Bear’s paw and monkey brain? Not on Chinesology’s US$2,000 Manchu-Han banquet menu (opens in new tab)

The Manchu-Han banquet (or Manhan quanxi) – a legendary grand feast dating back to the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) – was, depending on how you interpret it, either the pinnacle of imperial culinary extravagance or the origin of China’s reputation for eating everything. It was not a single meal but a multi-day culinary marathon, traditionally consisting of 108 dishes served over three days in six separate banquets. The scale was almost unimaginable – some accounts list more than 300 different...