Rats

Well, not really, just that it is now the Year of the Rat according to the Mysterious Chinese Woman and about five billion others. It is supposedly a very fortuitous year, the rat being clever, industrious, and accumulative. It is also the first animal of the twelve animal cycle, so that also makes the rat a leader of sorts. He was the first guy at the party.

We headed to Chinatown last Saturday for a celebratory feast. We were going to go early to see the parade but the weather was so nasty that we decided to forgo that part. Here is the wintry scene that greeted us when we got out of the subway at City Hall in Manhattan.

Don't Shake The Snow Globe


There were still a few revelers in the street but they were kind of a sorry looking lot.

Wet And Cold


Our destination wasn't far though, a fairly small place right across from a police station.

Oriental Garden


It looked cheerful enough, but the greeter at the door was a bit crabby.

A Crabby Greeter


There was a more cheerful fellow inside though.

A Bit Heavy On The Rouge


Of course any Chinese feast is really all about the food.

Shrimp And Noodles


Lobster, Of Course


Shrimp And Rice


Steamed Sea Bass


There was more too, pork in a garlic sauce, chicken with Smithfield ham, some kind of green vegetable, dumplings, and who knows what else. I would have liked to have gotten pictures of everything but there were a lot of hungry people who were quick with their chopsticks.

After finishing all of this we headed up to Little Italy for desert. It was quite a day, lots to eat and lots of fun.

Tomorrow the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I are heading to Mexico where we will be spending the next six weeks. Be sure to stay tuned because there is always a lot of fun stuff to write about down there.