My First Red Egg and Ginger Party

Posted on: 23 April 2008 /
Categories: Other

I finally got to go to a *real* Chinese party. Finally, finally, finally! Here’s my one photo:

red eggs and ginger at a party

In case you’re wondering, the Red Egg and Ginger Party celebrates a baby’s first month of being alive. The event, as shown above in a photo taken from my cell, begins with the serving of red eggs and ginger. There was a lot of food. The waiters never smiled or in any way implied that they were okay with being there, which I understand is also traditional. There was no dancing and no costumes and, contrary to what About.com might suggest, no magician. Just food. Here’s what I recall (in order of appearance except where I screwed up in remembering):

  1. Red eggs and ginger.
  2. (Cold) fried pork and jelly fish.
  3. Fried and deep-fried shrimp with vegetables.
  4. Hockey puck-sized scallops.
  5. Duck and rolls (arguably my favorite part — this or Shrimp I, but maybe this) (also my favorite activity during air raids).
  6. Hot and sour crab soup.
  7. Lobster.
  8. Partially breaded fish with skin and head.
  9. Mushroom and sea cucumber — or something. I couldn’t tell if they were joking or not.
  10. Shrimp fried rice.
  11. Sugar and red bean soup (I’m sure there’s a real name for it, but I think this is descriptive enough).
  12. Mango mousse cake.

Big thanks to Fancy J for indulging me with the invite (and congrats on the baby, he looks like a winner — no joke). The party was at a well-regarded (Chinese) restaurant in Monterey Park, the home of well-regarded Chinese restaurants in the greater Los Angeles area. Again, no joke. One of our discussions over dinner was my preference for Americanized Chinese food over Sinoficated Chinese food. I suck that way, but at least I can admit it. I wouldn’t mind a $4.95 beef-and-broccoli lunch special at a Korean-owned, strip-mall-located restaurant *right now*, come to think of it.

So now that I’ve finally gotten into one of these exclusive Chinese dinner parties, I can stop cozying up to random East Asians just to try and get invites. That’s a weight off, I’ll tell you what.

bkd

2 comments

  • pb

    Thanks for the info. We are going to our first Red Egg and Ginger Party tomorrow and I didn’t know what it was until I goggled it. Seafood and mango mousse are my favorites.

  • bkdunn

    Seafood and mango mousse are my favorites.

    You’re in luck then!

    For the sake of being actually helpful, I probably should have mentioned the answers to my two big questions prior to going:

    Gifts: The most appropriate gift is cash in a red envelope. The second most appropriate gift is cash in a different-colored envelope. Good luck trying to figure out *how much* cash…

    Dress: Everyone there was “business casual”. Some were dressy business casual, others were informal business casual, but everyone was business casual (no shorts, no jeans, no ties, no dresses).