i am invited to a CNY house party ....

[JR8]

Ah so this'll be why the flippin ATMs were empty yesterday

[ecureilx]

Ah so this'll be why the flippin ATMs were empty yesterday

mmmmm which ATM dispenses 1000 $ bills?



SMS.I know it was in jest

[sundaymorningstaple]

for squirrel you'll need to use this......

[x9200]

But seriously, only give wine/alcohol if you know they drink it.

My palate is rather easy to satisfy with many brands of red wines and I was looking yesterday in two CSs (Railway and King Albert) for something on the cheaper side. Zero deals. Just regular prices. I don't recall anything like this during Christmas/NY eve. Why? Also, every more fancy hamper contains at least one bottle of wine.

Me thinks it is a common misconception that Chinese do not drink alcohol (as per average). They just do not drink with strangers. IMHO a bottle of wine is a good gift.

[sundaymorningstaple]

I doubt if you could go wrong on that. But a bottle of cognac would even be better.

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012 ... -in-china/

[JR8]

I must be going to the wrong parties. I just get given a red nut/juice type fruit squash.

I don't recall being offered alcohol at the home of a single Chinese family.

Cognac etc. yes, to put on shelf unopened to display status. Red wine? Don't see it, for starters I'm not sure the dryness would work on the Chinese palette. Hence the ghastly sweet wines you find only here in Asia. IME Asians drink #1 for a show of sophistication #2 to get drunk - which they do very easily - not on any level nearing appreciation.

- Proposed next instalment.
'The impressiveness of 'display' drinks cabinets by nationality.

[sundaymorningstaple]

Go to any Chinese dinner in a good restaurant or for that matter during the lunar new year festivities, a Chinese wedding or some such an check out the number of bottles of cognac and wine on the tables. They are pretty heavy drinkers, truth be known.

[JR8]

Oh I have, weddings, CNY, big dinner parties out.

Must be mixing with the wrong crowd

[sundaymorningstaple]

Go to Zouk. There they can't hold it, but boy do they consume it.

[x9200]

I guess you have always been considered as a stranger / an outsider. My observation is they very seldom open to that level to drink with you (an Angmoh) alcohol in any of the typical settings you mentioned. I have only one Chinese in my, say, closer circle who got drunk in my presence and it was only after we had like half dozen of gatherings where everybody drank but him.

[JR8]

Maybe they're embarrassed about turning 'that weird red/purple colour' after one glass of 11% prune juice? I've been to plenty of parties and functions with SGns (they seem to booze more abroad IME), the purple cheeks stage seems to come right before the silly giggling phase, followed shortly thereafter by the falling asleep comatose phase.

I have one SGn-Chinese friend who has extremely good knowledge of and taste in wine, way more than me, but not a single other who would know the difference between vintage Bordeaux and Lambrusco.

It's not in their culture, I completely understand, just sayin'...

[BedokAmerican]

One of the disc jockeys on a local radio station today was telling people they should eat red watermelon for CNY. I hadn't thought of that but it makes sense. It is red, and red is a good color for the holiday.

[chris_pilgrim]

YaY!! i "survived" my 1st CNY gathering with the locals

[beppi]

With the LOCALS?
Really?!?
How are they?
What do they do? What do they say? What do they eat?
Are they as strange as many posts here suggest?
Are they human?

[JR8]

With the LOCALS?
Really?!?
How are they?
What do they do? What do they say? What do they eat?
Are they as strange as many posts here suggest?
Are they human?

Do you even live here Beppi?