SL and Betty Huang's Party
2/11/06
Betty and SL hosted a festive combination Valentine’s Day and traditional Chinese 元宵節 at their beautiful home in San Juan Capistrano. In keeping with the Chinese New Year theme, the hosts requested that all guests wear traditional Chinese garments. In our advancing years, some of us forgot that detail (including myself). Generously, the hosts fitted us with Chinese silk jackets. It is too bad we weren’t allowed to wear them home.
With the proper attire on, we sat by the fireplace and exchanged greetings while sipping ice-cold champagne. The hosts prepared an abundance of food and games for the evening.
SL’s signature Florida Stone Crab claw dinner and other sumptuous dishes were a highlight of the evening. Immediately after, we went downstairs to play 猜燈謎, a riddle solving game. Over 26 riddles were posted around the room and Betty explained all of the rules. The highest scorer would win a prize and the lowest score would have to do the dishes. It seemed like a fair carrot-stick approach. Not surprisingly, last year’s champions, Paul & Amy successfully defended their title with 12 correct answers. Their prize was a beautiful crystal piece from Tiffany’s. On the losing side, were Steve and Lydia who only got 2 correct. They ended up having to do the dishes.
Riddle solving was only the warm up. How could the Chinese complete a New Year’s celebration without some form of gambling? Wasting no time, SL brought out a professional chip set, a large bowl and 3 red dice. Instantly, the atmosphere of the room transformed into a Las Vegas casino. Every guest rolled up their sleeves and got involved. After a couple of rounds of rolling the dice, George and Cordelia were wiped out. They were sent to wash cars. Not long after, Steve and Lydia were also in the hole. Fortunately, they re-capitalized and were able to cut their losses to a minimum. In the meantime, the house pampered high rollers like Bill Lu and Betty. They were offered free drinks and a massage. In the end, Bill and Nancy were the top winners. Jim and Jennifer were the runner ups.
To cap off the excitement of the evening and to follow Chinese tradition, everyone was served a bowl of two 湯圓, signifying our getting together. While we were eating, Betty brought out the 5th member of their family, a white poodle who performed neat tricks. Betty refused to disclose the secret of how she trained the dog to respond to her verbal commands. She only credited the dog as being very smart.
It was a great party and a lot of fun. The hosts announced that the next party would have an “Egyptian” theme. I would not be surprised to find that the guests who aren’t attired in the right clothes will be sent to the kitchen and rolled up with bandages like mummies.
Notes:
* Ka Bing & Phyllis missed the party. We want to send them our Best Regards.
** Tony Chan provides some of the photos