During this meeting for the IACA ICR, we were introduced to the Chinese cuisine at Lucky Lou’s by Kwan. We started off the evening with some tea and cucumber with garlic sauce. We then moved on to Peking Duck. I was very excited about this because I have always wanted to try duck and I was not disappointed. We then moved on to many other courses like soup, sliced pork Peking style, stir fry lamb with cumin, deep-fried shrimp, fish fillet hot style, king mushroom w tofu, garlic water spinach, dry fried green beans, pan fried rice noodle w beef slices, and finally a sesame seed ball with red bean paste as a desert. I am generally a picky eater, but I made sure to try everything and actually liked all of it! After dinner we watched a short video about the many different styles of food from China. This dinner was called by Kwan “the most authentic Cantonese style restaurant in town”.
During this experience I initially was a bit worried about what food would be served and if I would like it, especially when I heard that the 7 of us were ordering about 10 plates of food. I was amazed about the many flavors in comparison to the only Chinese takeout that I have been exposed to in the past. I learned greatly about the pride that some take in their cuisine with historical roots.
This experience took place at Lucky Lou’s restaurant and it was a great experience to sit down at a dinner table at an authentic Cantonese restaurant where everyone is sharing from the same meals. This way of eating forces community and discussion. This is something that is rare in our American society. I feel like many families in America typically get individual meals and do not share.