F is for Father

Today's topic involves someone who is important to nearly every person on this beautiful blue marble of ours: Fathers.

How many ways are there to say "dad"? Let's do a short listing of this:

• Father
• Dad or Daddy
• Pa, Papa, Padre
• Pops 
• 爸爸, and 
• My favorite, dadoo (as said by Wakko from Animaniacs for all those born in the 80s and 90s). 

There are probably a gazillion more ways to say "dad" in over 200 languages and dialects (or cultural tongues) but the fact is it does not matter how or where you say these words but WHY and WHEN these words are said. Of course, this word is celebrated all over the US and possibly the world today. My question now: How are YOU celebrating Father's Day?

Mine involved celebrating and honoring him and my godfather with a couple of cards before having a luncheon with them. Here are the two cards:

I typically try to find cards with meaning to them. I figure what's the point of giving the two of them cards that are only sentimental when they already know how much I care. Clearly, I plan on sharing my laughter and joy with them. Did they receive this gift? Yes they did. Did they like it? And did they laugh right back with joy? Yes they did!! The one on the left is for my father while the one on the right is for my godfather.  Hopefully, they don't have high expectations for next year and prefer the next version of iPads Apple develops!

My father loves to eat but is an extremely picky eater. He doesn't like peas or beans, has never eaten pizza before (even though he immigrated to California over 20 years ago!), doesn't like any dairy products, pasta sauces, and other bit-size veggies like corn kernels or carrots. So what could we dine to satisfy his tastes while preserving the remaining dignity left in my heavily spent college wallet? Simple: Asian cuisine around my little hometown of San Gabriel!

We ended up having a luncheon at a local Asian eatery in the city of Monterey Park called "Green Island Restaurant". If you haven't visited this place before, this restaurant is located in one of the newer Asian plazas opened in this area. It is by the I-10 so it's very convenient for drivers. The interesting part about the set of restaurants here is that there is residence beginning 2nd floor and beyond. My guess is the owner of this piece of land is trying to recreate a Hong Kong style of living here within the Asian community. However, I don't think this is working out too well as from what I see, most Asians prefer living in single houses or if there is enough money, mansions at either the gorgeous woods of Arcadia or the hills of Rowland Heights. Plus the view isn't all that great across the street especially when all there is to see is a bent up car wash and grocery center.

But back to "Green Island Restaurant" or 绿岛餐厅. Is this a place worthy of eating on Father's Day? In a way, this place serves the typical Cantonese cuisine of pan-fried and stir-fried dishes made in my parents' homeland of Guangzhou China.. If you want gourmet REAL Chinese food, this is a good place to start. Apparently, there is still the special offer of FREE BEEF FRIED RICE when $30 or more is spent (including drinks!). Excellent deal in my opinion especially for tables of 5 or more! Like most Asian restaurants, the focus is on low price, great value over the quality. If you desire fine dining, this might not be the ideal location to have that.

Unfortunately, my family was just too hungry today that we wolfed down the fried rice too quickly before a decent photo could be taken. The rice is served in a sizzled pan/wok dish which added an excellent sound effect signifying the beginning of the meal. Extremely yummy for someone who typically sleeps in but probably isn't as satisfying as it comes out in  a serving large enough for about one bowl per person for 5 people. There's only a little bit of beef in the rice but the rice is extremely soft and tender (better than rice that's way too hard). Since it was Father's Day, there wasn't the typical Asian "lunch special" where dishes are typically $4-$6. Hence, the dishes were probably a little pricier than I had liked but very satisfying. 

My godparents wanted to try appetizers and sweets so we ended up with some Sesame Mochi and Pan-fried Green Onion Pancakes. I didn't try the mochi but apparently, the Sesame Mochi have to be eaten when arrived as after cooling down they are hard and not very flavorful. For me, the pan-fried green onion pancakes lacked the crunch and flavor. Very bland overall with not distinction. Probably fare much better in a Shanghai restaurant. 

The two dishes we ordered were the Scallops and Shrimp in Garlic Sauce. I absolutely loved the sauce but there weren't that many scallops in the dish. Priced at almost $13, I had hoped for a bit more scallops to shrimp and peppers/broccoli. But the sauce was excellent combination of spicy and tangy. Loved this with rice! 

The second dish was a Taiwanese styled Hollow Vegetable in Beancurd Sauce. This is one of my favorite vegetables as the leaves are soft and tender while the stalks are crunchy. There are generally two types of this hollow vegetable: dry oh and water oh. My family likes both but the water oh requires a bit more technique in cooking as if not done properly, too much water gets into the sauce destroying the blend of flavors. Like this dish but plating wasn't up to par as most of the stalks were visible at the top. I prefer eating the leaves as they're more tender and flavorful for my palette. 

My father had a blast simply eating and then critiquing what he believed was great and not great. Overall the dining experience was up to par although the staff was not entirely competent as we waited quite a while for some of the dishes to arrive. After we asked them, they went to check but the waiting continued and there seemed to be a bit of confusion especially when one of the waitress believed our order was complete and tried to pass the bill. Nonetheless, the luncheon was a huge success and everyone went their separate ways  afterwards in happiness.

Fathers... you just can't do without them. While they may hassle you about finishing your homework or going to bed at a decent hour, they do so under the intention of making you a better person. Although my dad and I may have our moments where we have loud angry rows about math and economics or even simply disagree on the right directions for driving to a far away place, he is my dad and I am who am I because of him. Hat's off to you dad for being the greatest in the world (though not always 100% of the time)! Thanks for caring enough to sacrifice your time and money in helping me succeed in life.

Since there are no photos of the dishes, you can obviously tell I was just too busy satisfying my stomach to take pictures but rest assured, the next time I go out and come back with a full report, there will be pictures of everything. So after hearing what I did, what did you do on June 17, 2012 and how did you spend your Father's Day with your dad? Think about it and send me a comment!

Always,
The Melodist

Photos other than Green Island and cards are found courtesy of Google images. No copyright or infringement of any kind is intended.