TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —With the Lunar New Year approaching, there is bound to be no end to the number of year-end “weiya (尾牙)” parties that many will attend. And for many, what they can look forward to eating at such feasts may actually be unappetizing.
A typical banquet includes a scripted menu that many may know by heart, growing up with such fare from childhood into adulthood. One netizen questioned this culinary convention by asking yesterday (Jan.3) on a PTT discussion thread, "which dish do you hate the most at a banquet?"
The post attracted a flurry of responses with netizens eager to share their food reviews. One netizen needed just a few seconds to respond, directing disdain towards glutinous rice steamed with crab and shrimp (紅蟳米糕). This netizen said he had little patience for peeling shrimp and crab, and didn’t like getting his hands dirtied.
Not a favorite banquet dish amongst many netizens. (CNA photo)
Other dishes that were identified for inclusion on the “most hated list” include a cold appetizer dish usually consisting of jellyfish and mullet roe, steamed fish, “Buddha Jumping Over the Wall (佛跳牆),” Silky black chicken (烏骨雞), and braised pig knuckle.
One responder said texture was an important part of dish selection, as he abhorred dishes with a special “QQ” or chewy texture such as the skin on braised pig knuckles.
Another netizen said that glutinous rice was often too tough to swallow and the hodgepodge of ingredients in "Buddha Jumping Over the Wall (佛跳牆),” was unappetizing. Others worried that the lobster shells used to serve cold dishes may be “reused for several years."
Some commentators fretted that steamed fish was “nothing more than a pile of bones” after one spin around the table. And chicken soup can deter diners with a “thick layer of grease floating on the top.” Similarly, sashimi may be so unappetizing that no one dares to pick up their chopsticks.
However, if you are wondering just which dish was the most hated as large, mostly outdoor banquets, the winner was glutinous rice cooked with shrimp and crab (紅蟳米糕). One netizen wondered “are we so primitive," while another complained that many of the crabs have a peculiar smell when they are past their prime.
And one person said crabs were a waste of time because “they usually have no meat and are difficult to peel."
