The ground floor of the ordinary hotel is reserved for the proprietor's
apartments and the kitchen. The first floor contains one public and
several private dining-rooms; and the second and upper floors are
divided into sleeping apartments--the partitions of which are so thin
that even a whispered conversation is intelligible to a party in the
adjoining room.
There is not much comfort to be obtained in the villages, and the
accommodations are worse in the south and central districts than in the
north and Mongolia.
The country caravansary is built in the form of a quadrangle with the
walls, in the North, of mud or clay.
In the one public room, the traveler perforce mingles with cattle
drovers and muleteers, but the private apartments are fairly
comfortable.
The stables are usually attached to the building, with large compounds
for sheep or cattle. Some of the larger establishments boast separate
quadrangle stables, while some of the smaller have none at all, the
animals being hitched to troughs or racks in the centre of the
quadrangle.
[Illustration: A Chinese restaurant.]
The beds (_cangues_) are shaped like furnaces. The occupant, protected
by a thick coverlet, reclines on the top of a stratum of chunam or
asphalt, with an opening similar to the door of a furnace, in one of the
perpendicular sides, by means of which a small fire is in cold weather
built directly beneath the bed.
The poorer travelers sleep in the public hall.
In some cities are khans which act as depots for the goods of traveling
merchants, who are boarded and lodged without charge until they have
disposed of their stock, the landlord then receiving a small percentage
of the sales.
The proprietor of a public inn is compelled to furnish the authorities
each month with a list of the persons whom he has lodged or fed, and
women are not received at all in the public hotels in the South.
The restaurants in the cities are often quite large, running to two and
three stories in height.
On the ground floor is the kitchen. On the first floor at the head of
the first staircase is the public dining room where a good cheap meal
can be obtained, and on the second and third floors are the private and
more select chambers. In each room is a bill of fare.
An ordinary first class restaurant dinner comprises from ten to thirty
dishes, and for any special occasion a hundred or more are often served.
Below is the menu of a dinner which, if served to eight or ten persons
at a good public city restaurant, would cost about seventy-five cents
per head.
Fried Ham
Gizzards
Grated meat Grilled
Dried shrimps
Preserved eggs
Four kinds of dried fruits
Four kinds of fresh fruits
Fat duck
Shark's fins
Swallowsnest soup
Meats
Salted chicken
Shellfish
Meats
Oysters
Mushroom morels (called "Ears of the Forest").
Rice of Immortals (a species of mushrooms).
Tender sprouts of bamboo
Fish
Meats
The diners are usually seated at square tables in groups of eight.
Chinese whiskey or wine is served in small double-handled cups, which
are constantly replenished by the attendants from vessels resembling
silver coffee pots. Pipes of tobacco are also passed around at
intervals.
Before eating, the host or most prominent guest pours out a libation.
His table companions follow his example and all bow politely to each
other.
[Illustration: Chinaman spearing fresh water turtles.]
Pastry is brought on between courses. If salt, a cup of chicken broth;
if sweet, almond milk is furnished with it.
No napkins are provided, pieces of coarse brown paper being used in
their stead.
The last is a sort of "trial of appetite" course. It consists of large
dishes--sometimes eight or ten arranged in pyramid form--and the ever
forthcoming refusal to partake of it announces the termination of the
meal.
The attendants then bring in towels and bowls of hot water. They immerse
the towels in the water, and after wringing them out present them to the
guests in the order of their importance.
On special occasions the water is scented with otto of roses.
One habit of the attendants which is especially surprising to the novice
is that as their labors during the meal increase the temperature of
their bodies, the waiters divest themselves of the greater part of their
clothing!
One restaurant in Canton which caters for the cheaper class of trade,
feeds on an average five thousand persons daily. Each patron is served
with portions of regular size, and allowance is made for any pieces
which he may not eat.
The tea saloons are divided into two large rooms furnished with stools
and tables. Cakes, preserved fruits and tea are served. The cups are
usually covered so as to prevent the aroma of the tea from evaporating.
"Dog and cat" restaurants consist of one large public apartment, with
the entrance to the dining room through the kitchen.
Soup stalls are found on the street corners of the cities. They sell
luncheons of fish, pork, soups, vegetables, fried locusts, etc., from
one to two cents.
The oven, or, to speak more accurately, the baking apparatus, of the
average establishment is somewhat singular. It consists of a furnace
resembling a copper in shape, built in the center of an outhouse. The
hollow part (which is shallow) is filled with charcoal. A lid, which
fits the aperture, is so suspended by chains from the beams above as to
be capable of elevation or depression. Upon this lid, pastry and cakes
are placed and kept directly above or at any distance from the fire,
according to the heat desired.
The bakers often manufacture their bread without the use of shortening
of any description.
A very popular cake consists partially of mincemeat. The baker before
commencing to make it, places a pile of dough on one side and opposite
it a heap of mincemeat--a mixture of pork, sugar, spices, etc. He then
pulls off a piece of dough, rolls it into a ball, flattens it, covers it
with the meat, rolls it into a ball again, shapes it into a ring and
flattens it by a stroke of the hand into a cake of definite size and
thickness.
Among other dainty dishes of Chinaland are the "t'ien ya tzu," a species
of delicately flavored fat duck; "feng chi," salted chicken; a dish of
amber gelatine; a salad of bamboo shoots; "huo t'ui," a dainty ham of
the appearance of veal; "yü ch'ih," shark's fins, and "hai li tzu,"
devilled oysters with mushrooms.
Other items are salted earthworms, pigeon's eggs, pounded shrimps;
bird's nest soup, a gelatinous article; beches de mer (sea slugs), water
beetles and silkworms, the last named fried in oil after they have made
their cocoons.
A much admired soup, prepared for an imperial feast, was of blood and
mare's milk.
Oysters are very cheap in winter, selling at from five to six cents per
pound.
The following receipts may be of interest as literal translations from a
genuine Chinese cook book:
_Steamed Shark's Fins._
Take the sun-dried shark's fins, place in a cooking pan, add wood
ashes and boil in several waters. Then take out and scrape the
roughness from the fins. If not clean, boil again and scrape again
until clean. Then change the water and boil again. Take out and
remove the flesh, keeping only the fins themselves. Boil again and
put in spring water. The frequent changing of the water is
necessary to take out the lime taste. Put the fins into the soup
and stew until quite tender. Dish in a bowl, placing crab meat
below and a little ham on top.
_Chicken with the Liquor of Fermented Rice._
Bone a chicken and steam until just right; take out and let cool,
then cut into thin slices. Next, take gelatinous rice which has
been fermented with yeast and water; cook this for two hours, add a
little of the juice expressed from fresh ginger, soy, sesamum and
oil. Mix together with peanut oil. Dish and add fragrant herbs.
_Genii Ducks._
Take a fat duck; open and clean. Take two mace of salt, rub it both
outside and inside and put into an earthen dish. Take one cup of
fan spirits and put (the cup with the spirits) inside the
duck--only the vapor of the spirits is wanted. Steam over water
until quite tender, then lift out the wine cup and put the bird
into a bowl.
The most common native liquor are "suee chow," a rice brandy; "shas
chin," an impure alcohol made from kauliang or sorghum; "huary chin," a
yellow wine made from millet, and various spirits extracted from plums,
apples, pears, etc. All liquors are drunk hot, and some of them are
steeped with spices or the leaves of flowers.
Although spirits are plentiful and cheap, drunkenness is rare.
Tea, of course, is consumed by all classes.
A curious custom annually observed is the propitiatory offering to the
God of the Kitchen, who is worshipped in all parts of China, and who is
supposed to report his observations to the Pearly Emperor Supreme Ruler.
[Illustration: Family Offering to the Kitchen God.]
He is represented in each kitchen by a slip of white or red paper
(changed each year as a rule) bearing his name and title and sometimes
his portrait, pasted on the wall in some convenient part of the room.
Among the better classes the kitchen god is also known as the
superintendent or inspector of good and evil.
On the evening of the twenty-third day of the twelfth month a special
sacrifice is made in his honor by about sixty per cent. of the
population. Meats, cakes, fruits and wines are offered with candles,
incense, mock money, etc., and all members of the family then kneel
reverently before his representation and bow their heads in homage.
On the evening of the twenty-fourth those who have not participated in
the ceremonies of the previous day, make a vegetable offering in a
similar manner.
[Illustration: A Chinese kitchen boat.]
Many of the wealthier classes make both offerings on the twenty-third.
The poorest use only incense and candles.
The numerous sailing vessels on the rivers and lakes are as well fitted
to supply the wants of the traveler as the hotels on shore.
The houseboats and some of the passenger boats rely for their meals on
the kitchen boats, which are really admirably managed.
The fishing boats make use of a very primitive heating apparatus--a
large boiler in an earthenware furnace set in a part of the deck,
serving as the general cook book.
A great many pages might be covered by treating on the curious
festivities which celebrate so many occasions, but they have been so
often described in other works that a description of them here would
perhaps savor too much of needless repetition.
_Other Works from the Book Department of THE CATERER_
Martyn's Menu Dictionary
Price $1
(_130 pages, two columns to a page, cloth bound._)
The most complete dictionary of menu, culinary and food terms ever
published. More than _five thousand items_. In two sections:
French-English and English-French. The first section includes also about
600 wine names with brief descriptive notes and both parts list a number
of German words with English and French translations.
How to Make Money in a Country Hotel
Price $2
(_200 pages, printed on the finest paper and handsomely bound)._
_Third edition._
The reason for the great success of this work is probably to be found in
the fact that the author does not content himself with merely advising
"greater economy," or "better business methods"--instead he gets right
down to a practical hold of the subject and shows _how_ to economize and
how to increase one's trade.
The Financial Side of Hotel Keeping
Price $2
(_300 pages, handsomely printed and bound._) _Second Edition._
This book is entirely different from any other work on the hotel
business. The main "story" takes up the matter of location, investment,
equipment, etc., the "financing" of the business after starting, and
many points touching on policy, organization, etc., and the management
of the back part of the house. Following this is a series of papers on
the restaurant business.
The Wine Steward's Manual
Price $1
(_108 pages, illustrated, cloth bound._)
A handy volume on the care and service of wines, with contributions from
the highest authorities.
Foods and Culinary Utensils of the Ancients
Price 50 cents
Compiled from standard historical works. Seventy-two pages, well
illustrated.
Dainty Dishes
Price (cloth bound) $1
By Adolphe Meyer, author of "The Post-Graduate Cookery Book," "Eggs
and How to Use Them," etc.
A book of specially "dainty dishes" which offers many opportunities to
vary the daily bill of fare or the banquet or ball supper menu--usually
without adding anything to the cost and sometimes at smaller expense.
The Post-Graduate Cookery Book
Price (cloth bound) $2
By Adolphe Meyer, for 11 years chef of the exclusive Union Club,
New York.
(_Nearly 300 pages. About 1,000 receipts._)
"The Post-Graduate Cookery Book" is a work containing matter
supplementary to, or in advance of, the regular standard works on
cookery and kindred matters.
It has a special intrinsic value to the purchaser, for it contains a
large number of receipts for special dishes which have never appeared in
print elsewhere. Some of these receipts are new, others are for special
dishes which have helped to enhance the reputations of famous
establishments both in Europe and this country.
Eggs and How to Use Them
Price $1
By Adolphe Meyer, Author of "The Post-Graduate Cookery Book," etc.
(_Third Edition._)
(_150 pages, cloth bound._)
About 600 receipts, classified as "poached, shirred, molded, omelettes,
etc., etc.," and with titles in both French and English.
Fables of the Hotel Profession and Poems of Good Cheer
Price 50 cts.
_A dainty little volume of 88 pages, bound in gilt lettered cloth._
The "Fables" (by Charles Martyn) are little stories of the hotel
business, which "hit off," in semi-humorous manner, many typical
characters and conditions.
"Poems of Good Cheer" (by Frank W. Doolittle) is a title made generously
broad to cover a number of verses on the hotel business, those engaged
in it and the good things dispensed.
THE CATERER PUBLISHING CO.,
Established 1893. NEW YORK.
Publishers of THE CATERER, the "monthly text book" of the hotel, club
and high-class restaurant business. Subscription price, $2 a year; $1.25
for six months.
THE CATERER keeps its readers informed on everything that is new in the
hotel, club and high-class restaurant business--new ideas in service,
reports of special occasions (such as banquets, etc.), new items of
equipment, new points in system, etc. Every issue also contains a
variety of other matter of general interest, "what's happening among our
subscribers," etc.--all written in entertaining style.