Beijing, China — This past Saturday, I rounded up my dearest and nearest in town and celebrated my birthday at Paper. Together, Shauna Cho (Operations Director at Paper, Beijing) helped me organize an evening to hold a smile on my face until I turn… another year older.
Birthday red-dyed quail eggs
Upon entering, each guest received a birthday egg. Hardboiled and dyed red, it has been Chinese tradition for many years, to welcome guests with a red egg by the host. The red egg celebrates life and wishes happiness and luck to the receiver.
Rosé Sparkling Wine, all things pink!
Feeling pretty in pink, I went with serving friends Rosé Sparkling wine to enliven spirits.
Three types of longevity
Growing up, my Filipina mother shared the Chinese tradition of eating noodles on birthdays. The longer the noodle eaten, the longer one’s life can be. My mother called me to ensure I was eating noodles for my birthday and she can rest assured I did. There were three types of noodles symbolizing long life, at this party.
- Nyonya Curry Laksa — rice vermicelli served with a coconut cream-based curry, curry chicken, prawns, hardboiled eggs, bean sprouts, fried tofu and long bean.
- Zhá Jiàng Miàn 炸酱面 — A northern Chinese delicacy of thick wheat noodles topped with minced pork, soy bean sauce, julienned cucumber and shredded egg.
- The confetti at this party was the colorful Birthday Noodle, a stir-fry of my favorite egg noodles with chicken, fresh prawns, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and scallops.
Shauna made me one of my favorites! A birthday cheesecake!
Coconut Mojito
I have mentioned before, “Cho’s Mojitos trump Fidel’s.” Shauna surprised me with a cool twist on their best by making me a Coconut Mojito!
With friends like these, I'm really starting to love living in Beijing.
A huge thank you to Shauna Cho and Paper, for helping me age in style!
Scenes from the night.
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Hi ShanTi, I am Eloisa’ cousin-in-law. I am a Chinese. She showed your website, it is great. And when I saw these pictures, I was so hungry hehe. My city is ChongQing, it is near ChengDu. Enjoy your Chinese trip.
Ling 你好！Wow! It’s great to meet you here on my site! Many thanks to my Tita (aunt in Filipino) Beng for introducing you to my project. I have not yet visited Chongqing, but am very interested to travel there, soon. We must meet soon. Thanks for contacting me!