It's hard getting up early on rainy Sunday mornings, especially after a long tiring week of doing absolutely nothing and when dozing back off to the sound of rain drops hitting the window pane is just so tempting. But I dragged myself up because this morning I was headed to Dim Sum with my family and family friends, a soon-to-be joyous affair which I had been looking forward to for weeks. The pull of casual, spontaneous dim sum is a strong force that made my family and I brave the pouring rain and drive out to Flushing where the food is almost always promising, especially on rainy days when the streets aren't jam-packed.
Just a few plates due to time constraints:
Durian fritters: smooth puree with crispy thin noodle coating, dipped in seasame. Good if you like durian, a large spikey tropical fruit with a really distinct, pungent flavor. Bad if you don't.
Firm shrimp mousse wrapped in bacon, coated in batter, then deep fried until, once again, crispy and golden. Served with soy sauce. My mouth is watering as I'm typing this.
Braised duck tongue and taro (potato-like root vegetable) for the adventurous.
Fried silken tofu: golden and crispy on the outside, piping hot delicate tofu on the inside. Tucked in the center is a baby shrimp. Dip the whole thing in soy sauce, served on the side.
Braised fatty spare ribs- really juicy and flavorful.
Fried sesame ball: starchy dough stuffed with sweet lotus filling then coated with sesame seeds and fried until golden and crispy. (Note the repetition of "golden and crispy"when describing dimsum) Makes for the perfect bite.
Bits of dried baby shrimp and fatty chinese sausage flavorthis miniature serving of filling sticky rice.
Fried stuffed eggplant: large chunks of Chinese eggplant stuffed with seafood mousse, deep fried, then coated with a sweet and sour sauce. 
Pork meatball with notes of celery and cilantro, braised with black bean and bitter melon. Bitter melon is like a bitter cucumber with more of a bite to it, and takes some time getting used to-in my case, ten years. But delicious once the sharp taste is acquired.
After Dim Sum my sister and I headed across the street to the mall while we waited for our parents to run a few errands. While we initially planned on window-shopping off our extremely large brunch, the aroma of the buttery pastries of Paris Baguette lured us in. Duty called.
Below are the "chocolate croissant" and "pineapple pastry", names far too modest for these these amazing goods; "Buttery, flaky, crispy on the outside soft and airy on the inside, super-light croissant with semi-sweet chooclate drizzling" would be more appropriate for the former.
As for the latter, sweet cream and pineapple chunks replace the chocolate and with a dough similar in content, you have the breakfast pastry or after-dim-sum snack you see before you.
What I love about this Americanized chain and other bakeries in Asian-dominated Flushing is that the sweet stuff here is never too sweet. I find that most pastries I encounter are often so tooth-achingly sweet, and it's not long before one falls into a sugar coma. These desserts have the perfect dose of sugar, just enough to call it a dessert, yet allows for consumuption by the masses. But maybe that's just my Asian tastebuds talking.
Jade Asian Restaurant 13628 39th Avenue, Flushing, NY
Paris Baguette 136-20 38th Ave(one of several locations)
