The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-01-22
DINING OUT IN CHINA.
A Foreigners Entertainment at Chi
 neSeA Restaurant.


 nese@ Restaurant.
 During the quarter of an hour bsfor,
 dinner the guests (only male, of course,
 sit or stroll about, eating cakes-a ia vorite being sort of hot fruit puff (which each orders for himself)- and
 slipping tea, Melon seeds and salted all
 monds are also in demand for desul-
 tory nibbling.
 When cur number Is complete a tre-
 mendous encounter of good manners
 ensues. Though the question of prece- | dence is of course all cut and dried be- | forehand, each man must be polite enough to accept any but the lowest place until the hosts "friend, go up | higher" promotes him.
 The table, as mentioned, is ready laid with an imposing show; regulation number of regulation dishes, marshall led in regulation order; quaint porce- lain stands filled with slices of oranges, pears or cold goose: towers of purple quince jelly squares. grapes or shred ded chicken breast; saucers of shrimps, salted in their skins; and, never forgot ten, the famous eggs, preserved for years in lime, and served, sliced. in beds of brown jelly (much prized for their acrid and rather ammoniacal flavor but not usually appreciated by foreigners) Hot wine, of various brands and vintages, is served through out That most commonly drunk is a kind of sack or sherry negus-a yellow wine distilled from Indian corn. Being comparatively mild. it is served in CT ,.,1n ,,,bi ito H;,.t, e |. samshu-in thimblefuls. Rose" wine is one of the several varieties, favored with roses. (No wine is made from grapes, though they are plentiful in North China),
 When all are seated ready for the fray the host raises his cup:
 Let us drink"
 We reply, Thanks, thanks!' then set to-with chopsticks; picking now from one dish, now from another, in piquant contrast of sweet, sour and salt.
 The first fury of the opening attack being spent the shattered bands of hors d'oeuvres are withdrawn, and the guests saunter into the other rooms for whiff of tobacco or-whisper it not in Gath--a pipe of opium, en at- tendant the real repast.
 Certain traditional dishes form the backbone of the feast. For instance. that most delicious of bouills, sharks fin soup, always opens the ball. It is served in a large bowl, smoking hot. and consists of a glutinous entangle- ment of soft fins steWed in their own liquor. The flavor is slightly salt, but exquisite. Another traditional dish ap- pears toward the close of the feast, in the shape of a fat duck reposing in it's broth, Though boiled so thoroughlv | that touch from a chopstick dissolves it without aid of knife, the bird appears | un the table with smooth White breast 1 and limbs intact, and it's nobly tooth- some appearance is usually greeted | with buzz of antioipatory applause.
 The remaining items of the menu are only curious, from the mode of their selection, for each guest chooses his own dish, taking care that it shall har- monize with those already selected. One names a salnni of wild duck. his leighbor a dish of stewed mushrooms md so nn.
 Wine, as remarked, is drunk through ut, and always hot (theChinese eschew Ill cold drinks). The cups being small, heir number has little effect; they cheer. but do not, as a rule, inebriate. ]