Since moving to China we have been blown away by the kindness and hospitality we have been shown. In the short time that we have lived here, we feel like we have made many life-long friends. Now that we are settled into our apartment, we wanted to have our new friends over to celebrate good friendship and our new home. An East meets West celebration.
The stars couldn’t have aligned more perfectly for this event. First, I was excited to have my idea chosen by Foodbuzz for this months 24×24*! Second, the weekend we chose for our party also happened to be a holiday weekend in China. So, in addition to celebrating friends and home, we were celebrating Dragon Boat Festival (Duānwǔ Jié 端午节)!
*Each month Foodbuzz showcases 24 food bloggers as they host a meal in the same 24 hours and blog about it on the same day.
My idea for the party was to create a fusion of American/Western dishes and Chinese/Eastern dishes. I supplied all of the Western dishes and, with the help of a friend, two of the Chinese dishes. I was also delighted when guests offered to bring traditional dishes. Here’s what we came up with! Full menu listed below the photos!
The Food:
The party
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| The guests – minus the two people who snuck past my camera! |
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| Guests filling up their plates! |
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| Happy to have been a part of his first chocolate chip cookie |
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| Jesse being shown how to open the traditional Dragon Boat Festival dumpling – 粽子 |
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| Sneaking some fruit |
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| Full bellies, enjoying the entertainment |
The Menu
- Veggies and Ranch Dip
- Chips
- Pretzel Bites and Beer Cheese Dip
- Macaroni and Cheese Bites
- Pulled Pork Sliders
- Cole Slaw
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Soft Frosted Sugar Cookies
- Pork and Cabbage Dumplings 饺子
- Spicy Cold Noodles 辣冷面条
- Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables* 与冬菜蒸猪肉
- Braised Duck in Beer* 红烧鸭
- Rice Dumplings* 粽子
- Lychee and other assorted fruits
*These items were brought by my guests (and the translation may be rough!)
I think it’s pretty safe to say that the party was a big success! I can’t wait to host my next party!
What a cool event! I really like the concept and it looks like you had a lot of fun! Beautiful food pix as well.
Thanks! We really did have a lot of fun!
What an awesome party and congrats on your first 24×24!!! Everything looks fantastic and looks like you guys had an awesome time!!
Thanks, it was an awesome time, I am pretty sure I ate wayyyy too much!! This was actually my second 24×24 (the first was a while ago, last October!) 🙂
How fun!!!
It looks like it was a wonderful party! The food looks wonderful and I love all of your pictures! I hope you continue to share your adventures while y’all are living in China 🙂
Food looks great, glad everything turned out well. I would love to have the recipe for the Spicy Cold Noodles. If you posted it tell me what category it is under or e-mail me at cjbrick@ymail.com
Recipe for the Spicy Cold Noodles is coming soon! (I'll bump it up in the queue to get posted sooner!)
I love this idea! Looks like you had a fantastic party!
What a fun and delicious event! I am so glad things are working out so well for you in China!
Congratulations for being selected to host a foodbuzz 24X24 party!
Sounds delicious! 🙂
Love your 24×24 idea, Jess! Congrats on a successful party! 🙂