What an interesting entry! The "showpiece" dishes that I've seen, at weddings or banquets or for Spring Festival, have almost always been fish; I'd say 8 or 9 times out of 10. Probably has something to do with the "lucky" connotation of fish.
My mother-in-law makes the meals and they're all pretty much as expected: two or more dishes, soup, and rice. As mentioned in the comments section of your soup entry, the Chinese usually say that they "drink soup" 喝汤 rather than "eat soup," the latter being what I always grew up saying in America. It also seems that they consider it to be more of a beverage than anything else, as I've had experiences wherein I've told my m-i-l that I was going to drink something with my meal and she said, "you don't need a drink, you have soup."
I hate rice and almost never eat it. However, my m-i-l unfailingly gives it to me every day.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zvi and
no subject
Date: 2011-02-28 03:12 pm (UTC)My mother-in-law makes the meals and they're all pretty much as expected: two or more dishes, soup, and rice. As mentioned in the comments section of your soup entry, the Chinese usually say that they "drink soup" 喝汤 rather than "eat soup," the latter being what I always grew up saying in America. It also seems that they consider it to be more of a beverage than anything else, as I've had experiences wherein I've told my m-i-l that I was going to drink something with my meal and she said, "you don't need a drink, you have soup."
I hate rice and almost never eat it. However, my m-i-l unfailingly gives it to me every day.