If dishes could speak

We arrived today in what we are told will be our new home. Actually, we're still all wrapped up, but hopefully that won't be for too long.

How did we come to be here?

The story apparently begins quite a few years ago. Some of our compatriots were once unpacked and dusted off for a special dinner party. If I remember correctly, there were about nine of them present that night, and our friends were arranged in their shining glory atop a brilliant red tablecloth. Beside each place setting, there was a menu, outlining the various courses that would appear throughout the night.

It was around 7:30 or so in the evening when they sat on the chairs and served the first course: an assortment of various dim sum like siu-mei, char-siu-baau and vegetable spring rolls, all home-made and each with it's own dipping sauce. Once these were devoured, the next course came along: hot and sour soup, made with mushrooms of various kinds; then the next set of courses: noodles, rice, shrimp, beef, chicken, scallops and vegetables. Only once everyone had eaten enough, and the remnants had been consigned to the other room did the dessert appear: mango and almond pudding, served with assorted fresh fruit.

It's been more than seven years since that fateful night, and ever since that time, our new owner has been looking for a set like us. From one coast to another, the hunt has been unsuccessful, until that night a few months ago, when he called our former owner and asked about where he could find a set just like our friends. The answer took a few twists and turns, but finally we were unearthed, saved from the cupboard where we were facing certain banishment.

Now that we've arrived in this new place, there's the promise of more parties, more festivities, more gatherings around another table. We will do our best to make every gathering elegant, and we're sure that whoever is invited to sit will be impressed by what we have to offer.