An authentic Cantonese banquet dinner, which typically consists of no fewer than 12 dishes, is served in family style for major celebratory events such as wedding, family reunion, Chinese New Year or fund-raising for charities. Depending on the host's budget and eagerness to impress their guests, the price tag for both alcoholic beverage and food per guest (usually between 10 and 12 guests per table) that is charged by the restaurant varies from $50 to $200. Just like everything else, different grades of ingredients used in the banquet drive the price disparity.
The banquet dishes that are introduced here are priced at the lower-end, averaging $75 per guest. The sequence of the dishes - appetizers, entrees and dessert, should not be strictly applied to the banquet dinner, as you may find a bit heavier dishes served up-front and carb-loaded dishes (e.g., rice and noodles) served last.
Part 1 Appetizers (Three Dishes) -
Serve 2010 - Pacific Peaks Pinot Noir (Priced at approximately $18)
Menu:
Appetizer
- Fresh fruit medley and bacon salad
- Chinese BBQ platter
- Stir-fried celery with razor clams and shrimps
Entree
- Glanced stir-fried mushroom and bok-choy
- Julienne chicken, white asparagus and scallop soup
- Stewed sliced abalone with boneless goose feet
- Steam fresh whole sea grouper
- Poach fresh whole chicken in aromatic broth
Dessert - Finale
- Happy family fried rice
- Shrimp dumplings with Cantonese noodle in shrimp broth
- Sweet red bean soup desert
- Seasonal fruit
Fresh fruit medley and bacon salad
This doesn't sound like a typical Chinese appetizer. However, Cantonese dishes are famous for being creative and versatile, and often are "fusioned" with other cuisines. For this salad, a Japanese mayonnaise, a lighter version of the American counterpart, was used to lightly coat the chopped pears, peaches and apples. Garnished with tomato and boiled egg slices, as well as bacon pieces, this salad is light, salty, crunchy but without crowding your palate.
Chinese BBQ platter
Restaurant patrons often see Cantonese BBQ prominently displayed through the restaurant windows in Chinatown. This BBQ dish has slices of roasted whole piglet with crispy skin, duck and pork tenderloin, nicely garnished with soya and sesame oil coated seaweed stripes. The family style allows you to taste a piece or two of each type of meat and leave amble room for more dishes to come. Also, the hanging roasting method used in Cantonese BBQ drips all the fat and grease off the meat, making it healthier.
Stir-fried celery with razor clams and shrimps OK, I'll not call it a complete Cantonese banquet dinner without a few seafood dishes, lovely complemented with the stir-fried cooking in cast-iron woks. Razor clams and shrimps were first lightly coated with a bit cornstarch, which was mixed with water to allow for smooth mouth feel, and lightly quick fried in oil. The quick stir-fry technique, renowned in Cantonese cooking, distributes the heat evenly to cook the celery, razor clams and shrimps, allowing the "wok-chi" to come through. "Wok-chi" is the unique aroma and golden brown color on the food resulting from high-heat, quick stir-fry.
Why this wine?
2010 Pacific Peaks Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is ripe yet elegant, medium bodied, smooth tannin, and infused with raspberry and wild flower notes, and perfectly complements versatile appetizers. This wine is raised in French barrels for 10 months which lends a roundness to the wine without overly oaky. Retailed at approximately $18, this valued Pinot Noir exhibits the flexibility to handle the meats and shellfish.
This is all I have for today. Look out for the PART 2 and 3 of Cantonese Banquet.
Remember, life is too short not to drink wine with Chinese food!
Pinny Tam
Well, to start, one of the appetizers was the sweet dark soya sauce scrap fish. The fish was fried first and then cooked with dark soya and sugar. The key to this dish is to make it crispy outside, soft inside and most importantly of all, not greasy. This fish dish really spiked my interest, as it was extremely succulent. The entrees were brought to the table fast, and were served along with the appetizers, family style. 
Moving on to another all time Shanghai favorite, the thinly sliced beef tenderloin with soft ligament ... this is a spicy appetizer that uses hot chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns. You probably get it now that this "hotness" combo is spicy and tongue-numbing in a good way. The highlight of this Shanghai lunch was the pork belly slices cooked in Chinese preserved vegetable. The fat of the pork belly has been rendered, which showcased the leaner meat tanned with the beautiful molasses color of the dark soya sauce. It looked and tasted so succulent that each slice was a perfect balance of fat and meat, a taste of heaven. The preserved vegetable was layered underneath the pork belly to absorb the yummy pork juice. Unlike vinegar-based pickle vegetable, the Chinese preserved vegetable is cured by salt and sugar, and develops mineral and earthy favor as it ages in clay containers. It enhances the favor of the meat by making it richer and more complex in taste. The charming Linden red from Virginia is all I can think of when biting into this pork belly. This 2011 Red blend is a great wine made by the low-key Virginia wine pioneer, Jim Law, who makes quality wines day-in day-out in the mountainous Northern Virginia, impressing visitors near and far. It is light to medium body and dry enough to cut the fat in these meat dishes. 
The dishes that were served in this little gem in Princeton, Shanghai Park, were solid authentic Shanghai food that totally "wowed" all the Chinese foodies (including some Shanghai originals who got to taste their "soul food"). The chosen Virginia wines go amazingly well with this Shanghai food as they are uniquely versatile and handle the complexity of Chinese food well. Most interestingly, they both are little gems that serve big taste.
