.
The third course was cold mutton.
served with raw turnips, cut in long
thin strips.
Fourth: Pigeon eggs floating in
Fifth Cucumbers stuffed with
minced fish
''Sixth: Roast chicken served in
shreds. with mushrooms.
"Scyenth: Sharks fins.
Eighth: Mutton dumplings (Af-
ter that there was recess of fifteen
minutes. and we smoked cigarettes. and
the Chinaman played a solo on one Of
his native Instruments Then we
started in again.
''Ninth: Pork soup.
Tenth: Stewed mussels.
Eleventh: a PURGE Of champignons
and spinach.
Twelfth: Ham in thin slices.
thirteenth: Stewed pigeons and
bean sauce.
"Fourteenth: Fish.
Fifteenth; A preparation of some
sort of flowers.
sixteenth: Sea slugs.
Seventeenth: Mushrooms and bam-
boo sprouts worked up together.
eighteenth: Cakes and bitter al
mond sauce.
Nineteenth: An entire roast suck
ing pig was brought on and then taken
away and carved for us. | thought
the dinner at an end when we had the
cakes. and was astonished 10 see the
Young porker make its appearance.
They served first the 'crackle' or skin,
and We each began to eat anew; then
the lean meat was served, and finally
a small fragment of fat was handed
around.
twentieth; Rice. with chicken
soup, salted cabbage, salt bean curd.
This was not bad. Then came roast
chestnutS, and one or two other items
| cannot remember.
After that Imperial green tea. and
the feast was over.
1T is an ignohle confession. but |
may as well tell the truth. l did not
sleep wink that night. and | suffered
from what CARLYLE called the cursed
bag dyspepsia for a week after this
celestial feed Mr. Mackey told me he
did not care to repeat the banquet too
often, although he felt no i'll effects
from the symposium; and Florence.
who has a gentlemanly and most ac-
commodating stomach. intimated that
his rest was disturbed by grotesgue
dreams. in which materializations Of
some Of the objects he had consumed
played fantastic part, especially the
sharks and pigs. Upon the whole a
Chinese dinner is 100 much for me.
and l shall continue to stick to plain
English fare