Decoding Etiquette in China, Handshakes to Meals - NYTimes.com

Decoding Etiquette in China, Handshakes to Meals - NYTimes.com:
'via Blog this'  9Oct2014

Excerpt (which certainly reminds me of my visit):

"Any tips for mealtime?
You must try everything, even if something looks aggressively weird. To refuse anything is a loss of face to the host. What happens inevitably is that you’re seated at a round table — there are few rectangular tables in China because in the middle of the table, no matter how posh the circumstances, is what we call a Lazy Susan — and as the food arrives, the host moves it in a clockwise motion toward you, and he will serve himself last. All at the table know to save for the guest the last bites of the most coveted food. If you were a little boy bent on torturing your little sister, you could not come up with some of these possibilities — not in your wildest imagination. My favorite example was a penis of a deer in leek bulbs. Best thing to do is not to ask what you’re eating.

Also, if you do not drink or have a low resistance, as I do — I mean, I’m a very cheap date — you must indicate that immediately, even stretch the truth and say you have a medical condition, otherwise you’re in for the long haul. They are promiscuous toasters."

My trip leader, a native Chinese, when asked what an item of food was, usually answered like this:
"Remember, Chinese eat anything that flies except airplanes, and anything with four legs except tables."  So we learned to just try things, and decide then whether to eat more or not.  And often, we never knew what it was that we ate.