Top Chinese Restaurants in the U.S.

 "Ding Tai Fung", one of my favorite Chinese restaurants, now has branches in the U.S. and Australia!

(photo/image source: DingTaiFung.com.tw)

"Chī le ma?" ("Have you eaten yet?") is a common greeting among Chinese people. It is even more popular than "Ni Hao!"("Hello"). This serves as a good clue that food plays a very important role in Chinese culture!

Cold cereal for breakfast?! While I was happy to have it when I was in college in the U.S., when I was back in Taiwan my typical breakfast could include an egg pancake, a few mini buns with pork and veggie fillings, and a glass of soy milk OR a ham and egg sandwich and a bottle of yogurt OR a plate of noodles with sesame sauce topped with shredded cucumber.  Wild?!  Maybe, but in Taiwan breakfast shops, bakeries and food stands line the street from your home to the nearest bus stop or metro station. It was very convenient... and delicious.

There are some well-known regional cuisines when we talk about Chinese dishes. The next time you go for Chinese food you might discover a new favorite dish.

Let's take a look at some parts of Chinese and their associated dishes:

Beijing: Hot and sour soup/Peking duck/Moo Shu pork

Cantonese/Hong Kong: Dim Sum/Sweet and sour pork/Beef brisket stew

Sìchuān: (Spicy!) Kung Pao Chicken/Ma Po Tofu/Dan Dan noodle/Chili Hot Pot

Shanghai: Pot Stickers/Xiao Long Bao

Taiwan: "Three Cups Chicken"/Oyster Vermicelli/Rice with stewed pork sauce/Very Spicy Hot Pot

I encourage you to go on a field trip to one of the best Chinese restaurants near you.  This website I've listed below is a reference.  I have not tried them all even though I would love to.  If you have any wonderful Chinese restaurant you love please share it with us.

Here are a couple of  links for your adventure

Top Chinese Restaurants in U.S., Canada, and Australia

50 Best Chinese Restaurants in the United States

Yum!!! Taiwanese pork meat sauce with eggs & mushrooms - 台灣肉燥

Happy Lantern Festival! Closing out Chinese New Year Celebrations with a Lantern!

Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar new year and it is the Chinese Lantern Festival.

The Lantern Festival marks the end of the fifteen days of Chinese New Year celebration. Families eat sweet or salty sticky rice balls known as “tang yuan” or “yuan xiao” on this day. As the night arrives children carry paper lanterns with battery-operated lights to join the annual lantern festival celebrations, which are typically held at parks and monuments throughout the island of Taiwan. The design of the lanterns change each year according to the rotation of the twelve Chinese birth signs.

2012, for example, is the year of the dragon – the most popular of all birth signs. This year dragon-shaped, paper lanterns were given away for free to the residents and visitors of Taipei. The Taipei Lantern Festival 2012 is at Taipei City Hall and the nearby Sun Yat Sun Memorial Park area. These little lanterns and the beautiful, giant lanterns on display at these festival celebrations make for a wonderful field trip for the kids.

What's More?
There is one more tradition on the Lantern Festival that is the Lantern Riddle Game. It is a game for both adults and children. The traditional Chinese Lantern Festival riddles can be quite challenging. Some of the them are based on history and some of them are based on the Chinese characters. The riddles are attached to the lanterns and the person who can solve a riddle can win a prize.

Sky Lantern Festival. See the lanterns flying to the sky!



Have a wonderful year of the Dragon! = Lóng nián wàn shì rú yì = 龍年萬事如意

Learning More About Chinese New Year:
The Great Race: The Story of the Chinese Zodiac -HapaMama
Chinese New Year Traditions and the Year of the Dragon -Jeanette's Healthy Living
Celebrating Chinese New Year in Taipei, Taiwan -Travels With Baby
The Symbolism Behind Chinese New Year Foods Bicultural Mama
Gong Xi! The Excitement of the Chinese New Year! -Making Multicultural Music

Chinese New Year Must-Know Lucky Phrases

Happy Chinese New Year! Happy Year of the Dragon!

The most important thing during the Chinese New Year is to keep a positive spirit and to say the traditional Chinese lucky phrases when greeting family and friends. Here are the TOP three lucky phrases you will hear during Chinese New Year. Now you can try them out yourself and see the magic reaction you get! Watch the video and say them with Miss Panda's little cubs!

1. Gōng xǐ - Congratulations!
Most of the time, you will hear people say this phrase twice in a row as
"Gōng xǐ, gōng xǐ!"

2. Xīn nián kuài lè - Happy New Year.
Xīn = new
nián = year
kuài lè = happy

3. Wàn shì rú yì - May everything go as you wish.
Wàn = ten thousand
shì = things
rú yì = as you wish

Miss Panda's little cubs helped out with this video - I hope you enjoy it!