Brighton Sassy at Sussex: Chinese New Year: Culinary Adventures and Lily Finds a Dragon Dance

As a newly self-catering person I have come to a realization that pasta, soup and yogurt get monotonous really quickly. So, lulled into a false sense of security by my pasta making skills, in the spirit of Chinese New Year and thinking that I should eat some meat sometime, I decided to embark on what would become the epic quest of he dumplings. I really did not think that just assembling the ingredients would be the hardest part. Sure, I expected to have to go to the Asian grocery store for the wrappers. That was the simple part. The problems appeared when I asked about Chinese Napa cabbage and scallions and received a "I've never heard of that in my life" and a friendly point towards some scales. At the second store, I was directed to the fish counter. scallops? And so three stores later and an extensive internet search I headed back out the next day for Chinese leaf and salad onions. In the end, I ended up with about 6-8 meals worth of not too bad and at least right tasting dumplings. Not bad for a whole week's work. These are some of the nicer-looking ones.

part two of this story is the lion dance also known as possibly the best random find ever (at least in the past month maybe). So, I'm taking the bus into town thinking maybe I'll do some shopping and the get groceries on the way back and part-way to the shopping center where I'm headed I see a dragon's head and a little corwd outside a cafe near a small park area. So, since I do actually have some idea of where I am for once and I have time to spare I get off at the next stop and walk back to check it out. So worth it. It was a Chinese New Year celebration put on by the family that owns the cafe place. There was music, martial arts, free food samples (yay!) and the dragon dance (YAY!).