Gourmet Chinese Banquet

[=Mark]

(Steve Plotnicki @ Dec 2 2002, 04:58 AM)

Maybe Suvir will be inspired to convince you to organize a Chinese banquet for the eGullet crew at Ping's one day. Which you will attend of course.

Steve

Thanks for the note - and yes I'd be happy to arrange a dinner with Ping or with someone else. There are many big fish in the sea.

Ed

--------------------

Ed Schoenfeld

So, whatever became of this proposed Banquet?

[La Niña]

Count me in for two, whenever/wherever Ed decides...

Edited December 16, 2002 by La Niña (log)

[Stephanie]

Unless it's on a Tuesday, I'm definitely there.

[Suzanne F]

Me too, for 2 people!

[CathyL]

Me too for 2 too.

[Charles Smith]

I'm in

[Toby]

Me, too.

[cabrales]

I'm in, provided it's a weekend and I'm not out of town.

[stefanyb]

Count me in for 2 too

[ranitidine]

I'm in for two unless I'm on trial, in which case it will be just one.

[Suzanne F]

I'm in for two unless I'm on trial, in which case it will be just one.

Now, if that ain't the most fascinating post of the day!

Edited December 17, 2002 by Suzanne F (log)

[jaybee]

Yo tambien.

[Double 0]

If its with Ed at Pings (or anywhere else) I'm way in. Two on the weekend.

[scamhi]

Great idea...I'm in for 2 if there's room and one if there's less room.

[Rachel Perlow]

Probably best to not RSVP until there is actually something set up, cause you'll all have to confirm your availability again anyway, won't you?

[Wilfrid]

Sorry, can't make it.

[=Mark]

So where be Ed?

[Suvir Saran]

So where be Ed?

Most probably marketing for a meal he is cooking today or a banquet he could be hosting tomorrow.

Hopefully he will read this thread soon enough and make some suggestions.

[cabrales]

To inform Ed's suggestions regarding dishes and other arrangements with the applicable restaurant, it might be useful to confirm that at least 10-12 eGulleteers are willing to pay up to a specified dollar level for the banquet.

For example, would $100, $125 or $150/person for the food component be an appropriate level? (Note no corkage would likely apply, but the cost of the BYO wine would, of course, be separate)

Furthermore, there might be products (e.g., sea cucumber, shark's fin) that individual participating eGulleteers might decide not to take in (e.g., by choice, due to allergies). It should be commonly understood that the per person price is not adjusted in the event a particular diner does not take in an expensive dish (unless the restaurant charges for the dish on a per person basis, which is unlikely for banquets). Furthermore, Ed should feel free, presumably, to choose dishes without taking "special requests" for the *exclusion* of dishes by any given participant into account.

Do the above considerations appear reasonable to members?

Edited December 17, 2002 by cabrales (log)

[La Niña]

No. That's too much money for a Chinese banquet, in my opinion. Perhaps there will have to be more than one, for different spending levels.

[Wilfrid]

There's a danger there may be less than one.

Sorry, just saying...

[cabrales]

I guess the price level depends on, among other things, what types of dishes members want to sample. Very high quality sharks' fin, good and large abalone, authentic sparrow's nest soup, good fish for steaming might increase the price threshold. However, I can imagine our having a nice gourmet banquet with lots of crab and other seafood, oysters, etc. for considerably less. Note I did not intend to assert that the previously indicated price levels were the appropriate ones, but merely to suggest that we collectively consider the price level issue.

I can already imagine how wonderful it would be to sample the banquet with BYO wine at no corkage! I really enjoy certain types of crabs.

Edited December 17, 2002 by cabrales (log)

[La Niña]

How about we let Ed chime in before this gets out of hand?

[cabrales]

Nina -- I agree. However, wouldn't a, say, $50/person banquet price yield approximately $40/person in food when tax/tips are taken into account (Chinese restaurant dining room team members should, in my mind, receive 20%)? At the $40 level, certain dishes might be precluded. Many delicious dishes would, of course, remain available.

[=Mark]

Here's what Ed posted in the original thread:

Banquets are usually cooked for a 'table' - typically 10 persons, though any number from 8-12 persons is workable. The food is best when a chef cooks for just one or perhaps two tables. At Pings, for example, you could order a $350 table, but could easily spend much more - $1000/table or more. The food quality doesn't vary in relation to how much you spend once you pass about $40/50 person. What changes are the luxury and esoteric qualities of the items. For instance an individiual serving of whole braised dried abalone might cost as much as $100/person.

For an excellent banquet I'd be willing to spend between $60 to $80, but draw the line at an extra $100 for a single item. Note that Ed, the acknowleged expert on this states that quality does not change much past the $40/$50 range. Will PM/Email Ed to let him know this idea is still alive. For the record I'd like to reserve 2 spaces for the event if it happens, my Bro's antennae went up while lurking over this...