State banquet available for Chinese public (Chinanews.com) Updated: 2006-01-26 10:51
The banqueting hall in the Great Hall of the People, which can receive 5,000
diners simultaneously, has feasted numerous state leaders, VIP guests and
celebrities. Nowadays, the banqueting hall is open to ordinary citizens to taste
state banquets.
A dinner table in the banquet hall of the
Great Hall of the People now hosts ordinary people.
[Chinanews.com] | The most impressive banquet
should be the first state banquet after the foundation of the People's Republic
of China (PRC). On the evening of October 1, 1949, the day when the founding
ceremony was held, the Central People's Government prepared the first grand
state banquet of PRC at the Beijing Hotel.
After careful consideration, Premier Zhou Enlai decided to serve up dishes of
Huaiyang flavor. Huaiyang cuisine is both noble and plain. Elaborately prepared
Huaiyang dishes which preserve the original flavor of raw materials are very
appealing to the palate of the masses.
On that evening, more than 600 people including founding fathers of PRC and
representatives from all walks of life attended the first state banquet.
Afterwards, this banquet won fame all over the world.
It set a keynote of simpleness for subsequent state banquets which are mainly
composed of Huaiyang cuisine.
Senior chef Zhang Fuzhi with the Yuhuatai Restaurant participated in
preparations for the first state banquet. Several decades later, Zhang's last
apprentice Shen Jianguo, who is now the chief chef of the Yuhuatai Restaurant,
introduced the first state banquet with a low price of 600 yuan (US$73) to
ordinary residents in Beijing in an effort to arouse people's memory of the past
years through dainty foods.
Shen said that the first state banquet has become an anecdote of the catering
culture. Its re-launch can not only enrich ordinary citizens' menu but also
enable people to relive the past days.
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