Comments on: I ate a lot in New York City.

By: (( Ms. K. ))

(( Ms. K. )) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:08:20 +0000

Happy Belated Birthday to your grandpa.
Yi Mein stir fried with vegetables looks good!

By: Candy

Candy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:35:19 +0000

Sanjana – theses banquets don’t happen very often but we are fortunate to be able to get together and do it.

By: Sanjana

Sanjana — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:12:31 +0000

ZOMG at all of these dishes! Looks like you had so much fun! I love to gather around a huge table and eat with my family too. Your gandfather looks so young for his age :) I wish him many more birthdays. Thanks for sharing all of these wonderful pictures!

By: Candy

Candy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:58:54 +0000

Chey – I have no idea how old his parents lived to be. I never even thought to ask. :) Prawn chips are these puffed chips that are flavored (with prawn), and when put into a deep fryer they puff up into crunchy chips. They are really good.
Honestly, I try everything once to be respectful since it’s on the banquet list, but I don’t necessarily like or eat all of it. I was REALLY picky for a long time (I only wanted pizza, hamburgers and spaghetti). So to me, it’s ok if you don’t like something as long as you gave it a shot. It took me a long time to learn how to eat. I can’t speak for all Asians, but I feel like Asians eat a lot of variety, and prefer the adventure of trying new dishes. They’re sort of raised that way. And in American dishes, everyone gets their own entree and you eat a lot of the same thing. Which is understandable too, I mean if you already know what you like, it’s garaunteed to be a safe bet. But I’ve never heard them go “Eeew, how can they eat that?!?” :P

By: Chey

Chey — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:50:17 +0000

Happy birthday to your grandfather. He certainly does NOT look 95! (How old did his parents live to be?)

Many of those dishes look too pretty to eat! What are prawn chips?

Others…well, let’s just say I’m afraid I would be a very disrespectful guest. Makes me wonder, are there any Chinese who are picky eaters? Do Chinese look at American dishes and think, “Eeew, how can they eat that?!?”

By: Irish Pirate

Irish Pirate — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:41:33 +0000

I definitely concur that this would be waaay too much food for me to consume in one sitting. I hope your grandfather had a wonderful birthday being surrounded by his family (95? That’s amazing!) and that you and Chris has a wonderful visit!

By: Curtis

Curtis — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:08:02 +0000

I echo best wishes to your family and many more b-days to your grandfather. Having said that I refer to your comment that eventually “the practice of eating shark fin soup will die out.” which may be true. Unfortunately the shark population may not survive that time frame. Your position in the food media industry could be used as an educational platform to help put an end to the wasteful barbaric methods used in harvesting the fins from the sharks. Please consider this before ot’s too late. Thanks

By: nora@ffr

nora@ffr — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:11:52 +0000

wow!! vat an interesting post!! ye grandpa looks cute! :) and m loving that pretty cake as well as all the foods :)

By: Candy

Candy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:43:53 +0000

Lisa and Richard – Thank you for your comments. I understand the controversy with shark finning and agree that it is a barbaric and unnesessary slaughtering of sharks.
Personally, if anyone ever asked me if I would recommend Shark Fin Soup, I would say no. I have never ordered it myself in the past, nor will I ever do so in the future.
Older generations tend to order delicacies associated with the traditional style banquets, which include Shark Fin Soup. Out of respect to my grandfather’s 95th birthday, and the older generations before me, I would lay off them this time. They don’t consider themselves barbaric, I don’t consider them barbaric, and everyone else can think what they wish. Younger generations don’t tend to order shark fin soup, and eventually this part of the tradition will phase out soon over time, due to our knowledge of shark finning and how it affects the world.
And lastly, this post was merely documenting that I attended a celebration in which these dishes were served. Let’s leave it at that.

By: Richard Lefler

Richard Lefler — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:03:04 +0000

We offer our best wishes to you and your grandfather on his birthday. We value diversity and tradition and yet we hope your next celebration will exclude shark fin soup. According to CNN and a wealth of other sources, the demand for shark fin soup is tragically altering oceanic ecosystems around the globe. Nearly 100 million sharks are savagely slaughtered annually, for soup. Please read more about the cost associated with shark fin soup at the link below.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/10/pip.shark.finning/index.html

By: Joan

Joan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:49:48 +0000

LOL :)

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:47:56 +0000

Please don’t eat shark fin soup! Not only is the finning of sharks barbaric, but their indiscriminate slaughter at an unsustainable rate is pushing many species to the brink of extinction. Since the 1970s the populations of several species have been decimated by over 95%. Here you can read more: http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/

By: Candy

Candy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:24:58 +0000

you lightweights :P

By: Hummingbird Appetite

Hummingbird Appetite — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:36:49 +0000

I second what Joan said.

By: Joan

Joan — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:12:45 +0000

OMG, my eyeballs are full!!

By: April in CT

April in CT — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:11:20 +0000

I’m full just reading that. WOW, that’s a lot of food! It looks yummy and most of it I’ve never had. Well, all but that chicken head looks yummy… LOL