There are certain moments in time as a parent that will always stand out as a benchmark in their child’s life. For me, one was the day Conor started college. The other is the day he graduated. I was lucky the other day to experience my son’s graduation from USC with the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts – Writing for Screen and Television. It was a very proud moment for Dad!
Just to be clear, I am not saying that throughout the years of Conor going through the schooling process that it was easy. In fact, there were many ups and downs with plenty of issues. The end result of accomplishing his goal of finishing his degree reflects a certain amount of determination that is something I can be proud of.
To add to the excitement of the graduation, we found out that this was the first time in 70 years that USC’s commencement had taken place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. They even lit the torch! This just made this year’s double-year graduation celebration of 2020 and 2021 students that much more memorable.
There always has to be some kind of celebration meal when major events like graduation take place. What kind of food blog would I be if I didn’t talk about our meal? One of Conor’s favorites is going out for Dim Sum. We love the restaurants that use the carts to display and hand out all their tasty dim sum bites. Due to COVID, we could not find a restaurant nearby that utilized the cart. We were satisfied just to find a very good restaurant that served dim sum with many of our favorite dumplings!
DIN TAI FUNG
I found that Din Tai Fung was open in the Century City neighborhood in Los Angeles. We were not disappointed. The dumplings were awesome. We started off with some Xiao Long Bao which is a pork and broth-filled dumpling. If you have never had Xiao Long Bao, you need to be careful. The broth ingredient is somehow emulsified to almost a butter consistency when they wrap and make the dumplings. When the dumpling is steamed, that emulsification heats up and turns back into a broth. So if you just take a bite of the bao without knowing, you will get a squirt of hot broth down your throat which can come as quite a surprise. Many people will put the dumpling on a soup-spoon and open the dumpling up so the broth can be eaten just like you would a spoonful of soup.
Xiao Long Bao
We enjoyed a great variety of shrimp and pork-filled dumplings and potstickers that took care of all our cravings! Of course, I had to make my special dumpling sauce with the ingredients the restaurant provided us. They set on the table fresh ginger, chili oil, soy sauce, and vinegar which are the perfect accompaniments for the dumplings. Check here to view my recipe for potstickers so you can make your own! So Good!
Potstickers, Siu Mei, and Spicy Wontons
For us, going out for a celebratory meal after the ceremony was just perfect. I’m sure many of the other students of USC celebrated their individual accomplishments in a way that was perfect for them. Yet it does not change the ultimate understanding, that for many of the students who still have not decided or have not been able to find the perfect job placements due to the pandemic, their celebrations may be slightly tempered by thoughts of what tomorrow may bring. I however have no doubt as to what these young adults will accomplish in the future due to the natural optimism and conviction of purpose that most young minds have today.
As always, thanks for reading all my meanderings and for Spending Time In My Kitchen!
