Dim Sum Elitists, Yummy Carnitas, Berries With Beavis

I'm a fairly knowledgeable diner when it comes to dim sum, so I was surprised that I hadn't yet tried Elite Restaurant (700 S. Atlantic, Monterey Park), where we celebrated Lilcee's birthday yesterday. Very exciting to try a new place! Even more exciting to love it!


Mr. Cee did a great job of organizing. He and Lilcee's cousin even prepared these little favors!

R texted me for the cross-street of the restaurant, which none of us remembered off-hand, so tater and the bear whipped out their new iPhones and looked them up. The bear was faster this time!

Isn't my old iPhone so hideous compared to tater's new baby? Like an ugly stepsister.

If Winnie hadn't moved, she could've sat here. (We miss you!)

Fried taro dumplings (deep-fried taro, mushrooms, shrimp, and pork).

Fried glutinous rice dumplings filled with pork and shiitake mushrooms -- always one of my faves.

Blurry bean curd. It's hard taking pics of food on a moving lazy susan.

Shredded wheat. Not really. Don't know what it's actually called, but it was good.

Stir-fried chang fen (wide rice noodles).

Shao mai (steamed pork dumplings in a wheat wrapper topped with roe).

Spring rolls.

Pai gu (little spareribs).

Steamed dumplings.

Meatballs.

Xia jiao (shrimp dumplings).

Steamed cha shao bao (barbecued pork bun).

Shrimp chang fen (steamed wide rice noodles stuffed with shrimp).

Tofu-skin rolls.

You tiao chang fen (steamed wide rice noodles wrapped around the literally-translated "grease stick," which some people call a "cruller" or "Chinese donut" -- it's like a glistening salty hybrid between a donut and a churro).

Honey-glazed baked cha shao bao.

Cake!

"Stop singing, you guys."

Wan's slice of cake. I thought she was lucky to get the yellow flower, but it turned out that the yellow flower was lemon-flavored, which didn't pair well at all with the light and tasty mocha cake. Quite the misguided combination.

Thanks so much for inviting me, Mr. Cee! Happy birthday to everybody's favorite Undomestic Goddess!

After dim sum, it was not quite time to go to my next event of the day, so Wan, R, and I hung out at cé fiore for a bit.

We lounged and chatted and then headed to Jim and Amber's new house!

The new pad is awesome. I had a great time at the Jamber-ee! Get it? Get it? Har har har.


The realtor there insisted on name tags. In honor of the Olympics, I wrote this.

My disenchantment with mandatory name tags was erased by this guy.





And, yes, we went from dim sum to cé fiore to the Jamber-ee. In my defense, I didn't actually eat anything at cé fiore. Stop giving me your disapproving glances.

The taco guy put a smile on all of our faces! Thanks for opening your home, Jamber!

Was the day done yet? Nope. I still had dinner plans in a few hours with my dear friend Editor. He's one of my favorite people from my college days. Here we are in our fake band over 10 years ago. Editor is the faux goth.

And here we are in 2006.

Editor's sister Tabby Kat lives in L.A., and she and her husband were wonderful hosts. I had an awesome time at their place. Thank you!

Bloody Mary.

Amazing artichoke and dip.


Delicious marinated flank steak.

Crazy sweet and juicy corn.

The Kats' little patio dining area and Beavis the [real] cat.

Salad.

My dinner plate.

I like corn. A lot.

For dessert, Editor and Tabby Kat made whipped cream to garnish our fruit.

Mr. Kat decided that this was the best music to accompany the task.

Behold! Editor and Tabby Kat create fresh whipped cream!




The blackberries, raspberries, and golden raspberries.

The white peaches layered on top.

Put a generous dollop of homemade whipped cream and voilà! Yumminess!


Few things are better than catching up with an old friend.