Thanks for stopping to read mmm-yoso!!!, this blog about food. Cathy is writing today because she has a post about food (and some other things) while Kirk is busy with work.
This past Saturday had us waking at 4, leaving at 5 and getting to Irwindale at 7; the start of what we thought would be an efficient morning.
2024 Rose Parade Float Road Test #1
A few floats were being tested for mechanics and maneuverability.
The Oddfellows and Rebekahs float, "All You Need is Love", passed with flying colors! I can't wait to see which natural materials are used to decorate the unicorns.
The Kiwanis 2024 float, "Serving in Harmony" passed its third road test, with people (weight) on board and will be ready too decorate with 'dry' materials and glue on the first Saturday in December. You can volunteer to decorate by signing up HERE.
The Lions Clubs International float, "Changing the World Through Music" has a great rendering of the Parade theme (Celebrating A World of Music; The Universal Language) and float title.
The Royal Court float was also tested; seven members will be seated here as part of their year long reign of community service.
Stored inside the float barn, the Elks Clubs float with headless and handless Fife and Drum Corps is painted in (usually human 'skin' decorating, done with various spices, is separately worked on and I suspect that is why the heads and hands are not attached).
The Petal Pushers and Lutheran Hour Ministries entry, "Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord" has been further painted in.
The Rotary International entry, "Clean Water, the Music of Life" with the ducks and umbrellas looks to be a winner. It's cute and conveys the message of the Parade and of Rotary.
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Being efficient, we were on the road South and got to Portos before 8 a.m..
Plenty of parking, no lines, a quick pick up of the seasonal peach tart, a blueberry croissant, cranberry orange scone, cheese roll, walnut raisin bread and a Cuban quesadilla (pretty much another form of cheesecake).
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We started on the 10 West, toward El Monte, took an exit and I made a quick stop upon seeing this signage.
The menu was outside, inside and at the counter. 
We ordered #1, #3 and #7 (Shrimp Har Gow, Shrimp Shiu Mai and bean curd wrapped meat) ($18 total) and put the bag in the car. It would be a late lunch.
Very good, fresh, quite large pieces. Glad we stopped.
Hong Kong Dim Sum House, 9505 Garvey Ave, South El Monte 91733 (626) 350-7099 Open Wed-Mon 7-3, Closed Tues
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Since it was early, and we wanted Dim Sum, we we decided to try Ocean Bo again
The menu is the same, prices slightly higher by 30¢ ($4.59) than in October.
The drill was the same; check off your order on the menu and everything is brought out at once. We knew what was in the car so ordered different things here. 
Steamed Fun Gor, Ham Sui Gok, Shrimp and Chive dumpling, Seafood Gow and baked egg tart (each $4.59). Hot tea was $1.80 each and the pot was constantly kept refilled.
Cross sections; different skins on each item, everything very fresh and very efficient service. A great place.
Ocean Bo 3944 Peck Road El Monte (626) 452-1818 Open daily 8 am-9 pm website
Even though we were done at 9:29 a.m. and thought we would get home quickly, that didn't happen. We drove over to the 15 and ended up getting in at 12:45. Crazy traffic! Still a nice day.
It's self check-in at a touchpad at the hostess stand. Soon, a text message arrived that our table was ready.
We were seated, hot tea ($2) was promptly brought out and we could order from the photo menu as well as from the passing carts. 
Additional beverages were also available from a cart. 
Shrimp Noodle Roll ($5.99) came from a cart and was filled with large, plump, flavor filled shrimp. Slippery and satisfying.
Our order from the kitchen (each item $5.99) was delivered quickly. The Shrimp Har Gow was filled with the same large shrimp and wrapped in a not too thick nor too chewy tapioca based dough.
The steamed Tofu Skin Roll was filled with pork, carrot, mushroom and crunchy water chestnuts. 
The Black Mushroom Sui Mai was really tasty. The Sui Mai filling (pork/shrimp/ginger/mushroom/scallion/water chestnut) was a large serving size to facilitate holding the large black mushroom. Flavors in every bite! 
We ordered the soup dumplings from a cart. None were leaking. The dough was chewy, especially at the top folds but overall the filling was quite nice. 
The fried shrimp balls ($7.99), ordered from the kitchen, were a great choice. Very large, cut in half and simply a mass of cooked shrimp formed into a paste then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried, this serving could be a complete meal if I could control my cravings. 
The picture menu had this "Sweet Tofu-available only on Saturday-Sunday", so I had to order it. What a great way to end the meal! Soft, warm, fresh made tofu served with a sugar-ginger sauce. It was quite perfect. 
Our Order Card. Seven items plus the hot tea ($49.95). A very nice special meal. 
Here is the Elks (a fraternal organization) 2023 Rose Parade entry, which needs to collapse to go along the Parade Route. The size of the door leading to the 
It is a magnificent float when fully expanded.
Fezzy Bear, the Shriners Hospitals for Children mascot, and their 2023 float, is still in its rebar stage.
Apparently this float will be highlighting the annual Shriners Golf Tournament fundraiser.
The 
It is so easy to get to the West Covina 
Getting here before 8 a.m., there are no crowds.
We ordered a medianoche (Midnight) sandwich ($7.19); a Cubano (pork, ham, Swiss, pickles and a mustard/mayonnaise dressing) on a sweet, dark bread (instead of a lighter Cuban roll).
Also a ham and cheese omelette sandwich ($5.95) (on a fresh, buttery croissant).
Of course, I had to get a loaf of bread (walnut raisin ($4.15)).
Also a few other items (apple strudel ($1.55), gingersnap cookies (0.85), a pumpkin spice danish ($2.49) and three pan de muerto ($2.45 each) along with a dozen turkey-gravy potato balls ($18.79)).
I also noticed the guava rose cakes ($3.85) so very pretty- and delicate and delicious (guava mousse with a chunk of guava in the center on top of a thin sponge cake, topped with a white chocolate).
There is no eating area, which is fine since we were full and heading home. 
Quite unassuming and very popular, this was a perfect place to pick up some Dim Sum to go. 
There is a small interior with a small selection shown, the kitchen is behind the steam trays. 
Photos are on the front window.
Menus with pens are at the front. Not many descriptions are available. 
Steamed Fun Guor (ground pork, dried shrimp, peanuts, chives, mushroom and radish in a tapioca wrapper) ($3.98)
Shrimp Har Gow (only shrimp in a tapioca wrapper) ($4.38)
Baked BBQ pork pastry ($3.98)
Shiu Mai (ground pork and minced shrimp, water chestnuts, mushroom in a flour/dumpling wrapper) ($4.38)
Rice noodle roll with shrimp ($3.98)
Everything held up well on the drive home and we had a wonderful lunch!
The final float of the parade 'announces' the Rose Bowl football game which will start four hours after the Rose Parade ends (on January 2, 2023, because there is never a Parade or Game on a Sunday).
Here is the same float on December 31 last year; it is not judged but always freshly decorated.
The Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom float, "Protecting The Wild" was being tested. You can see the tree in the back of the float 'collapses' to be able to fit down the Parade route. (See how other floats collapse in the Road Test #3 post). 
Here is the artist rendering of the Mutual of Omaha float.
In the front is the
(Royal Court float being decorated on December 31)
The Trader Joe's 2023 entry is a multi-piece float. 
The front appears to be a 'chopper' motorcycle.
The attached second part of the float is a pirate ship; I see the ships wheel, collapsed sail, giant pelican, a banana and a collapsed palm tree. It will be interesting to see the progress. 
Soon, we were in El Monte, parked, walked in and were able to get a table right away.
The other entrance door lead to the steam trays and take out area of the restaurant. 
Each table had a menu and a pen; we ordered. Soon, everything was brought out to our table at the same time. 
I was not the only person taking photos of food. 
The salted chicken porridge ($6.89) was wonderful with a great chicken stock base; you can tell the porridge had been simmering a long time. The chopped pieces of bone-in chicken were plentiful.
Pork Shiu Mai ($4.29) were quite large, very well flavored (didn't need additional soy nor chili sauce). In addition to the chopped pork and shrimp, the filling had crispy water chestnuts, carrot and mushroom. 
The Seafood Gow ($4.29) were particularly good. The crisp, pan fried dumpling, filled with pieces of fish, shrimp and crab as well as (spinach?) greens; turned out to be our favorite bite of the morning.
The shrimp rice rolls ($5.39) were each filled with two plump, large, flavorful shrimp. The rice noodles and sauce complimented each bite in flavor and texture.
The shrimp Har Gow ($4.29), steamed in tapioca flour wrappers. Filled with very plump, large shrimp, this 'staple' of Dim Sum restaurants was a delightful treat. 
The baked egg tart ($4.29) was a perfect ending to the meal. The still warm and eggy custard inside the multi-layered Chinese puff pastry (less oily/more flour-y than traditional puff pastry) was just so perfect. 
The tea, very fresh.
For those of you wondering, we just drove right past Portos on the way home (!)
