A Chinese Language Village

At Sen Lin Hu, groups of villagers take turns performing a meal presentation, or 饭菜介绍, before each meal to introduce the foods that will be eaten. This video is one of the Tuesday evening dinner presentation.

In this 饭菜介绍, the theme is Mario Party. First, the main characters (Luiji, Toad, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, a duck/Yoshi, and Panda) are driving around and crash into each other. Bowser, a large evil tortoise, comes over and demands to eat one of them. Both creatures give a reason for why the other creature should be eaten, and the disgusted Bowser decides not to eat either of them. In the second part, the foods are introduced as the Mario characters bump the block. The characters take the foods and walk between the tables, calling and responding the food name to review common foods and condiments and introduce new ones.

The meal presentations are an integral aspect of Sen Lin Hu. First, they allow villagers to become familiar with names of foods, drinks, and utensils in Chinese. Everyone uses these words to retrieve food from the kitchen, ask for food to be passed across the table, inquire about flavors of foods, and so on. The presentations also offer villagers a chance to be creative and perform using the structures and vocabulary they are learning in front of the Sen Lin Hu community. Finally, the performances are quite fun to watch!