I Love a Good Pork!

Last night Jess and I attended a birthday dinner for our friend Steve. Steve is an adventurous gastronome and had recently expressed his desire to attend a traditional Chinese "wedding banquet." This is a big, family-style meal that is organized not just for weddings, but for any special occasion where family and friends gather to dine and celebrate.

Steve doesn't know a lot of Chinese people who are getting married, so his wife Kira arranged last night's dinner at China Pearl in Woburn, MA. Jess and I were almost the first to arrive. Jason had arrived before us, but was so skeptical he was at the right restaurant, was backing out of his parking space when we saw each other. "Are we sure this is the right place?" he asked. The parking lot was virtually empty, and the sign on the side of the restaurant read "Ch na ". (No "i". No "Pearl".)

We chatted with Jason for a minute and of course headed straight to the bar. "This place does have a bar, right?" A sweet but potent Mai Thai eased our concerns while Jason went back outside for some fresh air. The rest of the party arrived shortly thereafter (except for our friend Matt whose punctuality is legendary) and the banquet began.

The first wave of appetizers arrived. A platter of pork, chicken, duck, and beef. "It looks like head cheese," Jason said of the "beef."

Jess struggled with a mouthful, "It looks like what?"

"Like it was sewn together," Jason elaborated.

Jess politely swallowed (not the first time he's done that) and switched to the pork.