Chances are good, and fortune smiles. Sometimes things just 'click'. So I got stuck yesterday in the bicycling race traffic in Sausalito. Seeing that it was much worse going back the way I came, I decided on such a beautiful sunny day, I'd just keep heading south with my Dad, and enjoy some lunch in San Francisco. Clement street is a likely place for good food, and I soon happened upon "Golden Gate Dim Sum Seafood Restaurant" with its big red "Grand Opening" sign. I couldn't resist stopping.

Turns out, that was a very good choice. I loved that they had a duplicate copy check off sheet with all the dim sum choices in Chinese/English and offered House Special plates at the bottom portion of the sheet. The prices were right too, $2, $2.50 & $3 for dim sum choices, and $4.50 for the plates. The colorful menu with photos of the food helped in the ordering. This way, everyone's food came out at its peak of flavor and temperature. With such temptation, we over did it a bit, but hey, it was a holiday! And here's what we picked:

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

Steamed Scallop Dumplings

Pan Fried Turnip Cakes

Sticky Rice in Lotus Leaf

The rice in the open leaf. It has minced pork and mushrooms in it too. (Yep, first red meat for me since Dec. 9th, and worth it! The turnip cakes took me by surprise too, as they had some Chinese sausage bits.)

Pan Fried Shrimp Puffs

The crisp wrapping was 'yuba' in Japanese, it was made of dried soy bean curd in Chinese-English. However you describe it, it was crispy and the interior was filled with luscious shrimp and herbs. Quite delicious.

Pan Fried Chive Dumplings

Dad and I were really slowing down by the time these arrived.. and I had an ooops! with one, belying what I told the host earlier about not needing a fork since I'd a lot of practice in Japan. One of these shot out of my smoothly slippery chopsticks grasp and shot into the wall and on the floor!

Then we had to visit the garden behind the glass wall in the back. It was delightful with blooming orchids, a blossoming tree and koi and a turtle swimming around in the pond.

It also came with a delightful boy and perhaps his grandmother, who kept telling me the best shots in Chinese. (No I don't understand it, but somehow I understood her and we smiled together.) You've got to click on the above photo and enlarge it to catch the wonderful smile on that boy's face. You'll also get a better look at the live turtle in the center.

Blossoming Tree


Koi


Koi


and more koi!

And we took the long way home through Sea Cliff, where rounding random corners offer views that make you inhale! Now this is what I call a lunch break!