mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Sometimes the post explains why we got to the food. Today is one of those days; Cathy is writing.
The 2023 Tournament of Roses with the theme "Turning The Corner" has concluded. The Rose Parade was held on January 2 (the Parade is never on a Sunday; the first parades in the 1800s had floats that were horses pulling carriages and horses were needed for church on Sunday; the tradition stands). Following the Parade, the floats line up at the end of the five mile Parade route, end to end, and are displayed after the Parade and the next day. This year, I drove up with my friend, cc (The Mister had to stay home). It had rained overnight.
The Sweepstakes Award, for the most beautiful entry encompassing float design, floral presentation and entertainment, went to the float sponsored by Donate Life, "Lifting Each Other Up". A spectacular asian street dragon is the centerpiece of the float. There were 44 memorial floragraphs representing those who had given the gift of life. Those were removed before the rain, so the families could have a memory. 
You can see the empty circles, where the floragraphs had been, in this photo.
Trader Joe's entry, "Onward" won the Wrigley Legacy Award for most outstanding display of floral presentation, float design and entertainment. The three piece float was magnificent and whimsical.
Walking along the floats: an alligator, a shark and crested birds were some of the many details not seen during the television broadcast. 
The Kiwanis entry, "Catching the Wave of Service" was so beautiful.
The City of Alhambra entry, "Together We Rise" received the Tournament Volunteer award. 
Elks U.S.A entered "Elks Investing in Our Communities"- a magnificent float. 
More details- hummingbirds, snails and bees might have gone unnoticed during the quick TV viewing. Yet so much work was put into the design and decoration of each and every one of the 39 floats in the 2023 Parade. (I have photos of all the floats if you want any specific pictures).
Now, it is time to start planning for 2024. Yesterday, the President of the 2024 Parade, Alex Aghajanian, was introduced and he introduced the Theme and logo of the 2024 Rose Parade:
"Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language". The float designs are being submitted and construction will begin. As an aside, each float always has recorded music while it drives down the Parade Route. This theme will have the floats designed and coordinated with the music. It should be fun.
If you would like to see the 2023 Rose Parade Float Road Tests, This Post links to all.
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cc was looking forward to going to Portos after our morning of walking. 
She and I needed lunch. A cubano sandwich, cuban style black bean soup, turkey and cheese croissant and (to go, for The Mister) a rustic chopped chicken salad (which includes house candied bacon-yum!). There were, of course a few bakery items. However, we were here on January 3-just before Epiphany, the 12th night after Christmas and the 'end' of the holiday season.
Traditional celebratory sweets to celebrate Three Kings Day were for sale; however the Rosca de Reyes was already sold out. We each purchased a Galette des Rois.
Puff pastry filled with a layer of almond frangipane cream as well as a touch of guava jam (for a Cuban twist). The 'baby' could be hidden into a slice by us (if there were more than two of us sharing this tart) and whoever found it could wear the crown. The Mister and I shared wearing the crown. 
There were no Roscas, but the seasonal Rosquitas, a sweet bread topped with dried, candied fruits made some nice bites for us this year. 
Portos Bakery, multiple locations in Los Angeles County. Website
Honda is a Sponsor of the Tournament and their float is not judged; that's why it is not completely covered in organic materials.
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 (!)
The float barn is filling up. 
It looks like 
The 
Unsure which float this is, but you can see the 'spotter' in front and a bit of the 'driver' all the way to the left and back in this photo. This float is small enough to drive the parade route without having to 'collapse' under street lights and the freeway bridge along the way. 
The float which will carry the Royal Court was being tested. It's the same float used the previous three years and is not judged for any awards. It is 'redecorated' each year. 
The 
"Hope for Peace", sponsored by 
First, the obligatory stop at 
So we waited in line and ordered, did see we could sit down for a moment and photographed some of our purchases.
We shared this 'new' item-a chicken and rice ball; excellent!
Then we started driving- cc always has a Plan A as well as a Plan B for our adventures. Turning South out of Portos and driving to Amar Road was new to me!
Yes we did! 
The choices and prices and wow! Everything was so fresh. (These three donuts were $6.25) The Donut Hole 15300 Amar Road La Puenta 91744
This mall, located between Amar Road and Manila Way, anchored by a 
We purchased pieces of lechon (slow roasted suckling pig)-perfectly cooked with a flavorful moist meat and crackly skin. We also purchased fried chicken skins; the chicharron were large pieces and perfectly lite and crisp. Toto's Lechon Manok 1545 Amar Road West Covina 91792
On the other end of this mall is a quite large building, part of a local chain, DJ Bibingkahan. 
A Turo-Turo (Point-Point) business, where you order, pay and find your own seat.
Corned beef silog and longsilog, served with hard cooked eggs and garlic rice, made a great breakfast. The corned beef was in chunks and in a flavorful broth with tomato, onion and potatoes. The longanisa was boiled, not pan fried, but the 'skin' still had a good 'snap' and the flavor was more sweet-I think it was made with pineapple juice. 
We asked the friendly man behind the counter if he had regular 
It is the 50th year in Glendora and also peach donut time for 
The Theme of "Turning the Corner” celebrating the unlimited potential that each new year brings, was announced by the 
The 
The Spotter for the 
The 
No idea who has sponsored this float, but can see the the Spotter will be standing at the front and can also see the driver now while this float is in its rebar/pencil rod stage. 
This is the City of Alhambra float entry. Spotter is seated at the front and the driver is on the left side-near the red fuel tank. 
Well. Turns out at 8:05 a.m., there's not much of a line. I ordered pastries, breakfast and beverages all at one counter. 
The meat pie ($1.15) is filled with the same picadillo that is in the famous potato balls, but is baked in flaky pastry. A nice snack while we waited.
Also ordered: cheese roll ($0.99), apple strudel ($1.45) and a refugiado (guava cream cheese pastry) ($1.09). We took the sweets home.
Soon, the beverages were delivered to the table. Portos cortadito ($2.89) (espresso with sweetened condensed milk) and a summertime item- iced strawberry matcha latte (large) ($4.89). Both beverages are quality and flavorful. 
Soon, the ropa vieja sandwich ($7.50) was brought out. Served on fresh soft Cuban bread, the 'Cuban birria' (Cuban-style stewed beef with bell pepper, onion, olive, tomato sauce, and Spanish seasonings) was excellent and quite large. The plantain chips (mariquitas) are seasoned with garlic salt and are a perfect side to the sandwich, breakfast time or not. 
The ham and cheese (cheddar-jack blend) omelette ($5.50) is served on a fresh buttery croissant with a mayo-mustard spread and is also quite large. 
