My first day in the office was spent meeting the Team, acclimating to my new environment and going out for a traditional Chinese New Years lunch. There are approximately 100 employees that sit in Hong Kong and I think I was introduced to just about every one of them. Everyone was just so very inviting that I have felt at home since first walking in. I’m really going to enjoy working here for a couple of months.
The New Year’s lunch brought everyone together to enjoy a dim sum style meal. We sat at a big round table that was equipped with a large transparent wheel on a rotating swivel designed to ensure each dish makes its way to everyone. All of the items for the feast were spaced out on the wheel and since the family style meal was ordered by the boss herself I really had no idea what it was I was looking at. As the wheel spun and pushed the first challenge my way, I began to realize that I was a bit over my head. Once it stopped, I was encouraged to grab a couple of sticks and dig in. As I sat there I knew I was going to have to partake, but honestly I was more than willing to go home hungry. I was relived that some of the meal looked ok, but when that wheel turned, the odds were not in my favor.
Although I couldn’t identify the first course at the time – it looked like some sort of flesh colored withering citrus fruit covered in pop rocks and parsley – it turned out my cohorts informed me that it was grapefruit salad. Seemed tame enough… Some might accuse me of being dramatic for effect here, but literally, the minute I placed the first bite in my mouth I went cross eyed. It was the equivalent of biting into a pickle and finding out that it was one of those gross sweet pickles (seriously, raise your hand if you like those and someone will be right over to smack some sense into you). Regardless, fearing that my counterpart from Sydney was liable at any moment to turn to me and say “you’re insulting them and you’re embarrassing me…eat it”, I sucked it up and put on a good front.
The next course had me wading through a soup that was made up of 1 part broth and 6 part mushroom. I don’t know what you call it but you could have named it ‘fungus cocktail’ and no one would have batted an eye. Now, it is common knowledge that once a mushroom has touched something it’s contaminated and should be thrown away. I threw out a whole cheese steak the last time I ordered one because I found one of the little buggers while unwrapping it. However, fearing that I wasn’t being polite, I kept focused on capturing all the liquid in the bowl like a good sport.
The rest of the meal was spent negotiating some sort of bean curd dish, wishing they hadn’t lathered up the pork plate with some sort of brownish/purplish sauce and learning small Chinese phrases from my wonderful co-workers.
Kung Hei Fat Choi! The traditional New Years well wish is uttered at the end of nearly every conversation this week. My pronunciation is probably awful, but people seem to appreciate the effort. I’ll start the Year of the Rabbit tomorrow by heading back into the office to make sure I have my feet underneath me for next week. My plan also includes seeking out some sort of establishment at which I can grab a burger and a beer so to settle down my stomach which has been barking at me since landing Sunday night. I’ll do a little more exploring and will retreat home to introduce myself to a couple of new friends which I’ll try for the first time...
No comments:
Post a Comment