One afternoon, Uncle Li came to our house with his head and both elbows bandaged. I decided that those dishes could never be eaten. Intoxicated, his words made no sense - like a reincarnated child who spoke of things of his past life, or Rip Van Winkle from the eponymous short story who slumbered for years before coming back to life. Sometimes, he would come back late at night - drunk - to let Father know what had been negotiated. Whenever there was a need for business entertainment, he would put his partner, Uncle Li, fully in charge of negotiations at the cabarets and clubs. There was a period of time when he partnered with his friends in real estate development. After he reached middle age, he was tired of the cheating that went on in the business circle and often cooped himself up at home, acting like he didn’t have a care in the world. It is perhaps akin to the crazy partying as portrayed through the lens of the Hollywood movie? Gu Hongzhong, Night Revels of Han Xizai (《韩熙载夜宴图》), partial, The Palace Museum. But dining at these clubs with hostesses by one’s side would definitely go beyond the simple act of eating and drinking. Whether it was a must for businessmen to negotiate business deals at these venues varied from person to person. Their movements swift, like the pellet drums we played with as kids, stirred up the desires of the lower body. Then, they started to dance and did their waist and belly twists like a slithering snake. With bellies exposed, a golden-threaded floral skirt embellished with small bells hung lazily on each of their hips. Behind a partition were a group of barefooted female servants, their seductive eyes peeking over a chiffon veil hung over the bridge of their noses. Nobles and kings were seated in a circle amid a spread of delicacies and fine wine served in gold glasses. I once watched a Hollywood movie depicting the palace of an Arabian king. Gu Hongzhong, Night Revels of Han Xizai (《韩熙载夜宴图》), partial, The Palace Museum. It must have been like King Zhou of Shang’s “alcohol pool and meat forest” (肉林酒池): a hedonistic haven, graced by his licentious consort Daji (妲己, said to be possessed by a malevolent fox spirit), and countless skimpily dressed women twisting and turning their curvy bodies. In short, it must have been unthinkable and unimaginable! To a child’s mind, having cabaret cuisine not only meant living a life of debauchery, but indulging in mysterious acts of sin and depravity. We didn’t know what the adults did in confined spaces, neither did we know what unbelievable things they did after they had their meal. It was a different world there: flamboyantly-dressed hostesses would be all smiles, leaning on the doors ready to fall into your embrace and do things that made you blush. These places were uniquely patronised by businessmen - ordinary people would not set foot in them. We didn’t know what the adults did in confined spaces, neither did we know what unbelievable things they did after they had their meal.Ĭabarets in those days were establishments where hostesses came out to greet, entertain, and drink with you. Each time I heard it mentioned, I felt fearful and uncomfortable, as if the smiling serpent in the Garden of Eden with a bright red apple in hand had just appeared with all its ill intentions. I’ve heard about cabaret cuisine (酒家菜) since I was a kid.
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