You'd all begged for some more retro-wisdom of old cookbooks, and I shall deliver.

This bits of wisdom come from Mrs. Mary Sia, born in China and receiving her degree in Home Economics at the University of Honolulu. This edition is 1956, when postwar optimism (?) carried the world...

"Many an American housewife who frets while her guests continue drinking as the dinner gets cold would enjoy the Chinese system of cutting off the 'coctail hour.' When the host feels there has been enough drinking for the time being, he simply picks up a pair of chopsticks and says 'Ch'ing,' then the guest of honor starts eating as a signal for all to begin."

"There are teahouses for all the different classes. Those for rickshawmen and laborers are furnished with rough benches and tables. Tea is sold in thick cups or bowls, and peanuts and melon seeds are also for sale."

and my favourite:

"The Chinese do not serve salads, nor would they think of drinking ice water with their meals. Instead, they put a bowl of hot soup on the table with other dishes and each person takes what he wants. Since itis usually a clear soup with a few morsels of meat and plenty of vegetables, it provides a hot tasty liquid to 'wash things down,' plus the vegetables which the Westerner usually eats in a salad."