Help me with my Chinese New Year menu!

[aggie94]

Hey guys,

I'm hosting a Chinese New Year dinner party for some of DH's co-workers/friends from work this weekend. Here's my planned menu, and then my concerns to follow:

Pork Dim Sum and Money Bags (corn/mushroom filled dumplings)
Hot & Sour Soup and Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup with Sesame & Green Onions
Steamed Fish with Ginger-Wine Sauce
Chai Sui Pork (Chinese barbecued pork tenderloin)
Shanghai Casserole (stir-fry vegetables and tofu)
Shrimp Chow Mein and Vegetable Chow Mein
Steamed White Rice
Sweet Rice Cake

Okay, here's the issues:
1) One couple is vegetarian. The veggie dishes are the money bags, hot & sour soup, shanghai casserole, and vegetable chow mein. Is that enough? Is it OK to go ahead and serve the meat dishes alongside the vegetarian dishes? And will they feel like I've gone out of my way to accommodate them? In a sense I have, only because I wanted to include all the traditional dishes that carry meaning for the New Year (dumplings, noodles, chicken, shrimp, beef/pork, fish), but I don't want to make them feel bad, especially since I really enjoy doing this. If I had gone with the original menu I planned, the only veggie dish would have been the stir-fry. I'd cut out the second soup and only serve hot & sour, but then I'd be missing a chicken dish.

2) Should I be worried that people might be uncomfortable with eating family-style at a dinner party or with being served a whole fish on a platter (tail, head, everything)? That's the way it's normally done. With dinner parties my parents hosted, the food is just spread all over the table and people eat from the platters as though it was their own plate. Is that weird? Should I plan to pass around food and let people serve themselves instead? That'll be a little difficult with the whole fish.

Thanks, everyone. I'm a little nervous because most of these folks are people I only know in passing. With close friends, I care less about presentation and stuff.

[schuh]

IMHO your evening sounds lovely. There will be plenty of food for the veggies.

As for the rest, you are sharing your traditions with your friends and that will make for a special evening. I've been at plenty of dinner parties where the meal was served family style and it's been fine. Just make sure you have enough room to put the platters when people are done passing them around. As for the fish, some will like it and some won't but I would just explain that that's the way it's done and maybe tell them how you eat it in your tradition. I wouldn't be offended if some people choose not to eat that particular dish.

Hope you have a great time.

[JJ40]

I think you've definitely got enough food for the vegetarians...it's nice that you take their needs into such consideration!

Good luck!

Julie ;)

[browneye]

It sounds wonderful, and I am sure there is enough offerings to satisfy a vege!

One question- in you post, you mentioned it was served family style but everyone just ate right off of the platter????:confused: Maybe I misunderstood, I am not sure. Family style is great, as long as each person has his/her own plate to dish their choices off of the platter, onto their own plate. Maybe this part of your post confused only me....? But it sounded like everyone ate right off of the serving platter. That would be kinda weird. Maybe I'm just kinda weird:D

Anyway, it sounds absolutely wonderful, and you are very considerate to plan so much for your special guests!

[Linda in MO]

Your menu sounds very impressive! I have a question though, when you say "the food is just spread all over the table and people eat from the platters as though it was their own plate." Do you mean that each person won't have their own plate to eat off? If that's the case, I'm not sure I would do that with people who are not close friends or family. That would be weird for me, only because I have never done it. JMHO. :) Now, I if I've misread what you meant, please disregard my comments. :D

[Linda in MO]

Looks like browneye and I posted at the same time. :cool:

[aggie94]

Everyone does have their own plate, and some things are dished out onto your plate, like noodles and rice and veggies. But with dishes like fish or dumplings, you generally eat them right off the platter with your chopsticks. With a whole fish, especially, that is still boned, there's no easy way to "serve" it. So instead, you'd just flake pieces of the fillet off with your chopsticks and either put them onto your plate or pop them straight into your mouth. Same with dumplings. Pick one up off the platter with your chopsticks and pop it right into your mouth.

So I guess it does seem a little strange, huh? Sounds like passing around dishes and letting people dish out food onto their own plates would work better. I think I'll have to rethink serving a whole fish, though. Fillets would probably work better this time around.

[browneye]

aggie-

The fish could be served with a thin spatula, even a whole fish. I do this with whole salmon and it works fine, after the top filet is gone, the bones are lifted out, to expose the bottom half.

I agree with Linda in MO, since you don't know these folks really well, I would give them plates, and pass the food. Personally, if I went to a dinner party with a bunch of people, I wouldn't want to share a plate with them, flu season and all, I'd probably skip the "shared" platter and just eat the stuff that was allowed to be on my plate. (did I mention I am a nurse by training and maybe I am "germ" paranoid, but it's just how I am:rolleyes: )

The dumplings, being bite-sized, are a little different, but still....

Am I nutso?- probably.

[Jodi]

I must say I was a bit weirded out the first time I ate at DH's grandma's house -- where every meal is served/eaten family style. I got used to it, though, and I'm sure your guests will think it's neat to take part in the tradition. We're having a dinner here that sounds much like yours, Eva (except I just can't bring myself to do the whole fish), and we're also serving this way. Does everyone know each other? Ours is all family -- my Irish family, ironically, who are anxious to learn about DH's culture and try some new foods -- so everyone knows each other and doesn't mind sharing off the same plate. Plus, they'll have their own plate for rice and noodles, so if they're uncomfortable they can always scoop some onto their own plates and eat that way. Good luck -- your meal sounds delicious!

[aggie94]

Hey Jodi!

Thanks for giving me some insight. Our guests are all people DH works with, so they know each other, but they don't all socialize together outside of work. (And one isn't terribly well liked by the rest, but I'm making DH invite him because I feel bad that everyone excludes him). So I can understand that people wouldn't be comfortable with eating off the same plates. I think everyone's right - we'll do a modified family-style dinner where people can serve themselves off the platters. I hope no one is creeped out by the whole fish on the plate.