The Bureau

Herewith - some pictorial illustration of the aforementioned Chinese Banquet of Excellence. Unfortunately, most of the main dishes got eaten before I thought to photograph them, but the menu went something like this:

Cold dishes:
Cubes of silken tofu marinated in chilli oil
Mushroom, carrot and green bean salad, marinated in a tofu and tahini dressing
Soba noodles in a ginger soy sauce
Cucumber, marinated overnight in a sweet rice vinegar and spring onion dressing (which Rufus thought could make a drink all of its own)

Hot dishes:
Garlic spinach
Deep friend green beans in a chilli and soy sauce
Gong bao ji ding - cubes of chicken deep fried with peanuts and red chilli
Pork belly and deep fried aubergine in a sweet shaoxing wine sauce


Prep. Note peeled peanuts and the evil bag of glutinous rice that destroyed my saucepan.


An entire sinkload could barely satisfy the one vegemetarian present.


Cold dishes


Straining the tofu for the cold salad dressing


The girls drink red wine while they wait.


The boys go into shock at the excellence of the cuisine. Except Aeneas, who is thinking about his moustache.


Pong's hair stands on end at the deliciousness of it all.