Every year, during the second term, there are a number of special dinners held in college. These include Ale Verses, Burns Night, Chinese New Year and many more. On Tuesday the 2nd of February, Brasenose held its annual Chinese New Year dinner, a tremendous event for which tickets sold out quickly after they were released. The structure is very similar to the standard dinner, but with a few exciting twists.
A fortune cookie and packaged chopsticks were laid out for each seat, replacing the usual knife and fork combination you’d find in a standard place setting. Colourful streamers could be seen overhead and few would dispute the idea that the candlelit hall had never looked better. On each table there were information cards, filled with facts and beliefs relating to the Chinese New Year.
Once all the guests had arrived the first course of Hot and Sour Vegetable and Rice Noodle Soup was served. The main followed soon after, consisting of Crispy Chinese Style Duck with a Soy, Spring Onion and Ginger Sauce, accompanied by Egg Fried Rice and Chinese Stir Fried Vegetables. Finally, we had the desert; a Pear in Honey Sauce with Mandarin Ice Cream.
Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable meal, and as well as that, it was a fantastic demonstration of what makes Brasenose so brilliant. An event like this, that brings people together from every year, whether they’re postgraduate or undergraduate, really is the pinnacle of college life. I look forward to going again next year.
By Oliver Hoy (Second Year Economics and Management)