INTRODUCTION
After an invitation to a January wedding in Hong Kong, I started planning for the trip and took the opportunity to visit Yunnan, Sichuan, and Macau afterward. Yunnan (“South of the Clouds”), gives a hint of the relative location and altitude of the place, is a province in southwestern part of China bordering Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Vietnam. Yunnan is home to many Chinese ethnic minorities, including Bai, Naxi, Yi, and Tibetan. Sichuan (“4 Rivers”) has four major rivers flowing through the province that irrigate the fertile farmlands, and gives the world its culinary delights.
It is the site of the warring “Three Kingdoms” about 220 –280 AD. The historical and classical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” contains many stories that are popular for Chinese of all ages. Macau was included for its proximity to HK, and could be visited in a day. The opinion expressed here is strictly that of the author.
The grueling trip of 20 hours straight flight from New York ended with the reward of a sumptuous dinner. The wedding was held the next day and reception right after at the fabulous and historical Hong Kong Jockey Club. The photo below shows the race track.
The HK Jockey Club was once the playground of the high and mighty British establishment for about a hundred years starting around the turn of the 19th century, at the decline of the Qing Dynasty. I could see in the shadow of history a placard forbidding the locals from entering the vicinity. Those were the darker years of China brought about by the ineptitude of the Qing government, and by the Empress Dowager Cixi, in particular. The Qing Dynasty at that time was so corrupted, weak, self-centered, and ran by the eunuchs with much infighting. After a humiliating defeat, the Qing government was forced to lease Hong Kong to England, Macau to Portugal, and territories in various cities, such as Shanghai, TienTsin, and so on, to other countries. Opium was brought in and sold openly in China in exchange for tea, porcelain, and other goods valued by the West. Today HK Jockey Club is still the playground of the rich and famous, but mostly if not all Chinese.
While waiting for the banquet, I roamed around and took the picture above. The expansive modern architecture is in the open air. I think the patrons relax here between races. The distant buildings are high-rise condos that are conveniently close to a train station that ferry the occupants to the city and Kowloon.
The photo above shows the entrance to the banquet hall framed by a horse-shoe floral arrangement.
Before entering the banquet hall, guests signed the guest-list. Today guests use ball-point pens or felt pens. Years ago, they were using black ground ink and brushes to write their names in flourishing calligraphy. Those were the "good old days".
The banquet hall was decorated superbly. In Chinese banquets, round tables are used. It is very practical because adding one or two guests are easily done.
The above photo shows the menu. There were many rare and expensive dishes that cannot be found in most US Chinese restaurants. If you want to taste something like it, you have to fly to the Orient, HK, or Chinese metropolis. It was a 12-course dinner with fabulous dishes. I was in food heaven. I savored each mouthful with gusto and delight. By the eighth course, I was full. The spirit was curiously more than willing, but the stomach could not take it anymore.
The above photo shows the menu. There were many rare and expensive dishes that cannot be found in most US Chinese restaurants. If you want to taste something like it, you have to fly to the Orient, HK, or Chinese metropolis. It was a 12-course dinner with fabulous dishes. I was in food heaven. I savored each mouthful with gusto and delight. By the eighth course, I was full. The spirit was curiously more than willing, but the stomach could not take it anymore.
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