Back in a day my family would trek north on da 110 every Sunday morning for dim sum and shopping in Chinatown. Back then it was mostly Chinese businesses then Vietnamese merchants started moving in.
Today as smoke billowed off the mountains, I decided to check out Chinatown. Haven't been there in years and I usually prefer San Francisco Chinatown cuz it's more bustlin and pedestrian friendly.
Cruised on Broadway the main drag and like SF there were alotta tourists and tacky stores. Further up Broadway I noticed the new Chinatown train station and sprawling Spring Street park. Drove back on Spring Street and Alpine and spotted the Vietnamese catering truck. Parked, stopped at the stand selling fresh squeezed OJ then went to the Vietnamese truck. One of the lady merchants was conversating with George, who is apparently mute. George detailed his life through hand motions and the lady chatted back.
George took a bite of his sammich grinned and gave thumbs up.
The lady asked me if I'm Chinese and I asked how she knew, she said it was the shape of my eyes. George pointed to my Quan Yin jade pendant then showed me cell phone pics of his Quan Yin shrine. Then he showed me a pic of a pretty Asian woman followed by a photo of the same woman w/ him. The lady explained that was his wife. George made the signal for sleeping and the lady added the wife passed away.
George wrote on a piece of paper that he saw Asian Pacific Museum in Pasadena today. He made his fingers walk to show how much he browsed that day. The lady said George is always visiting the truck.
I could see why. For $2.25 I got a sammich about two feet long. Beat that Subway. The French bread crust was crisp and crumbs cascaded down my shirt. The fillings were savory, spicy and a tiny bit sweet. For an extra $1 I got a bottle of tea. Gotta bring my boy Imran here.
No comments:
Post a Comment