Dim Sum at South Sea Seafood Village Millbrae, CA

I wanted to wring his neck. It was 10:30am and I was standing in line at the car rental agency in San Francisco when I received a text from my husband, "Crap, I have your driver's license. I'd drive back up but I'm in back-to-back meetings in the valley for the next four hours." "Whaaaa?! How am I going to get down to San Carlos?" After a ping pong of texts I quickly quashed it with "Of all the moronic things you have done... I'm going to kill you." I'm pretty sure I meant it. 

In retrospect, it seems trivial that I would get so upset about not having a car in public transit-heaven. It escaped me that I had several other options to get to San Carlos, a suburb just 45 minutes south of San Francisco.  The town has a train depot that is conveniently located within a 20 minute walk to my friend's house. So down we went on the BART, where we stopped at the South Sea Seafood Village for a dim sum lunch, a stop I would have driven pass by had I had a car.

The last time I had dim sum was just before Alex arrived so it took gargantuan patience to wait before dish after lovely dish arrived. The steamed shrimp and pork dumplings, the fried calamari, mushroom stuffed cabbages, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves was enough to be three meals spread across several days but at that sitting we cleaned our plates. Most notable was the seasoned sticky rice in lotus leaves which were stuffed with tender morsels of flavorful chicken, pork sausages and mushrooms. Comfort food at its best.

When we finally arrive in San Carlos a sleeping angel awaited. I had completely forgotten how tiny and fragile newborns are - anecdotal evidence that having children causes brain damage. Still there is no other experience that will make your heart swell as much as holding a miracle in your arms.

21 comments:

chow and chatter said...

so sweet and can't believe your wee man is one it flies doesn;t it hugs

tasteofbeirut said...

adorable baby and toddler; that dim sum is a feast too! enough blessings to forget small inconveniences!

Deana Sidney said...

He just keeps getting cuter, doesn't he? Amazing he'd eat dim sum... quite a sophisticated little fellow!!!

White Hot Oven said...

I love how outgoing and curious Alex ca be, not to mention his shirt is just so fitting :) He ceases to amaze me.

Chiara said...

Alex is a lovely little tiger!

Lori Lynn said...

Love the photo of Alex at the table with all the dim sum.
We need to have dim sum soon, thanks for the reminder!
LL

Anonymous said...

awww so precious!! and that looks like a delicious meal!

Denise @ Creative Kitchen said...

Wow....so glad it all worked out!! I'm sure the panic for me would be that I now had a little one with me to get through the "adventure" with. LOL!!

After having 3 girls that are now getting older (4, 9 and 13) I'm finally starting to spread my wings a bit.....

so you are doing GREAT!

Angie's Recipes said...

Love dimsum! Time really flies, your little baby can already sit at the table for dimsum!

Delicious Dishings said...

I happen to think it'd be pretty fun to tagalong with you! Looks like a tasty lunch!

And way to be resourceful! I think I would have sat down and cried... and then eventually figured out what to do.

SKIP TO MALOU said...

i think the last time i've seen your son was when he was a toddler... hmm time flies so fast! enjoy motherhood Christine... kids grow up fast! (i sound so old saying that huh? hahah)
malou

Andrea said...

I haven't had dim sum in many years. Sticky rice is my absolute favorite, and I'll have to have some soon!!!

Glad you got to see your friend and hold the little angle in your arms. And, yes, you do forget how tiny they are... :)

Liren said...

Wow, what a crazy start to your delicious day, I'm glad it all worked out! So, you're in town! I hope you are having a wonderful time. That baby - oh my, my heart is fluttering! I miss holding one in my arms :)

The Palate Post said...

Welcome back to the Bay Area. You were visiting your friend's that only a couple miles of my neighborhood.
All photography are nice, and I know Millbrae has many good Chinese restaurants, but I haven't been South Sea Seafood Village. I should go soon. I also enjoyed your post about Hays Valley. That area's transformation is remarkable in recent years. Do you remember that area was very fanky and rough neighborhood before? That's good for them and I must visit there soon also. Thanks for the post.

kale said...

Aww, your little boy is so sweet! Your little tiger. :)
The dim sum looks amazing!

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

What a crazy and frustrating way to start your day. Your solution was food and plenty of it. Alex is adorable as always.
Sam

Sara McCarty said...

I've never had dim sum...must remedy that sometime soon! Love the photos of Alex - he gets cuter by the day!

Lori said...

Thank goodness for public transit and dim sum! That all looks amazing. It has been a while since I've had a good dim sum meal and now I'm craving it! I love Alex's shirt!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

As they say, all is well that ends well. Sounds like you made a very good situation out of one that started badly and with delicious food at that! What a wonderful dim sum meal and Alex really does seem to be enjoying himself ;)

momgateway said...

He's grown so much... getting more handsome every time you take photos of him

El said...

Oh no! Glad to hear you were able to turn it into a positive experience!