We now drive away from Jinan and towards Beijing. We had our final dinner last night at the Shandong hotel – which has to be the most opulent venue we have ever dined in. We had been told at previous meals that we were enjoying presidential style dining. On one notable occasion our table decoration included an eagle carved from mangoes and the meal started with £20 bowls of soup containing sea cucumber - a rare delicacy which is sold in wooden caskets.
This time, however, it was the venue that really took our breath away. The hotel which, despite being near the centre of the city, is set in its own landscaped grounds hosts presidents and diplomats and I can’t imagine anywhere in England that would offer the same level of luxury. The hotel shop sold Jade items for around £500,000 – so that gives some indication of the spending capacity of the guests. We were led along a red carpet through miles of corridor past, what I can only assume were priceless pieces of contemporary art to a dining room. The scale of this room is difficult to convey but we literally needed microphones to make our speaches. Think of the table used by heads of state at the UN security council crossed with the dining room of a Bond baddy (without the piranhas) and you’d be close. Either way we could either eat or orchestrate global warfare. We opted to eat. The dining experience was different from our previous times. In part we were treated to a fusion of British (or at least European) and Chinese food and individual dishes (about 10 in all) were delivered directly to our places – in part because the table was too large for a central wheel.
This time, however, it was the venue that really took our breath away. The hotel which, despite being near the centre of the city, is set in its own landscaped grounds hosts presidents and diplomats and I can’t imagine anywhere in England that would offer the same level of luxury. The hotel shop sold Jade items for around £500,000 – so that gives some indication of the spending capacity of the guests. We were led along a red carpet through miles of corridor past, what I can only assume were priceless pieces of contemporary art to a dining room. The scale of this room is difficult to convey but we literally needed microphones to make our speaches. Think of the table used by heads of state at the UN security council crossed with the dining room of a Bond baddy (without the piranhas) and you’d be close. Either way we could either eat or orchestrate global warfare. We opted to eat. The dining experience was different from our previous times. In part we were treated to a fusion of British (or at least European) and Chinese food and individual dishes (about 10 in all) were delivered directly to our places – in part because the table was too large for a central wheel.
Unfortunately our continuing mishaps dogged us here as I, through a combination of nerves and a reaction to the soup, wasn’t able to eat past course 3 and dad went as pink as a lobster half way through the meal because of…well…an allergic reaction to the lobster. Still this didn’t stop us ganbeing through the evening and resulting on my worst hangover since we arrived.We travel away from Jinan with mixed feelings. Our holiday proper starts here but as my dad said in our final toast last night we are going to see some spectacular things over the next few weeks but nothing will compare to the amazing hospitality we have been shown by Meng's family in Jinan.
Meng's family on her dads side on our last night in Jinan
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