Family in Flushing

We went to Flushing today, where there is a large Chinese community, to spend time with Ma and Gong before they head to Bangkok for two months to visit ailing Lao Gong ("great-grandfather.")

In one little block on Kissena Boulevard, we did some grocery shopping for our own New Year's celebration, looked at the Chen Family shrine (actually Gong's family name), ate dim sum, and went to a traditional Chinese bakery.  Whew.  Plus got leftovers for dinner tonight and snacks for several days to come.


As always, the grocery store was packed.  Stores in Flushing, in my experience, are always packed.  And I'm always the tallest, whitest person there.  It's not a shock like it used to be--if you're Caucasian, how often are you the only one?  Sure, it happens to Mama everyday in Connecticut but never to me.  Years and years ago, I used to feel very out of place, very unwanted, very in the way, and very sure that whatever I was doing was a complete social offense.  Now, not so much.  I realize I'm just not that important.  And I'm good at staying out of the way.  Other things about Chinese groceries I've been to:  there are always very strong scents, usually from the open-air fish market, but also from the row after row of mounds of vegetables.  We bemoan American love of processed food, but the Chinese have packaged crap in spades.  Also, today, I noticed three different packages with the same cathedral on the front . . . . cathedral??  I think it was to denote that the snacks inside were European in some way (they were all cookies, though a couple were traditional Chinese cookies.)  Interesting.  The kids picked up lots of foods they like--dried seaweed, udon and soba noodles, lychee gummies, Pocky, lychee drink, coconut gels, Asian pears, dried squid, prawn chips.  Mama also restocked our pantry with soy sauce, noodles, and other things for new year's.  I picked up some snacks--dried persimmons and those Chinese "cathedral" cookies--for a New Year's party I've been invited to in a few weeks.  It's the Year of the Ram, so Ma bought us Ram decorations for the house.

Then we went to lunch.  I've posted about dim sum before and the foods were much the same, though now the kids know what they like.  Sis loves shumai and fried dumplings, lotus buns and custard buns, mango dofu, and don tot (custard tarts.)  Bud likes shumai and chicken feet and various rice noodle and tofu skin wraps with various fillings.  Mama eats all that, plus tripe soup!  I had boiled greens, steamed chive dumplings, steamed vanilla cake, almond dofu, and coconut dofu.  And we took home a little of all of it.


For any of you who might be going to China, some dim sum tips:

• First, I don't know if mainland dim sum is anything like American dim sum, so watch others and follow along;
• tables are big and round and unless your group is big, if the restaurant is crowded, you'll be seated with others;
• hold on to that little "scorecard."  The staff will stamp it with a different stamp for each basket you buy.  If you wander the restaurant to look at items on the sidelines, like stews, take the card with you;
• feel free to point and stare and sniff and then refuse the item, or take it, as you desire;
• things aren't always what they seem--there's always an almond-coated ball that looks like a sweet to me, but contains fish.  There's lots of fish and even more shrimp, in everything;
• sweets and savories all come around at the same time, so if you want it, TAKE IT WHEN YOU SEE IT, because lots of times, you might not see a dish again;
• if you run out of tea in your pot, turn the lid upside down on the top and put the pot near the edge of the table; 
• tapping on the table with two fingers (index and middle) is the sign for thank you (for example, if someone pours you tea--the youngest pours--you tap your fingers next to your cup);
• usually, they'll give you to-go boxes--if the food is on your table, it's yours.

You'd think that was enough food, but after lunch, we went to the bakery.  It's self-serve, with a paper-covered tray and tongs for you to select coconut cream buns and poundcakes, lotus buns and "pineapple" buns (called that for the scoring on the outside.)

Pretty soon afterwards, we headed back to Ma and Gong's house  . . . to digest all of that food!  Which the kids did by learning some of Ma and Gong's Tai Chi Fan forms!

Our Holiday Express

We had a great Christmas at Ma and Gong's house, along with Goo. We spent Saturday morning atthe New York Botanical Garden, where we saw the Holiday Express Train Show. 140 famous New York landmarks (thanks for finding the list, Mama!) constructed of natural materials such as bark, leaves, seeds, and flowers, were surrounded by living plants and, best of all, several running train lines. Bud and Sis were fascinated, mostly with the trains and bridges overhead, while we adults admired the craftsmanship of the various and sundry buildings. Bud and Sis did like Yankee Stadium, about the only NY building they vividly remember. My favorites included the Van Cortlandt Manor, with its little twiggy porch, and Olana, with its amazing architectural detail. There were also several houses I'd never heard of--the Old Stone House, Kings Manor, and several 17th- and 18th-century NY structures. The newest building was a replica of the old Penn Station, a gigantic reproduction of the Beaux-Art building.

Once we'd walked around the train show twice, we headed over to the special Thomas the Tank Engine show, which turned out to be not so special. They were obviously set up for crowds, with lots of space for lines, and not much else. First stop, they write your name on a certificate. Second stop, pictures with Sir Topham Hatt (or not. Kids don't like characters. We won't be going to DisneyWorld anytime soon). Lastly, you got to see Thomas. Thomas himself was a small--half-life sized version, not nearly as impressive as the real working steam engine Thomas that we'd seen at Day Out with Thomas. Even the kids noticed and were underwhelmed. So we took a photo or two and headed to the holiday-themed Gingerbread Adventures, which was fantastic. There were several stations, including a places to grind and experiment with the different ingredients of gingerbread, mainly cloves, cinnamon, wheat, and of course ginger. They even got to plant their own wheat grass. And then we went to a special cookie demo, including another discussion of gingerbread ingredients (during which Sis volunteered several of the answers!) which ended with the kids decorating their own gingersnaps (which then Sis undecorated to eat plain). We made a quick stop at the shop, for postcards and books about the trains, plus some Chocopologie chocolate with rose and also with salted caramel, we snagged at the register.

Off to dim sum we went, Sis's personal (and repeated) request. And boy did she eat! Numerous custard buns and don tot. And she watched: everytime a woman with a pushcart went by, Sis's head would turn almost all the way around as she evaluated the offerings. More than once she asked Gong to find one of her favorites at the stations along one wall. She's got dim sum down. Bud loved the shumai. We think he had 8 of them, which he impaled on a chopstick and ate in the round, as did Sis. Mama was incredulous until Ma said that she head eaten them the exact same way as a child. We ate and ate and ate. Sauteed greens, bacon-wrapped shrimp, tripe with turnips, scallion pancakes, bbq pork buns, noodles with chicken, ha chung or shrimp crepe things (Mama's favorite!), waterchestnut cakes. Then desserts, always my favorite: coconut custard cubes, almond dofu with fruit, green sesame seed paste buns, custard buns, lotus seed paste buns, brown sugar cakes, mango dofu. And I had a pearl tapioca coconut bubble tea! Can you say stuffed to the gills? The kids even fell asleep on the way home, which is unheard of these days.

But not for long because second Christmas beckoned. We had to do a few things before we could open presents, including decorating Ma's tree with piles of Hallmark ornaments, a collection she's been growing for years, and the candy canes we'd brought specifically for that purpose. In Mama's family, all gifts are distributed to the recipients, with a pile growing by each person; then everyone opens kind of simultaneously (well, for the kids anyway). In fact, they usually exchanged all the presents Christmas Eve, staying up until the wee hours of the morning playing with the new toys. Mama remembers just falling asleep amid her loot as she played! Sis received two Barbie dolls and Bud got a humongous remote-controlled car (yes, gender stereotypes are alive and well with the grandparents, but protesting has no effect and so is no longer even attempted. Besides the kids were thrilled. And both Mama and I had Barbies. And nothing as cool as Vet Barbie. And we survived. Neither one of us had such a car and the only downside there is that it will be an outdoor only toy. It's that big). The kids played and played and played ("Yook, Mommy, I got a Swyinky!").

And played and played and played. Then it was dinner (with the Bread Pudding I brought) and Bud was so wiped that he excused himself . . . to go to bed! Sis followed about 15 minutes later. We were shocked. But then they didn't sleep. And played and played and played. At one point, I popped my head in their space (in the living room, which is pretty much its own contained room) and they were both standing up sprinkling torn of tissue "snow" on their critters singing, "Oh, I wish it would snow!" (from the storytelling we heard at the Pequot last week, from Rabbit's Wish for Snow). I thought it was funny and endearing so instead of chastising them, I beckoned everyone else to watch! And they played and played and played. We finally had to insist on their trying to sleep as it got closer to 11:30. It's the latest they've ever stayed up.

And they still woke up at 6:30 a.m. The least amount of sleep they've ever gotten. But then, I guess, that's partly what the holidays are for. Sunday found the adults conferring about our planned trip into midtown to see the Rockefeller Tree and other traditional stops on our holiday tour: Teuscher's Chocolates, the Sak windows, the Cathedral with its creche, and, of course, FAO Schwarz. But the windchill was below zero, with some snow showers expected. That's not just uncomfortable weather; that can be dangerous. So we opted to cancel the field trip and stay home, much to the kids' delight. They played more and then decided they wanted to go outside. They ran Bud's car in the driveway, not noticing the cold that was driving the adults to distraction. Then Sis wanted to walk to the beach. The beach! (Ma and Gong live 9 houses from the Atlantic). And we said yes. So we quickly hauled down the street and walked on the frozen sand--frozen sand!--and looked at all the seashells no one has been picking up (there were lots that had washed onshore, including two huge complete horseshoe crabs). There was neither snow on the sand nor ice in the water, but the wind was bitter. We rushed back home.

And decorated a gingerbread house, complete with tree and people (from another kind of kit, which comes with a special base that the gingerbread fits in--neat idea, really mediocre pre-mixed icing). And then we made the Christmas tree kit that we'd brought, along with lots of extra candy. Everyone had fun decorating what I think was our fourth or fifth set of gingerbread this year (we now have a village, complete with lighthouse, on our front porch! Not including these new ones which we left in NY).

Lunch, more playing, and then exhaustion and more snow arrived. It was time to go home. The kids were bereft and hard to wrangle in the car, even more upset when we dropped Goo off at his house, which sadness made for a long drive home--because Sis didn't sleep (Bud did but woke up crying). No sense dwelling on the goodbyes. There was so much fun--and that's all we're remembering today.

Except when the kids were talking about having been to the beach to their school teachers today, no one believed them!

-=-=-=-=-

Bread Pudding and Rum Sauce

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 ½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ cup butter, melted

2 ¾ cup whipping cream

4 cups cubed French bread

¾ cups raisins (or less)

Combine first 4 ingredients. Stir in butter and cream. Gently stir in bread and raisins. Pour in lightly greased 2-quart deep dish. Bake 375°F for 50-55 minutes, shielding with foil after 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Southern Living magazine

Bourbon Sauce (we used rum)

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon flour

½ cup sugar

1 cup cream (whipping, heavy, half-and-half)

2 (or 1) tablespoons bourbon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon nutmeg

Melt butter in a small saucepan; whisk in flour and cook 5 minutes. Stir in sugar and cream; cook 3 minutes. Stir in bourbon, vanilla, and nutmeg, and simmer 5 minutes.

Family Circle

What We Ate This Weekend

A Taste of Dim Sum in Flushing, with notes and pics from a variety of sources, courtesy of Mama.

If you've never been, dim sum is like Chinese brunch where tapas-like little servings of lots of foods are pushed around in carts and you stop them and choose what you want. The place we went, a huge banqueting hall in Flushing, is extremely popular and busy so we got there early so we could get a seat near the kitchen, providing the best variety and hottest selection.

Bud liked the shao mai best, plus the waterchestnut cake and steamed sponge cake (he even drank the tea, once it had cooled), while Sis preferred the char sia bao (the bbq pork buns), dan tat, steamed custard buns. Mama eats everything, but I preferred all the desserts (including coconut custard and almond dofu, not included here), since almost nothing else is vegetarian (though I got some great greens with oyster sauce, plus the turnip and taro cakes I really like). All in all, despite the funeral of Sen. Kennedy on every tv screen, we had a wonderful time on our first family dim sum outing. Bud even managed to eat a meatball with chopsticks all by himself! While Sis liked wandering to the food stations (you can order food there, in addition to all the food carts being pushed around) with Gong.

Shaomai (燒賣 siu mai): Small steamed dumplings with either pork, prawns or both inside a thin wheat flour wrapper. Usually topped off with crab roe and mushroom.


Shrimp Dumpling (蝦餃 har gau): A delicate steamed dumpling with whole or chopped-up shrimp filling and thin wheat starch skin.


Rice noodle rolls or cheong fun (腸粉 cheong fun): These are wide rice noodles that are steamed and then rolled. They are often filled with different types of meats or vegetables inside but can be served without any filling. Rice noodle rolls are fried after they are steamed and then sprinkled withsesame seeds. Popular fillings include beef, dough fritter, shrimp, and barbecued pork. Often topped with a sweetened soy sauce. (we had the shrimp one)


Steamed meatball (牛肉球 ngau4 juk6 kau4): Finely-ground beef is shaped into balls and then steamed with preserved orange peel and served on top of a thin bean-curd skin.


Taro dumpling (芋角 wu gok): This is made with mashed taro, stuffed with diced shiitake mushrooms, shrimp and pork, deep-fried in crispy batter.


Steamed Lotus Paste Bun


The bamboo steamed version is generally known as (鮮竹捲, sin jyut gyun). It is wrapped with dried tofu skin (腐竹, fu zhu). During the cooking process, the tofu skin is hydrated. It makes the roll very soft and tender. This is the version most commonly served as a dim sum dish during yum cha sessions. The steamed tofu skin rolls often contain bamboo shoots.


Turnip cake (蘿蔔糕 lo bak go): cakes are made from mashed daikon radish mixed with bits of dried shrimp and pork sausage that are steamed and then cut into slices and pan-fried.


Taro cake (芋頭糕): The pan fried square taro cake is semi-crunchy on the outside and medium-soft on the inside


Water chestnut cake (馬蹄 糕 maa tai gow): cakes made of water chestnut. It is mostly see-thru and clear


Egg tart (蛋撻 dan tat): composed of a base made from either a flaky puff pastry type dough or a type of non-flaky cookie dough with an egg custard filling, which is then baked. Some high class restaurants put bird's nest on top of the custard. In other places egg tarts can be made of a crust and a filling of egg whites and some where it is a crust with egg yolks. Some egg tarts now have flavors such as taro, coffee, and other flavors. There are also different kinds of crust. There is also a flaky crisp outer crust with layers and layers of crunchy crumbs.


Jin deui or Matuan (煎堆 or 麻糰): Especially popular at Chinese New Year, a chewy dough filled with red bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds, and deep fried.


Spring roll (春捲 cheun gyun): a roll consisting of various types of vegetables — such as sliced carrot, cabbage, mushroom, and wood ear fungus — and sometimes meat are rolled inside a thin flour skin and deep fried.


White sugar sponge cake (also called white sugar cake and white sugar pastry) is a type of Chinese pastry.