Chinatown, the epicenter of all that is Chinese, authentic at its finest, yet westernized to the unknown. It is a place where many find heritage, and others a place they call home. Walking through Los Angeles’ Chinatown near the end of February is a place that you can still find soulful warmth in a rather chilly climate. The place where you know there will be a budding feast for the eyes and mouth. A place where you can insatiably express your inner glutton for the sake of trying some wonderful Chinese food, made from people that’s storefront/ restaurant has been a generational namesake for years and years to come.
Of course there are new restaurants popping up here and there, the creme de la creme ; from David Chang (Majardomo) to Eddie Huang (BaoHaus), to the famous hot chicken from “Howlin’ Ray’s”, to the Goliath of cheeseburgers from “Burgerlords”. But all in all, you want to visit places that were the pioneers of Chinatown, the places that made it quintessentially Chinatown. We visited a lavishly-traditional Dim Sum restaurant, “Ocean Seafood”, found on the second floor of a building that other counterparts were as busy or even busier; where “slow-seasons” seem nonexistent. At the restaurant, you couldn’t control your appetite, you just wanted everything, all at once. As with most dim-sum restaurants. But there is something unique to Dim sum in Chinatown, and California Asian cuisine, there is a taste of soul, that is hard to duplicate unless you’ve been learning the craft from past generations, the O.G.’s. The dim sum carts came out fast, still hot, delicious and consistent.
Dim Sum to me is familial, nostalgic, and just feels like home. Since I was little, my family would always have Dim Sum every Sunday, it was something my sister and I looked forward to. In the early 90’s we would go to a once known restaurant filled with old school red leather booths, and a separate part of the restaurant filled with old and young men smoking cigarettes, reading a daily paper, maybe drinking some tea or scotch, while casually feasting on an array of Dim Sum. That area we were accustomed to, because when you were late, you were usually seated in the smoking area. The smell of steamed dumplings, sweet Char Sui pork buns, chicken feet, and lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice, would just permeate the room. The smell of lit cigarettes would just dissipate, but added character to the restaurants ambiance.
Taking a weekend trip to California just to have some delicious, authentic, Chinese food is what I call home, and tradition in my family. Traveling for me is a way to get away from the routine of life, eat great food, discover the new, and cherish life and the people I’ve shared it with. Enjoy your life. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Savor the moment.
Change of Taste 