Yum Yum Dim Sum

Today we're having dim sum.
Look, there's the rolling cart!
Papa says that dim sum means
"A little bit of heart..."

Why, oh why, my little siu mai,
Why do I love you so?
What treasure hides, jing cha siu bao,
Pillowed in your dough?

I love this little board book about dim sum. It's very funny, and better yet, part of a series. The other titles in the series are First Book of Sushi, Hola! Jalapeno, Mangia Mangia!, Chaat and Sweets, Let's Nosh!, and A Little Bit of Soul Food. Have you ever had dim sum? It's a traditional Chinese brunch -- the waiters roll little carts through the restaurant and when the cart comes by your table, they lift the lids off the small, round bamboo steam boxes so you can have a peek inside at the dumplings. If they look good to you, the server sets the bamboo steam box on your table. Then everyone grabs their chopsticks & plucks up the dumplings. My favorites are the Shanghai dumplings filled with soup. It was such a mystery to me the first time I had them. How did they get soup inside the dumplings? I finally figured it out, but it's a secret. Maybe I'll tell, and maybe I won't.

So, this is what we did for my birthday -- we went out to my favorite restaurant for dim sum!

Little Mr. B. worked very hard trying to use his chopsticks, and finally... success!

Then we swung by my favorite tide pools. Oh, it was windy and cold, cold, cold! We said hello to sea anemones & starfish, the limpets, wee periwinkle snails and hermit crabs. We waved at the soulful-eyed sea lions bobbing in the water only 30 feet away from where we stood, and Little Mr. B., with his sharp eyes, spotted the tiniest funny fish in one of the pools.

It was a marvelous birthday, made even better by all the kind wishes and greetings I received on Saturdays post. Thank you, thank you one and all!