Bohemian San Francisco: Its restaurants and their most famous recipes—The elegant art of dining.Edwords, Clarence E. (Clarence Edgar)
History
Bohemian San Francisco: Its restaurants and their most famous recipes—The elegant art of dining.
Edwords, Clarence E. (Clarence Edgar)
Cooking; Hotels -- California -- San Francisco
When we were seated in came two little Japanese women, in full native
costume, bearing a service of tea. The cups and saucers were of a most
delicate blue and white ware, with teapot to match. Our first cup was
taken standing in deference to a Japanese custom where all drank to the
host. Then followed saki in little artistic bottles and saki cups that
hold not much more than a double tablespoonful. Saki is the Japanese
wine made of rice, and is taken in liberal quantities. At each serving
some one drank to some one else, then a return of the compliment was
necessary. Having always heard that Orientals turned menus topsy-turvy
we were not at all surprised when the little serving women brought to
each of us two silver plates and set them on our trays. These plates
contained what appeared to be cake, one seeming to be angel food with
icing, and the other fruit cake with the same covering. With these came
bowls of soup, served in lacquer ware, made of glutinous nests of
swallows, and also a salad made of shark fins. We ate the soup and salad
and found it good, and then made tentative investigation of the "cake."
To our great surprise we discovered the angel food to be fish and the
"icing" was shredded and pressed lobster. The "fruitcake" developed into
pressed dark meat of chicken, with an icing of pressed and glazed white
meat of the same fowl.
Following this came the second service of tea, this time in cups of a
rare yellow color and beautiful design, with similar teapot.
The next course was a mixture of immature vegetables, served in a sort
of saute. These were sprouting beans, lentils, peas and a number of
others with which we were unfamiliar. The whole was delicately flavored
with a peculiar sauce.
After a short wait, during which the saki bottles circulated freely, one
of the women came in bearing aloft a large silver tray on which reposed
a mammoth crayfish, or California lobster. This appeared to be covered
with shredded cocoanut, and when it was placed before the host for
serving he was at loss, for no previous experience told him what to do.
It developed that the shredded mass on top was the meat of the lobster
which had been removed leaving the shell-fish in perfect form. It was
served cold, with a peculiar sauce.
Now followed the piece de resistance. A tub of water was brought in and
in this was swimming a live fish, apparently of the carp family. After
being on view for a few minutes it was removed and soon the handmaidens
appeared with thinly sliced raw fish, served with soy sauce. Ordinarily
one can imagine nothing more repulsive than a dish of raw fish, but we
were tempted and did eat, and found it most delicious, delicate, and
with a flavor of raw oysters.
Next came the third service of tea, this time in a deep red ware. Then
came a dessert of unusual flavor and appearance, followed by preserved
ginger and fruit.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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