I found your blog today (surfing net during my break time at work) ! I’m gonna follow your adventure from now on.
This blog reminds me of how I felt when I was in Shanghai. It was the exact same situation and I had similar response. Every Tuesday, we had lunch together (students and the language teachers) and the eldest one always ordered an abundant amount of food. She loved to give us a big amount and would feel really disappointed if we couldn’t finish it. I was more used to the whole “Asian grandmother” experience but I still felt uncomfortable because every time, we could not finish that much food because we were just too full. Every single time, it was hard to explain to them! They always thought that we didn’t like the taste, which couldn’t be further from the truth! I had to say that the food was extremely delicious several times to assure them. Once I just couldn’t deal with it and lied that I was sick .
Don’t feel too bad about it. It’s not your fault and they should understand you, too. Also, the amount of food served in Chinese families and restaurants is a lot. You were right to talk to the host and clarify things up.
Keep blogging these interesting experiences and take care!

Linh