Xin Nian Kuai Le?

"Happy New Year" is the title of this post; however, there wasn't really anything going on in Chinatown today. I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting to see the dragon rolling up and down the streets with fireworks, drums, and gongs. Nothing. It was a ghost town. So much for that idea. Maybe the big celebration won't start until this evening.

At any rate, we did get some dim sum, which is always good. And the restaurant FINALLY started making my favorite Chinese desert, dan ta, which is an egg custard in a flaky crust. As Derek described it, it's like flan inside of baklava, only less sweet.

Another fun part was that Dani came with us. She had never eaten dim sum before, so we had fun explaining all of the different dishes and how to order. For anyone who has never had dim sum, I would say that the best part is the wide variety of dishes. People just walk around with carts full of different foods. Some are steamed, some are pastries, some are roasted meats, many are wrapped in noodles or breads. All you have to do is point to what you want, they put it on your table, and they put a tic mark on your bill. All dishes cost the same, or different colored plates represent different prices. It keeps things simple.

In the end, our day of celebration consisted of dim sum in Chinatown and about an hour of walking around. The Year of the Boar did not start of so exciting. Fittingly, we did eat quite a bit though.

Check it out! Former Chinese President Jiang Ze Min got his green card! It must have been after his term ended in 2003.