THEMED CUISINE TRAVELS

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THEMED CUISINE TRAVELS

The Great Wall of China Cocktails,
Llama Cookout at White Sands,
The Last Emperor Banquet in Beijing,
Lincoln County Shoot-out with Ellis Store Country Inn Dinner

by Martha Hollis

Forget the Waikiki convention center Hawaiian Luau with ho-hum cafeteria foods featuring undulating swings of the same old hula. Destination theme parties can be gastronomic extravaganzas with special-effects rivaling that of million-dollar budgeted motion pictures.

Proving that theme parties can be better than fantasy we started at the Jinshaling section of the Great Wall of China, traveled to White Sands National Monument near Alamogordo, attended the Last Emperor’s Banquet in Beijing, and finished in the “real old west,” Lincoln County, New Mexico.

Cocktail Party at the Great Wall of China
On my most recent Asian trip I encountered innovative and creative theme parties, dinners and events. These exotic venues combined the fun of playing dress-up with haute cuisine. All I had to do was to show up with an open attitude for partying. What could be more delightful when on a holiday?

A small van, decorated with fresh orchids and balloons, and party team attired in Chairman Mao-style olive drab shirts and red-starred hats greeted us for a trip to the Great Wall. Our host, General Manager Bruno Huber of the Great Wall Sheraton in Beijing, irreverently covered us in similar disguise. My pocket even contained a plastic covered copy of The Little Red Book (in Chinese).

Tearing out to the countryside we sipped champagne, coffees, bottled water while the hors d’oeuvre were passed. Our tour guide shared history, culture, and patiently answered all of our questions about life in China today—particularly about the attitudes of the new workers. I thought that being stopped by the police for speeding was staged until I noted the driver’s crestfallen face after his expensive and genuine ticket.

At the Great Wall, up we scrambled, to the billions of bricks separating the Mongolians’ grasslands from the Hans’ farmlands. Marveling at this incredible structure, with 3750 miles of the original 6000 miles remaining, and imagining its construction workers furiously building to protect the livelihood and lives of many, I saw a vision of a Qing Dynasty gown, colorful deep royal blue silk with flashing bits of bright red. Then I saw more. No vision—this was reality. Our host had actually staged a party on the top of the wall with servers traditionally dressed, a full bar and exotic Chinese dim sum.

Hiking further on the wall I ran into two men dressed as modern soldiers. “My, how real they looked,” I thought.

“Would you pose for a picture with me?” I queried in my perfect sing-song regional Chinese dialect. Casting aside their hesitancy these real army men agreed and even struck uncharacteristic military poses--—but this is the new Chinese army.

Dining in the White Sands

The Great Wall can be seen from outer space as can the White Sands National Monument’s dunes. Nature’s gypsum sandbox with miles of whiter-than-white, ultra bright dunes and flats, the remnants from a 250 million year old inland sea’s marine life, welcomes visitors to enter a world only limited by one’s imagination. A dome, created 70 million years ago when the Rocky Mountains were formed, collapsed 10 million years ago to form this Tularosa Basin. And like a giant kaleidoscope, the gypsum dunes are constantly in motion.

Many guests, tossed their shoes giving their toes the freedom they craved in this soft cool, light substance. Leading the expedition into the sands were docile, albeit not spit-free, animals from Llama Wilderness Adventures who had been recruited from their typical mountain treks for this desert assignment.

As we rounded another large mound and turned right, we beheld bold red carpets against the white sand and blue skies splendidly set for dinner. La Luz chefs Pat Little and Shawn Haymes started us with black bean salsas and cheese quesadillas.

Marianne Schweers created the billion-star luxury dinner party obtaining special permits from the rangers, organizing the players and supplying the largest bowl imaginable of shelled pistachio nuts. Some years ago, the New Mexico desert, the heat and the pistachio bush were linked creatively by Marianne and husband George as they neared military retirement. Desiring to stay in the area, they researched crops deciding “the happy nut,” as the Chinese call it, was perfectly suited. Thus, began Eagle Ranch Pistachio Groves and New Mexico’s pistachio industry.

We sat in the cool, soft sand for the imaginative meal of chilled, dark, and assertive cherry soup garnished with cream and almonds, wild European greens with native prickly pear vinaigrette, and grilled ostrich medallions raised at the Williamson’s White Sands Ostrich Farm nearby in La Luz. We learned that the lean meat, lower in fat grams with similar cholesterol than chicken, needs only brief cooking.

As the sun disappeared, a fantasy light show of subtle colors and clouds awakened the photographers into a frenzy of set-ups and image capturing. Our desert dessert, a flourless mousse-like chocolate cake with whipped cream dusted with pistachio magic, came from the white tent hiding our view from the temporary kitchen where the chef’s brigade had done themselves proud.

“White Sands was an alternative site for landing our shuttle missions,” said Jack Moore from the Space Center Museum in Alamogordo “but will probably not be used again because sands gets inside everything, even sealed compartments.”

But even though the wind blew, no sand dared touch my food. I loved the cool, light gypsum between my toes and dining in sensual enchantment.

The Last Emperor Banquet in Beijing
And now back to the other side of the world at Beijing’s newest luxury property, the Beijing International Club, an ITT Sheraton hotel, where another dress-up event was in order. The evening began in a large room filled with gorgeous traditional silk gowns, robes, and head attire for both the men and women. After selecting our favorite colors and wrapping ourselves in oriental luxury, but still in our western footwear, we grandly entered the lavish banquet room for the Last Emperor feast. On the dais sat a young boy, the "last emperor" surrounded by attendants. During the evening, members of the Chinese opera performed Oriental music and dance.

Fortunately Executive Chef Franz Dajcman showed no restraint in his mixed cultural cuisine. We started with lobster sashimi in wooden boats with nets of carved vegetables and proceeded to the traditional Chinese soup, Buddha jumps over the wall. John Dory and U.S.-raised beef rounded out the entrees while mango and chocolate mousse, petite fours, fine wines and the potent Chinese drink, Mao Tai rounded out the beverages. (For more dinner details see Carole Kotkin’s account, “Eating in Beijing.” {http://travellady.com/articles/article-beijing.html}

The same joy in featuring the finest of cuisine, no matter the origins, is seen in the Garden Court restaurant in the Beijing International Club. Dan Dan Noodles served for breakfast celebrations are specially made to order. Congee, a rice porridge, has traditional toppings of fried onions, hot peppers, and peanuts. With an Austrian pastry chef, there is nothing lacking in the quality of that department. And what fun it is to have a freshly baked buttery croissant at the same time as a steamed and filled Chinese white bun. The most unusual aspect of the buffet was its presentation. Each silver-domed chafing dish has its contents perfectly arranged, each piece placed as if it were in its own silver frame, not crowding the dish.

Shoot-out and Dinner at the Ellis Store Country Inn, Lincoln County
And back in the West, I was sauntering down the dusty, main street of historic Lincoln behind Drew Gomber, Lincoln County Trust Historian. His spurs jingled and a glint of sunshine jumped off the revolver in his hip holster.

“Is that a real gun?” I asked.

“Sure is,” he grinned. “In New Mexico you can carry an unconcealed weapon without a license.”

A few minutes later we arrived in the Wortley Hotel bar. My camera and I were posed a couple of feet away from a table of cowboys playing cards surrounded by “saloon ladies” dressed in bright, brash, late 1800’s finery led by Ruth Birdsong, maven of the nearby White Oaks Ghost town. An argument over cards started, people were shouting, tempers flared.

I was shooting—with a Canon—when the first gun went off. Confusing the perspective of participant/observer I escaped through the kitchen, out the back door in a panic.

Having heard so much about the economic wars of Lincoln with names like Billy the Kid (now the star of his own scenic byway with center in Ruidoso Downs) and Pat Garrett and having just been behind Drew’s loaded gun, I re-examined my wishful thoughts about the luxury of a time machine.

After the brawl, gunfight, and history lesson, the group retired to the front lawn of The Ellis Store Country Inn, in a 1850’s adobe home in the Rio Bonito Valley, for an elegant dinner beginning on the expansive green lawn (a rarity in water-scarce territories) with gentle guitar music and singing of Marcela Garcia, New Mexican Gruet Champagne and taste-tempters from the chef’s kitchen. Here innkeepers, Jinny and Dave Vigil treated guests, seated on the 70 foot long covered portal, to salad with pistachio nuts and goat cheese, New Mexican rack of lamb or beef, locally-grown fresh vegetables, homemade oregano bread, and desserts to-live-for-and-have-again in times of Lincoln County peace. Tularosa Vineyard cabernets, produced from the nearby father and son owned and operated boutique winery carved in the high deserts, were poured.

Breakfast the next morning lacked every bit of the sophistication of the Beijing silver, linen and crystal. Cowboy chefs Jennie, Jed, and Edson Way, hauled in a chuck wagon and whipped up their award-wining, Dutch oven biscuits, scrambled eggs and sausage, spiced apples, and cowboy coffee over the open fire. This was a gathering right on the site of the annual reenactment of the Lincoln County Wars. Chef Vigil shared fresh salsa made of New Mexican chilies, plenty of garlic and fresh tomatoes. This rugged cowboy breakfast tamed our morning hunger so we could get back to traveling.

Contacts:

Beijing, China
The Great Wall Sheraton, Beijing (86) (10) 6590-5566
Beijing International Club Sheraton, Beijing (86) (10) 6460-6688
ITT Sheraton Luxury Properties, 800-325-3355, http://www.ittsheraton.com
Otero County, NM
White Sands National Monument, 505 679-2599, http://www.nps.gov/whsa
The Space Center and The International Space Hall of Fame, 800-545-4021
Eagle Ranch Pistachio Groves, 800-432-0999, http://www.eagleranchpistachios.com
White Sands Ostrich Farm, 505 437-7769, ostriches@bigbird.com
Llama Wilderness Adventures Inc., 800-709-0689
Lincoln County, NM
Lincoln County Heritage Trust Historical Museum, 505 653-4025
Ellis Store Country Inn, Lincoln, NM 800-653-6460 http://www.ruidoso.usa.net/reservations/ellis.htm
Billy the Kid Interpretive Visitors Center, 505 378-5318

Images by Martha Hollis

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