QingDao: The Wedding Banquet

Man was the traffic bad on May Day in QingDao! Arriving in the "New City" area, amongst the huge hotels, it seemed as if everyone was attempting to get married on the same day. There were at least three weddings going on simultaneously in the hotel where our banquet took place. In actuality Third Aunt's Daughter had gotten married earlier in the year, but the families planned a banquet to celebrate the marriage, and bring both Third Aunt and Third Uncle's families together. The Missus explained this to me when I noted how calm and laid back Her cousin and her husband were.

There was a big "to-do" happening in the parking lot when we arrived….. it must have been big… because, there was Mickey, and Minnie, and other strange creatures dancing to "It's a Small World", with confetti flying in the air….. welcome to my nightmare……

M & M met a couple as their limo drove up to the front of the hotel…….

Needless to say, it was quite surreal…….

And then the Drum Team starting pounding away! A day before, we saw a group of middle-aged women, most looking like they were in their mid-fifties dressed up in bright red uniforms. We both had no idea what this was…. I jokingly asked Her if it was a "sewing circle". Turns out it was one of these drum teams. A Senior Citizen Drum Team, Mickey and Minnie and "friends" dancing the parking lot to "It's a Small World". Now I've seen it all…….

I turned and walked into the relative peace and serenity of the banquet area. This was a very nice and tasteful set-up.

I enjoyed that every setting had a different dessert….

It made for some interesting bartering and collecting of desserts.

This bottle said "white wine", but it was fire-water.

All bases were covered, even if no one in the family smoked……

I mentioned at the end of the post on the last banquet, that the Missus and Long Hui went shopping. The scheming dual decided to buy each Aunt a jacket, and before the festivities started, each was presented with them. It was a fun moment as each Aunt tried on their jackets. I thought the choice of the jacket for the Missus's Fourth Aunt fit, and looked great. Fourth Aunt was the one who coordinated the making of my suit so when I first arrived, I made sure to show her how well it fit, along with the dress shirt she picked for me. She looked, and in English said: "beautiful….." which made both of us start laughing. So now it was my turn, swooping up behind her as she tried on here jacket, I couldn't resist telling her, "beautiful!" 

Of course everyone wants to see the food, right? By this time, my penchant for taking photos of food was pretty well known. Even the bride and groom pointed out the dishes I missed! You have to love this family……

The salt cured duck was quite good.

This version of cold stewed chicken was like Dezhou Pa Ji, and it was also moist and tasty.

This sea cucumber in broth was very tender.

Yes, it's whole abalone, sweet and tender…. and those strands? That's shark fin……

The Missus loves ginko nuts, so this was one of her favorite dishes.

This is a pretty well known Jiaodong Ban Dau dish – Four Joy Lion's Head.

Crabmeat with broccoli…..

 
And as crescendo, not one……

but two whole fish…….

And yes, there was rice, fried rice, and mantou. But it was strangely served with condensed milk, like it was a dessert of sorts.

Third Aunt's daughter, and her new husband are just the nicest couple. Both calm and very laidback, they really seem to know what the concept of family was all about. When the Missus left China this cousin was only nine years old, so She was proud and happy to see that's she has become such a grounded and accomplished individual. Most of all, they are good people. The Missus told me a story about how hard-working Third Aunt's daughter is. When she was younger, she was an accomplished ping-pong player, good enough to compete internationally. She would practice so hard and long that she couldn't make it up the stairs at night. That says a lot about character. And her husband is a great guy as well. Even at a banquet thrown for them, he is right there, helping out, he just seems to effortlessly fit right in with the family.