dim sum and then some

went to chinatown today with the department for some dim sum at ocean seafood restaurant. this was my return visit to the restaurant since i first went there last summer with "mr. o'fox" and "hungry hungry."
we must have just missed the senior special because every person that was walking down the stairs as we were walking up was a good 20-30 years older than us. and they all wore gigantic grandma glasses. hello, cawfee tawk!
before we were seated we checked out the large fish tanks housing an assortment of fresh seafood items. there were bright red cartoon-looking fish with crazy popping eyes, burgundy colored fish with what looked like fuzzy eyebrows, some dungeness crabs, lobsters, as well as a few prawns.
the floor of the restaurant is huge. and there were about 6-8 chinese women pushing their carts around the floor. we were shown to our table; and before we could even settle in or order drinks we were accosted by number #3. #3 pimped steamed shrimp dumplings, fried shrimp dumplings, shrimp and cilantro potstcikers, shrimp and spinach dumplings, scallop and shrimp dumplings on us.
it was insane!! ack! where did that come from? turn around. who put that down? here's a tip: if you don't like shrimp or seafood this is not the place for you. pretty much every item on the carts have shrimp in them. except maybe for the dessert tray. although we didn't try much from the dessert tray so who knows for sure.
so we had five to six different shrimp dumplings on the table when here comes #13. #13 reaches into her cart and pulls out some other fried dumplings, some duck or chicken. we tell #13 to take the duck/chicken away. #20 comes by with her tray and puts down another plate of duck/chicken. i guess we're gonna have the duck/chicken. at least thay didn't bully the chicken feet on us. blech!
finally we tuck into our food, order our drinks, and laugh as the chinese broccoli slips out of my plastic chopsticks. can i just say - i H A T E plastic chopsticks!! they are incredibly difficult to use. especially on slippery foods. i suspect the restaurant offers them for this very reason. to laugh at me. those bastards...
after lunch we decided to check out some of the shops and stands in chinatown. the best was Liberty Aquarium fish and pet store. "mr. poison paranoia" needed to pick up some fish remedy for "thrasher" cause his fish is looking kinda sad. his fins are wilty. and his fighting spirit seems diminished. the poor fella. in this pet store they have some cool little bettas in plastic cups, some puffer fish (cute!), a bunch of different birds, frogs, turtles, crawfish, hamsters, even a bunny for $15. this was maybe the saddest of all the animals in the store. he was in a small glass tank with what looked like a fish lamp in it. and the rabbit was panting. hard. he was super cute but also miserable-looking. i would have bought him if i thought whiskey would leave him alone. but i'd hate to buy him and have him mauled to death. oh well....
they also had baby chicks for $2.50 each. they were cute too, and reminded me of when my brother and i bought (probably illegally) four little chicks from the local pet store. sadly, they didn't grow into chickens because leo, the neighbor's dog, broke into our basement and killed most of them off. fucking dog. he must have been desperately hungry. the neighbors didn't take very good care of him. so i take it back, leo. it wasn't necessarily your fault. but you were a hooligan dog.
after the pet store we walked back through the stands and shops. "hungry hungry" wanted to buy this fake fish aquarium for $10. this way she gets the distraction of a fish tank without the liability. good move. i didn't get anything big. just a couple of soup spoons. they're plastic but look ceramic. and they were only 50 cents each. so in my mind, a bargain buy. hooray for me!
eventually we all packed into "mr. o'fox's" car and headed back to work.

and i get paid for this.