Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve 4715, Year of the Rooster, Dinner Party Feast

New Year’s Eve, January 27, 2017

I attended a Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner-party Friday night January 27, 2017 at the PV Palace Seafood Restaurant in Lomita, California.

Below is a list of the dishes served at that dinner.

I was driven to the dinner and attended the dinner with my Special Trusted Friend Leslie Gonzalez.

We left our office in Encino at 5:30 p.m. and arrived at the Restaurant in Lomita two and a quarter hours later.

However, when we drove back to our office in Encino from the Restaurant, after dinner and clean-up, it only took us 45 minutes to travel from the Restaurant in Lomita to our office in Encino.

Such is traffic in Los Angeles on a Friday night.

Dishes

The dishes served were colorfully presented and magnificent.

Below is a picture of the Sauteed Scallops with Garden Vegetables served at our feast. I took that photograph and all the other photographs in this article.

Below is a picture of the Crispy Boned Sole Filet.

Below are three pictures [taken by me] of the dish of Lobster in Black Bean Sauce and Scallions presented to us as part of our dinner at that feast.

 

Below are pictures of Roasted Peking Duck served at to us at our feast/celebration of Chinese Lunar New Year 4715.

The skin of a duck is considered a delicacy; served on a separate dish separately from service of the meat of the duck.

I Found Myself Eating Duck Skin

HOW TO EAT DUCK SKIN: The skin of the duck is placed on a piece of pastry in the shape of a shell then plum sauce is added.

Yum….that combination is totally delicious treat.  See photos below.

Below is a photo of flesh of the duck (skin of duck removed) which was served separately, on a separate dish.

Tradition

Traditionally, Chinese Lunar New Year’s is Christmas, Thanksgiving and Eater all rolled into one holiday.  All members of a family gather together — people who are away from their parents travel to be with their parents.

Sons and daughters visit their parents and grandparents to pay respect and brothers and sisters reunite and their children get together with cousins and aunts and uncles.

The older members of the family give gifts to the younger members of their family wrapped in red.  Likewise employers give gifts to their employees wrapped in red.

In traditional Chinese culture, it is understood that the one who gives a gift receives more than the one who receives the gift; that the act of giving is a high honor and that giving is a sign of high status.

Our host at this dinner, Norman Wong, gave each attendee such a gift.

Below is a photograph I took of the wrapping wrapped around the gift given to me.

A similar gift was given by Norman to each guest at the dinner.

Cultural Diversity

There were about 40 guests at this dinner.

All of the guests were very worldly, very polite, and very refined.

At the table I sat at the man sitting directly across from me describe the home on a farm in Germany that he owns that has been in his family for one thousand two hundred years.

He told me that architecture of his home on his farm is “Romantic”  …. meaning the same architectural style prevalent in Roman times.

He and another man talked about the kinds of different beers and wine in different regions of Germany and the kind of beer that is the favorite in each place.

One man said “The beer in Cologne, Germany, is tasteless.”
The other man replied, “No.  It just has a quiet taste.”

Copyright © 2017 by Gary Smolker, All Rights Reserved

 

Live Life Fully with Eyes Wide Open – by Gary Smolker

I’ve been living in a rut.

I got out of that rut on the weekend of January 13, 2017.

My Creative Weekend

During the weekend of January 13 through January 15, 2017, I discovered many treasures, including a double-Decker-merry-go-round-carousel in the Westfield Topanga Mall in front of the Target store.

My goal/project for Saturday (January 14, 2017) was to hang a plate on a wall in my kitchen.

However, I didn’t have any nails.

I decided to go get some nails at Home Depot.

In the process of going to get some nails at Home Depot, along the way, I ended up at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park …. where I discovered the double-Decker-merry-go-round-carousel pictured above.

Art

My housekeeper had given me a plate the day before, on Friday (January 13, 2017) early in the morning before I went to my office in Encino.

Below is a picture of the plate she gave me sitting on a granite counter-top in my kitchen.

On Saturday (January 14, 2017), I decided I would hang that plate on a wall in my kitchen.

However, I didn’t/don’t know how to hammer a nail in a wall and (at the time) I didn’t have any nails.

Luckily I know a woman (Christy Rusk) who knows how to hang a plate on a wall and how to hammer nails into a wall.

My Nine Hour Hanging A Picture on A Wall Project

It took me nine hours from the time I left my home to buy nails to when I got home, hammered nails in a kitchen wall and hung the plate.

To get my project done, I picked up Christy (a young lady who knows how to hammer nails in walls) to help me with the task at hand.

I picked up Christy at Christy’s home near the Grove in West Hollywood, at 11:15 a.m.

After picking Christy up, Christy and I meandered over to the Home Depot store in Woodland Hills, located at 7345 Variel Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA. 91367.

The Lost City of Los Angeles

Los Angeles is a lost city.

I say that because Los Angles is spread over so much territory that hardly anyone living in Los Angeles has seen (or been to) every part of it.

On our way to Home Depot, Christy and I stopped at the Westfield Topanga Mall to look for a store that would replace a dead battery in Christy’s watch or would sell Christy a new battery to replace the dead battery in Christy’s watch.

None of the jewelry stores or watch repair stores we visited in the mall would do so for a reasonable price.

That is how we ended up in the Target store at the Westfield Topanga Mall, where I discovered a most amazing book.

The Most Amazing Book

See photograph below.

I didn’t know that book existed.

I found it by “chance” in a Target Store while looking for a new watch battery with Christy.

Fashion As Fine Art

Before Christy and I got to the Target Store, Christy and I meandered through the Nordstrom in the Westfield Topanga Shopping Mall.

While meandering, we walked into the “Chanel Store” and the “Gucci Store” located in the Nordstrom Department Store.

What an eye opening experience that was.

Chanel

Below is a picture I took of a “Clutch” I saw in the Chanel Store.

That clutch is a recycled used cigar box.

It sells for $14,000.00.

Gucci

I also saw amazing purses and clutches at the Gucci store.

See photograph below of a $2,800.00 clutch.

Look at the attention to detail.

Isn’t the attention to detail amazing?

I think so.

Next, I looked at and took a photograph in the Gucci store of a $3,800 Gucci Purse.

See photograph below.

I think the attention to detail in that Gucci purse and the design of that Gucci purse are amazing.

But wait, next I saw and took a picture of, another astounding and even more expensiive Gucci purse.

See picture below.

Don’t you agree that Gucci purse has priceless style, intricate stitching and fabulous design?

 

        

The sales price of that Gucci purse is $5,800.00.

Lush Cosmetics

While we were in the shopping mall, Christy wanted to purchase some soap.

She loves Lush Cosmetics Soap.

We meandered over to the Lush Cosmetics Store.

It was an amazingly creative fun experience to be in that store.

Below are three photos of  signs I saw above three of the different types of soap.

TAKE AWAY:  Signage counts.

Lush Cosmetics knows how to merchandise their products.

See photos below.

In my imagination, prompted by being in that store, I could see myself bathing by candlelight in my bath with a girl friend …. to add a sense of calm, magic and seduction to taking a bath.

I have enchanting candle holders on the side of my oversized bathtub.

The Ultimate Decadent Bathing Experience

I have a wine glass holder on the side of my bath tub.

I was missing the right kind of bubble bath.

Now, thanks to my trip on Saturday (January 14, 2017) to Lush Cosmetics store in the Westfield Topanga Shopping Mall,  I have everything I need for the ultimate decadent bathing experience except a woman to take a bath with me.

How sublime.

I am taking one tiny step at a time.

Heat Is the New Black

According to an article I recently read,

• “Hyperthermic conditioning (calculated heat exposure) can help you increase growth hormone (GH) levels and substantially improve endurance.”
• Hot baths can significantly increase GH over baseline, and have been shown to cause a massive release in prolactin, which plays a role in wound healing.
• If nothing else, they seem to dramatically decrease DOMS (delayed on-set muscle soreness).

Supporting Good Causes

While at Lush Cosmetics I purchased:

• A Twilight Bath Bomb, price $$6.95
• A Yoga Bomb Bath Bomb, price $7.95
• A Tisty Tosty Bath Bomb, price $6.75
• A Frozen Bath Bomb, price $8.95
• A Avobath Bath Bomb, price $6.75 and
• A container of Charity Pot hand and body lotion, price $7.95.

The purchase of these products supports good causes and good groups like ….  the “International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council” which provides education and resources on wildlife rehabilitation to promote conservation and welfare worldwide.

According to their literature, Lush Cosmetics funds grassroots groups working on environmental, human rights and animal protection issues.

By the Way

There are beautiful things to be seen all around us.

On Saturday (January 21, 2017) I went to Glendale with Christy Rusk to eat Dim Sum at Din Tai Fung.

While waiting to be seated we walked outside and saw a little girl who had one hand holding her mother’s hand and her other hand holding a string connected to an elephant balloon.

I also saw many young women wearing sweat shirts broadcasting the printed message: “The Future is Female.”

Copyright © 2017 by Gary Smolker, All Rights Reserved

By the way,

• I am a fashion blogger for Dude’s Guide to Women’s Shoes.
• Check out my posts on Dude’s Guide to Women’s Shoes at http://www.dudesguidetowomensshoes.com
• I am also on Instagram.
• Check out my posts on Instagram @garyspassion