Last Saturday, I had an appointment with a group of very important people. The meeting place had been predetermined…the location of this chowdown?
Yes, the destination; Little Saigon, Westminster, California. Luckily, I arrived an hour and a half early. I enjoy arriving a bit early as it gives me time to check out the locale, get myself oriented, and breathe in the atmosphere. More importantly, I was able to find a parking spot in Asian Village Center with relative ease.
In Little Saigon you never know what you’ll run into….like a Lion Dance!
Maybe not the most artistic Lion Dance I’ve ever seen; but what was lacking in technique was made up in enthusiasm.
And of course you need a little noise to go with the Lion Dance:
Whoa, that’s my car nearby……….
Having some spare time I was able to take a stroll across the street to the Asian Garden Mall across the street. Well, not exactly a stroll, man does that traffic light change fast…..
I didn’t expect much since it was 9am on a Saturday morning. But of course Asian Garden Mall is no regular mall! The Food Court was alive and buzzing.
From this view, this could almost be any food court in any mall.
You won’t find your local Sbarro’s Pizza here…but if you’re in the mood for a Banh Mi(Vietnamese Sandwich), you’ll find Lee’s Sandwiches.
And instead of the usual stands selling the same chicken with a different sauce, you’ll find dishes such as Bun Mam, Bo Kho(Vietnamese Beef Stew), and Banh Canh.
I was tempted, but stayed the course, and did not give in to temptation……
An entire wing of Asian Garden Mall consists of jewelry stores! I walked to the end of the wing and took this photo:
At the very end is a security kiosk. One of the security guards noticed I was taking photos, and started following me around….thinking perhaps that I was "casing the joint????" At that point I decided to leave. After all I didn’t want to irritate security personnel, and I especially didn’t want to anger these fellows.
Asian Garden Mall
9200 Bolsa Avenue
Westminster, California 92683
I crossed back over to Asian Village Center which was now becoming a never ending circling stream of automobiles. There was an almost constant cacophony of horns blaring….I figured it was just a matter of time until I saw the latest installment of Battle of the SUV’s…… In spite of the mass of metal and humanity in this mall, I knew there was a little oasis of peace in this mall. Having read Wandering Chopsticks fantastic Virtual Tour of Little Saigon, I knew that there existed a Cultural Court in the back of Asian Village Center with statues of Confucius and His Disciples.
Which gave me a nice break. Soon enough it was time to meet the OC Food Bloggers so I walked over, past Duong Son BBQ:
Where I made a mental note to pick up a little something for Da’ Boyz…which I then immediately forgot.
Maybe next time!
I made my way to Dragon Phoenix Palace Chinese Seafood Restaurant, sheesh talk about a mouthful. When the Missus heard the name of this restaurant, She cracked up and said, "all you need is to add, New Golden, to the front, and include Panda after Phoenix, and you’d have the ultimate Chinese restaurant name!"
There’s always a bit of nervousness when meeting a "new" group of people, but all apprehension melted away after meeting everyone; the one and only Chubby Panda, the Epicurious Wanderer, Christian Z of Orange County Mexican Restaurants, Wandering Chopsticks, Deb from Dinner at Six, Elmo of Monster Munching, and Elonweiss who posts on OC Food Blogs, and Her Brother. Joy also made an appearance, but unfortunately Her SO, was caught in one of the inner circles of Dante’s parking hell, endlessly circling the parking lot, and had to leave.
The restaurant itself was the usual bustling Dim Sum restaurant.
I only took two photos of the food. Wandering Chopsticks did a more comprehensive post, which you can read here.
Much of my attention was diverted to the conversation, which ranged from food(what else do you think we’d talk about), to Chubby Panda’s "cheek technique" for taking photos(it’s not what you think). In what was a somewhat novel event, we had most of our language bases covered, from Cantonese(Elonweiss), to Mandarin(CP), to Vietnamese(WC)…I don’t think my Pidgin would have been of much use here.
And two hours went by in a flash. As I got into my car, and somehow made it back to Bolsa Avenue, I couldn’t help but think what a nice group of people these OC Food Bloggers are…..
Thanks again for including me, I am both touched and so appreciative.
And don’t forget to read OC Food Blogs!