Groundhogs, Rabbits, and Green Hornets

While Abe was away last week I spent most of my time socializing, relaxing, and playing.

Which left me with a giant pile of chores and work to catch up on!

It was actually good to cleanse all at once, since it’s Chinese New Year’s Eve. That’s something you do to “sweep away” any bad luck.

To celebrate The Year of the Rabbit Abe and I met up for a lunch break at the recently opened Bao Dim Sum House. Ate half a melon for breakfast to make plenty of room!

I grew up eating dim sum, and have blogged about some past experiences before. This place is different – you won’t see any pushed carts; it’s swanky and (as my parents would say) “for Americans.”

The prices, even for lunch specials, are steep in comparison to what you would get in any Chinatown…

…but similar to any “authentic” dim sum restaurant, there are very few vegetarian options. Even the eggplant and tofu comes wrapped around seafood!

We ordered the Mixed Vegetable Dumplings

Scallion Pancakes

(Make your own dipping sauce)

And because we were celebrating Chinese New Year, the House Chow Mein (without meat)

Noodles are supposed to symbolize a long life. Unfortunately, Bao’s were cut short.

I filled just a small plate of all the vegetarian stuff…

…left the rest for Abe, since I had two meat filled Zongzi all to myself

One of my favorite foods ever – well-seasoned sticky rice wrapped in bamboo or lotus leaf. I wish they had a vegetarian, sweet red bean one too.

This was really good, though, and less greasy than most versions.

In fact, everything was pretty tasty – I was impressed! All except for the noodle dish, which was mediocre…

…not that that prevented me from finishing off the last couple bites.

It’s hard to find decent Chinese food in Los Angeles, unless you drive to Monterey Park or San Gabriel – and pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to find dim sum in our neighborhood. So even though we were both stuffed, I HAD to order some Dan Ta – it’s been too long since I’ve eaten one!

The egg custards got split evenly. I could’ve used a little more sugar in the filling and crust, but the textures were perfect.

I’ll be back to Bao, though I’m hoping they will wise up to the needs of the neighborhood they’re in, and offer more vegetarian options. Even though the dishes are pricier, the ambiance is pretty, and I don’t have to sit in traffic for an hour to get a quick taste of childhood. I like that they serve dim sum all day long, too – usually it’s just a brunch thing.

Plus, I’ve never spotted celebs at the places I’m used to.

Seth Rogen, ladies and gentlemen! He has such a distinctive laugh – so cool to hear in person

Apparently Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Timberlake are fans of this place as well?!?

Stayed full forever! Since it was also Groundhog Day, I repeated “breakfast” for “dinner.”

(I ate the other half – just recycled the picture to pay homage to the movie!)