Chopsticks & Beyond looks for love

Head Chef from Migas, Aitor Olabegoya, wins the judge's prize for his Spanish-inspired take on Yunnan rice noodles and wild vegetable pancakes at the Chopsticks & Beyond Singles Day Event. Photo taken November 11, 2014. [Photo/CRIENGLISH.COM]

The men and women divided into two teams, lined up, slipped chopsticks into their mouths and raced to pass a carrot (cut into a ring shape) down the line, not using their hands. Yes, it's game designed for pre-adolescent flirtations, but that's what it takes sometimes to get folks to loosen up. Members f the winning team won a slice of the heart-shaped cakes from Chun Cakes.

The second game involved the men creating a noodles and sauce dish to stir the ladies' hearts. They sensuously sprinkled in coriander, delicately drizzled in chicken stock, and tossed in mischievous amounts of chili.

The women wasted no time in stepping up to the table and plunging the noodles into their waiting mouths. A number of men seemed taken aback, shyly backing away as the women pounced from bowl to bowl to devour the contents within. Each woman was armed with one red rose which she could offer to the man with the tastiest noodles. But would could they find a worthy man? Most women didn't and opted to keep their rose for themselves. Eight women offered their rose to a man who in turn accepted it.

These eight couples were the contenders for the final event. The pairs slipped two chopsticks into their mouths between them, and then cradled an egg between the chopstick beams. Balancing the egg as such the couples were challenged to race across the room without dropping the egg.

In the final hilarious heat, Huo Wei and Xu Jingjing half shuffled, half sprinted the distance of the room to seize the grand prize, which turned out to be bigger than anyone had imagined: two plane tickets to Taipei. The audience twittered away. Would the cute pair really take a romantic holiday together? Would they actually become the against-all-odds couple that the event hoped to create? Time alone will tell. Ask us at the next Chopsticks & Beyond event!