Things you see at a Chinese Wedding Banquet
The final chapter of my travels in June ended in Maryland at my parents house and at a cousin's wedding at the Hilton in Arlington, Virginia.
Being the oldest of eighteen immediate cousins, it takes a lot for us to get together; cousins, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings and all.
That's about 50 people on my mother's side alone.
And of all the cousins there, I am the only one not pulling in a six figure salary.
I am the only one who isn't a software engineer, or a chemical engineer, or a financial engineer (if there is such a title, oh hell! why not!), or working in the medical field somehow.
I am the only one whose lifestyle is an enigma to everyone else. I am also the only one who has the freedom to take three weeks off in June.
And yet my aunts can't help but ask, "Ann, when are you going to turn that television family into a real one?" Ugh.
However, if there is anything that garners the center of attention at a Chinese wedding, besides the beautiful bride and groom, it is the food.
Besides the fact that both are poetic social commentaries on sex, gender and family dynamics within the Asian and Asian-American cultures; both films are also epic visual feasts for an appetite of Asian cuisine.
I remember as a child at my uncle's wedding, one of the appetizers was a whole roasted bird on a skewer.
As in, we each got our own whole bird to eat...on a skewer. A bird. Not Chicken. Apologies to all my vegan friends.
Then there was the, now banned, traditonal shark fin soup.
And duck, lots of peking duck and plum sauce. Yummy!
It's one thing to see it on film, but it's a whole other thing to see it, smell it and eat it, in person.
Ah yes, the things you see at a Chinese Wedding Banquet, engineers and food!
Eat, Drink...eat, drink...eat. Next stop, home sweet Los Angeles.
(photos courtesy of the Hilton hotel, a six headed shrimp and that poor delicious chicken)
Yours Truly -- Ann Hu
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