dear doris. what's on the secret menu at tang palace? i have so many more questions i could ask! there was a kid named bruce in my primary school and his parents owned our local chinese restaurant and once we got to go on a class excursion there for lunch and it was the best. love nat, nsw, australia.
what are the customs of dining at a chinese restaurant? love joe, melbourne.
dear nat & joe & every kid who grew up going to the local chinese restaurant,
before we tap into the secret menu and begin to order — let’s tune into higher consciousness to channel the customs of chinese or more specifically cantonese dining. i encourage reading previous issue 25 the one on yin yang and issue 32 the one on feng shui and also issue 38 the one on year of the dragon for a more expansive lens on concepts originating from chinese roots.
this weeks issue is free for all subscribers to read or listen and comment. click on the play icon above to sample the article voiceover.
part I.
it is custom(er)ary to drink tea during chinese banquets and customary to always have one serve the tea. whomever is near the teapot assumes the position of tea pourer-person. let’s call this person pourer. the pourer must stand to reach the other side of the table and as he/she/they do, you may receive the tea by placing your cup closer to the pouring spout. this is all done without words or gestures.
once the tea is poured or whilst pouring, you may gently tap the table with two fingers to express gratitude. you can remain seated, eating and talking all at once while this is happening without so much words of thanks.
this is an ancient custom of the chinese, so that conversation and food can continue to flow and fourish and everyone may take action in the act of eating and consuming delicious food, while washing it down with a hot beverage that also cleanses the palate. the key is to sip between chews or sip within courses or kinds of food, so that the taste can effectively begin again without interference from the previous dish or delicacy.
the other thing to attempt when dining in cuisine a la chinese is to participate in paying the bill. this is a rite of passage, a pretend power play that has been carried out over the table for centuries, for drama, for jest and also for show and displays of generosity. the bill is never split — one party must pay, usually the invitee pays first and then it is reciprocated as there is a tea debt placed upon the invited.
hence, you must jostle and juggle for the bill, you must hide it, you must put on a display or effort to make sure you pay the bill. even if you have no intention to do so, the act or play is apart of this custom — this unwritten rule of chinese dining.
if that’s not your style, you can attempt the sneak attack method, where you literally sneak off towards the end of the meal. while everyone is eating sliced oranges or just before, you motion a waiter or waitperson to allow you to pay first or you promptly sneak off to the toilet only to arrive at the counter to settle the bill. generally this ninja approach is for the more advanced, less outwardly show of generosity type of individual.
so that when the meal ends, you don’t have to put up a fight as the meal was already won by you and your sneaky ways. the patrons of the table will be in uproar and then applaud your efforts to be so calculating. as it means you’ve been watching the placement of the bill the entire meal and made sure it was within your cheeky reach. if you wish to impress or be tested within the realms of chinese dining, then this is the one to try and win the hearts of your fellow guests.
however it does mean, the next time you play/dine, you must acquiesce and allow yourself to receive the gift in return and so on. this game, this food, this custom carries on and the friendship plays out much like a lazy susan it spins upon, in a circular motion and a cycle that carries on with no end in sight — just a continuous toing and froing and movement of inertia and force much like the scheme of life.
the yin-yang, the push-pull of dining is ever present within the confines of chinese restaurants.
may the lazy susan spin.
part II.
before you even get a chance to order from the secret menu, you must enter the restaurant through the secret door. where possible, waltz through the backdoor staff entry into the kitchen and greet the chef — the sifu. if you have BYO fresh seafood with you, this is the time to hand it over with pleasantries. then you can proceed backwards into the dining room and tell the lou pan leong (the owner) convincingly you want to order what the sifu recommends on the unwritten menu and you do not need to see the gweilo menu.
—
the secret (tang palace) menu
salt and pepper chilli crabsticks
five spice char siu
cripsy roast pork belly
peking duck pancakes w/ hoisin sauce
steamed fish w/ soy sauce, spring onions & ginger
minced pork w/ green beans
steamed chicken with ginger scallion sauce
lobster with garlic & cheese sauce on noodles
scrambled egg white w/ crabmeat & dried scallops
stir fried kai lan
stir fried garlic baby bok choy
chicken & creamed corn rice
bottomless steamed rice
sliced oranges / fruit
jasmine/chrysanthemum/pu erh tea
fish n’ chips (no joke. ‘had a mate who swore by my old man’s recipe)
love d(oris) xx
ps. what chinese dish is nostalgic to you — on or off the menu? no judgement. comments open below :)
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