This is No Panda Express

As one of the largest countries in the world, China has numerous distinct styles of food across different regions. While Chinese food is widely spread around the world, Westerners often associate them as fast food packed in a waxed cardboard box - ready to go. Whenever I go to Panda Express or even restaurants with names that sound Chinese (such as Ni Hao, which is another fake Chinese restaurant I’ve been to in Florida), I can’t help but laugh at the menu. Why? Because most of the times I have never heard of these dishes: Orange Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, and dishes that sound authentically Chinese, but in reality, do not even exist in China. I am not trying to pick on Panda Express here, but if you have seen and tasted the real and traditional Chinese cuisine, you probably would wonder: “why am I even eating the American Chinese crap?”

To be honest, I am tired of these chained American Chinese restaurants like Panda Express and Hong Kong express. Just because you put a panda on your logo doesn’t necessarily mean you make real Chinese food. In fact, Chinese cuisine is nothing like their cute and innocent panda mascot. The real dining experience often involves bizarre ingredients you would never imagine edible. To a great extent, Chinese food culture is way more than merely chicken fried rice, especially when it's dated back in the imperial time. Just in case the modern Chinese food isn't weird enough, I present to you... the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, a bizarre banquet that is served only to the imperial families. Think it's a privilege to enjoy such royal cuisine? Maybe you will think about it twice after this.

The Imperial Feast was a tradition developed in Qing Dynasty. On Emperor Kangxi's 66th birthday, he held these extravagant banquets, intended to settle the dispute between Manchurian and Han people. I don't know how a 3-day banquet involving more than 300 dishes could possibly resolve a racial and political struggle. But Cultural China mentions:

Emperor Qianlong promoted the combination of these two banquets. From then on, the catering cultures of these two nationalities have exercised influence on each other and finally developed into an integral catering culture of Chinese nation.

The ingredients used in this feast are certainly more of an interest to me. According to Emperor Qianglong's catalog, there were "thirty-two delicacies" including the "Eight Mountain Delicacies" such as bear's paw, live monkey's brain, ape's lips, and rhinoceros’ tails; "Eight Land delicacies" such as precious certain fruits and mushrooms, and "Eight Sea Delicacies" such as shark's fin, sea cucumbers and bird’s nest; and “Eight Poultry Delicacies” such as quails, swans, and peacocks.

Though most of the recipes are long lost, these ancient cuisines are still commonly found in restaurants in China. For example, shark fins remain one of the local’s favorite and a must have dish in weddings and celebrations. As a Chinese, born and raised in Hong Kong, I have not, unfortunately, had the chance to try the infamous Manchu Han Imperial Feast, although restaurants there have been actively attempting to replicate its grandeur and exceptional dining experience. However, I have had shark fin, snake soup, bird nest and even peacocks numerous times. In fact, many of these dishes are still considered a way to prove your social status. Say if you have shark fin soup in your daughter’s wedding banquet, chances are that people are more likely to look up on you.

The paradox is, most of these delicacies are made of endangered animals. I know in China, there are still a lot of merchants who capture wild black bear in order to get their gall bladders. A lot of these rare animals are treated in extremely inhumane ways. While the Orientals believe in the idea that the more unique the ingredient is, the more benefits it will bring to your body, Westerners have been actively engaged in saving these endangered animals. There have been campaigns that against lab testing on animals, organizations that discourage animal cruelty. Although there are so many cultural differences between the two ideologies, as Westerners get more exposure to these bizarre Chinese cuisines through the use of Internet, Chinese are also beginning to see the Manchu Han Imperial Feast as a mere technicality. It is now almost impossible to find some of these rare ingredients in China, but – it is often more important to reproduce the historical meanings and cultural practice behind the dishes than to present the actual cuisine itself.

Right now, it seems that Manchu Han Imperial Feast can only live in our imagination.