Lunar New Year FOOD?

[chezcurrie]

Anyone there this weekend for Lunar New Year? What have you tried, what is worth getting??

I’m heading there next weekend with my 6-year old who is obsessed with everything noodle and dumpling (he also is wanting to learn Mandarin and Japanese!?!) Figured this would be a fun way to try a bunch of things (and hit up Animation Academy likely for hours.)

Post your pics and reviews please!

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Following along! Last year the Lunar New Year foods were pretty disappointing so I hope they do better this year!

 

[Nonsuch]

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/01/...-booths-ranked-from-best-to-worst-see-photos/

If OC Register article is blocked by pay-wall, search for the same article at other affiliated newspapers

 

[chezcurrie]

So we were there today and didn’t get to try everything I wanted as it was packed mid day (cleared up nicely around 3), and we couldn’t order everything at one booth. That said we did try a few things:

Mickey hot dog bun - surprisingly quite tasty!

Watermelon punch at studio catering co - my 6 year old didn’t like this but I did. Not too sweet and very much like a milk tea

Shrimp Lo mein and the tiger milk boba at paradise gardens - meh, nothing spectacular. Noodles were flavourful but just not wow. Boba was waaaay too sweet for me. Sleeper hit here was the kids chicken meal - whatever sauce is on that chicken is tasty! Also was piping hot and had good char flavour.

Mandarin Mousse Cake - not just a pretty face. I am not a sweets person and this had a nice creamsicle flavour. Shareable as it is deceptively rich. Wish in hindsight I had also gotten the birria egg roll but was full from the lo mein. Planning on that and the pork and shrimp wontons with our two leftover tabs.

 

[egxflash]

We went the weekend before the last and got the sip and savor pass. Here are my thoughts:

Longevity - Dan Dan noodles: Had just a little bit of kick, flavorwise I found it a bit lacking. Because they make these in batches, the noodles had set a little bit and the texture wasn't the greatest. 6/10

Longevity - Garlic noodles: I thought this one was better than the Dan dan. It's hard to mess up cheese, garlic and butter though. Suffered from the same issue as above with the noodles having set a bit. Fresh would've been great. 7.5/10

Red Dragon - Fried Chicken bites: These were okay. Not much spice at all and not very crispy (no doubt suffering from the same issue above where it had likely sat a bit). It wasn't much of an upgrade from regular chicken bites and I would not get again. 6/10

Prosperity - Char siu pork bao: I did not like this one very much. The flavor was very much lacking. It had the char siu coloring but that was pretty much it. The bao bun had a fine texture but the filling was very underwhelming. 6/10

Lucky Fortune - Mango Sticky Rice: This was pretty good. I like the texture and the flavor was nice, though a bit muted. 7.5/10

Lucky 8 - Mandarin mousse cake: This was by far my favorite. I like citrus flavored pastries and this hit the spot for me. The flavor was very nice and citrusy and I didn't think it was too sweet. The sponge underneath was also nice. Would definitely get again 8.5/10.

Overall, I thought the food offerings were.....fine. Apart from the mandarin mousse cake, a lot of the flavors were very muted or at least it seemed dialed back. I'm not sure if they were trying to cater to a broader palette but they definitely could've kicked the flavors up a few notches on them.

 

[egxflash]

Mandarin Mousse Cake - not just a pretty face. I am not a sweets person and this had a nice creamsicle flavour. Shareable as it is deceptively rich. Wish in hindsight I had also gotten the birria egg roll but was full from the lo mein. Planning on that and the pork and shrimp wontons with our two leftover tabs.

Agree about the mandarin mousse cake. This was a nice treat for both the eyes and the tummy.