mmm-yoso!!! is being written by Cathy today. This blog is about food as well as reasons leading to the food.
On the last Saturday of October, The Mister and I drove up to Irwindale to observe the fifth road test of 2023 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade floats.
On this day only a few floats were being tested for mechanics and maneuverability.
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 Phoenix Decorating Barn is the exact maximum height and width to allow passage.
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 Lions Clubs International float, "Bridging the World Through Service" was tested with weight (people) onboard for the mechanics and maneuverability as well as the ability to exit the float within 45 seconds in case of a fire.
All in all, a short day. So, we headed out to look for breakfast.
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It is so easy to get to the West Covina Portos (six miles South on the same road as the decorating barn). 
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).
Of course, some of these items were shared with friends. Portos Bakery, many locations, Website
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Then I remembered our breakfast after the Fourth Road test and wanted dim sum!
Once again, The Mister was navigating via his phone, searching for "Dim Sum". Soon we were here. 
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!
Dim Sum King 11230 Garvey Ave, Suite D El Monte, CA 91733 Website Closed on Thursdays, opens 8 a.m. other days. 
The chicken held up quite well after the drive home. This batter is more of the "laquer" type and it was still quite crunchy. Not much seasoning though, so it really needs a sauce. The sauce came in a presealed container and was like a sweet (emphasis on "sweet") chili sauce that was kind of weak overall.
The wings were somewhat unevenly battered, the pieces on the top were quite crunchy, but for some strange reason, even though I liked the fact this wasn't swimming in sauce, the bottom pieces had gone mushy. For some reason, the meat of the wings were drier as well. This soy based sauce was also too sweet for my taste.
We decided to swing by Notre Dame to see what was going on in terms of restoration and construction. Like so many, we were horrified to see and read about the 
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We'd had such a fun time doing our 
It had been over 2 years since I'd last 
So, how was this? First off, the rice isn't as well coated as before, though it still has a decent spiciness and some nice chunks of Portuguese Sausage. The burger has always been lean and without filler, which makes it nice and beefy if a bit more chewy than others.
This was a not so good bowl, the best item was probably the boiled eggs which had been decently marinated, nicely cooked, and not overly salty. The broth was mediocre, the beefiness was achieved using the "wave" method….that would be that it tasted like a piece of beef was waved over the bowl to give it flavor. It needed more anise tones and complexity. There was a light spice and a hint of Sichuan Peppercorns, but was super salty.
The "knife cut noodles" seemed of the mass produced variety. It was too brittle, lacking in any doughy "pull" and stretch.
There were two things I noticed right off; look at that puddle of oil the beef roll is lying in. Also, check out all that cucumber…..I thought that this was a beef roll, not a cucumber roll. I really think they're going for something massive here instead of thinking about proportion. The beef was basically the same cut as what's used for the NRM, but with the addition of the fatty parts which are chopped. There was a ton of hoisin sauce. The bread was thin, short on green onions, but fairly crisp…at least what wasn't a greasy mess was.
And though we had passed the Cathedral several times a day, and even 
Indeed St Giles has quite a tumultuous history. It was established as a Catholic Church and then came the 
The lean deer loin had a nice, moist toothsomeness, had been seared and seasoned nicely. It wasn't overly gamy, but you could tell it was venison. The jus was wonderful, not overly rich, and went well with the delicious potato pave. Loved the celeriac puree, but that round ball of venison haggis was super mild in flavor. It did have quite the gritty-grainy texture though.
