Not your average Chinese banquet
Aside from the honey walnut prawns, 2 megatons of MSG and the small children in their culturally appropriate get ups, this saturday night was not your average Chinese banquet. I spun, ate and had fun watching a bunch of women shake their boot-ays at APIQWTC's 20th annual lunar new year banquet. As snarky as I can be about large identity-based gatherings, it was kind of nice to be at a Chinese banquet that wasn't a Chinese banquet---if that makes any sense.
After the family fun, the party moved to Kim's Backyard--a local Raiders bar owned and operated by Kim, a Korean American woman who first welcomes every customer with a smile, then a hand shake, and as the evening wears on she roams the floor giving bear hugs and pawing women in a way that could invite a sexual harassment suit if it took place at a workplace.
But hey, she makes a mean BBQ in here non-backyard and Miho and Aki made sure the liquor, hospitality and food were flowing. If that karaoke machine would work, it'd be a regular hang out.
Pictures from the banquet live here.