Chinese New Year Festival 2.5.2011

On Saturday February 5 I ventured to Chinatown for the Chinese New Year Festival. The weather, as usual, was gorgeous (75 degrees) so I definitely wanted to do something outdoors and figured this would be a great cultural experience. I didn't consider the fact that tons of other people would have the same idea so traffic/parking was pretty crazy and took a long time.

Lots of kids bought the poppers you throw at the ground, as well as wands that tossed confetti. The parade began and there was a wide variety of entries...everything from local political figures to dragons to dancers.

There were several plazas set up with street vendors, both selling Chinese wares as well as local craftspeople. Even the most popular food trucks were set up in alleyways. I decided that since I was in Chinatown, I had to get some Chinese food for lunch! Many restaurants seemed crowded so I picked a random one - Hop Louie (which is where the engagement dinner scene in I Love You, Man was filmed....not the reason behind going there, just a random coincidence). Just my luck I chose one of the few Chinatown restaurants to not have steamed dumplings (one of my favorite foods). I had already waited close to 20 minutes so just got the sweet n' sour pork lunch special which was fairly average Chinese. I walked through the vendors some more before working my way back to the car. It would be fun to go back and explore more of the stores when it's not as crowded!