The whole dinner was eaten
with chop-sticks, though spoons were allowed for the soup. After
dinner there were some good speeches, the chief host expressing his
deep regret that their manners and customs did not permit them to ask
ladies, as they were particularly anxious to invite me, and had only
abandoned the idea of doing so after considerable discussion. I append
the bill of fare:--
_March_ 6, 1877.
BILL OF FARE.
4 _courses of small bowls, one to each guest, viz_.--
Bird's-nest Soup
Pigeon's Eggs
Ice Fungus (said to grow in ice)
Shark's Fins (chopped)
8 _large bowls, viz_.--
Stewed Shark's Fins
Fine Shell Fish
Mandarin Bird's Nest
Canton Fish Maw
Fish Brain
Meat Balls with Rock Fungus
Pigeons stewed with Wai Shan (a strengthening herb)
Stewed Mushroom
4 _dishes, viz_.--
Sliced Ham
Roast Mutton
Fowls
Roast Sucking Pig
1 _large dish, viz_.--
Boiled Rock Fish
8 _small bowls, viz_.--
Stewed Pig's Palate
Minced Quails
Stewed Fungus (another description)
Sinews of the Whale Fish
Rolled Roast Fowl
Sliced Teals
Stewed Duck's Paw
Peas stewed
We went all round the town, and then to see the ruins of the
cathedral, and the traces of the destruction caused by the typhoon in
1874.
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