Social, Cultural and Historical Significance Experienced Through My Relationship with Chinese Food

On March 3rd, 2006 I went on a trip of a lifetime to China with my family and friends for nine
days. It was a great experience to see and learn about Chinese culture, including the significance
and history of the food we ate.
While trying almost all of the food we were served, I liked some of it and didn’t like some
of it. Compared to food from home, the food there was way more healthy. Like the Obento’s
described in Allison’s work, “The Obento as State Ideological Apparatus,” the servings were
small and sometimes visually attractive. The roasted Beijing duck dinner was very aesthetically
pleasing, but the trout with the head still on with its teeth sticking out and the chicken feet soup
were not! There was a lot of vegetables included. Also similar to Allison’s report on the
Obento’s, most all of the Chinese food was fresh because of daily shopping.
Our tour guide educated us before the meals and the server’s showed us the correct way
to eat the entree’s. I became good at eating with chop sticks. My Great Aunt admits she didn’t
try hard enough and ate her meals with plastic forks she brought along. Happily, I didn’t notice
this offending anyone. The Chinese restaurants were large, with multiple floors and large private
dinning rooms. We were able to get acquainted with the others on the tour when we sat at the
tables for our meals. In the middle of the table is a lazy Susan and a variety of dishes are
constantly being placed on it.
There was no tipping in restaurants. The waiters and waitresses at these restaurants are
paid a small salary and are supplied room, board, and their very beautiful traditional Chinese
clothing. One drink is included in each meal. It is either a cola, sprite-type, or beer (and, of
course, tea). They also served what they called a Sake wine in a cordial glass. Western-style
breakfasts were served at the hotels at around 6. Green salad included. I ate green salad and
omelets and sausage’s with chopsticks some of the mornings.
Some of the meals continued to be similar and it was pretty repetitive by the end of the
tour. Rice was a mainstay. Some of the unique meals we had were when experienced a
home-cooked meal for lunch at a private home of a local family and it was really good. Another
unique experience was one evening we had dinner at a restaurant with a Dinner Show of the
traditional Chinese Music.
We drove 2 1/2 hours to Hangzhou and there were rice paddies at the side of the road and
alongside some of the newly constructed houses were vegetable gardens. Urban gardens! On day seven we had our usual western-style breakfast then went on to a boat cruise of West Lake where Chinese leaders over the centuries, as well as Chairman Mao, relaxed. From there we drove up into the mountains to a tea plantation and demonstration on making delicious tea. Like in the “Vertical Farm Project,” the tea farms were sustainable.
There were three levels of goods of tea at the plantation. The guides explained historic
and present class division can be seen at the tea plantation by a families ability to pay for which
level of goods of tea to serve and drink at home. Chairman Mao’s picture was on the wall at the
tea plantation. Dinner that night included Mao’s favorite, fat pork. The meat was tasty but
attached to a bigger piece of fat. Obviously, I didn’t eat the attached fat, but if I remember
correctly, Chairman Mao did! The fat pork was a delicacy and the citizens of the working class
and lower, historically couldn’t afford to eat it.
Watermelon was served as dessert at a lot of the meals! It was very healthy. Eating in
China was a pleasure, creating a opportunity for social connection with others at the table and in
the restaurant. One evening our group encountered a Japanese tour group at dinner in a
restaurant. We conversed and had a good laugh when Ichiro was brought up! I learned some
Chinese food’s social and cultural significance because of how the beer and tea was made and
distributed and class division because of food. I lost weight and had a lot more energy on the trip
than at home because of the small quantities and healthy food. Now, taking this class, I remember about the relationship I had with what I had to eat on my trip. I felt a social connection to Chinese citizens when I woke and spent my day and ate my Chinese meals with chopsticks in China. It was a trip of a lifetime!

Third Generation Cook

My first job was as a dishwasher at Cascade Pizza on Lakeway Dr. in Bellingham. I moved up to cook and I really enjoyed cooking Italian food. Our most experienced server Sharon, came in the back to clock out when I just clocked in. I was washing my hands and she said, "Jake, your washing your hands like a doctor, all the way up to your elbows." She told the owners and they gave me a raise.
I was a third generation cook. My grandpa Lloyd cooked at Bellingham Golf and Country Club and later at St Josephs Hospital. His son, my uncle Phil cooked and traveled from Bellingham to a zoo in Australia and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Hawaii.
At annual family reunions the family gathered around and waited to eat Grandpa Lloyds BBQ beef ribs as he slowly cooked them. The meat would fall off the bone when they were ready to eat. The BBQ sauce was sweet and tangy. My cousin and I found out we had a lot in common after we found the first thing we had in common was the love of those ribs.
The family reunions were a picnic potluck in the Summer followed by a golf tournament. My memories include picnic tables lined up covered with food to fill your plates up with! Salads, bread, dessert and of course the ribs. Family members were local and others came from California. My Great Uncle had t-shirts made saying "our family reunion and golf tournament."
We don't have the family reunions anymore but sometimes we're able to gather socially and if my cousin and I are lucky, grandpa Lloyd makes ribs!