With LA's official Chinatown in downtown, and large Chinese populations in the San Gabriel Valley, Torrance, and the Rowland Heights area, there are options for Chinese food north, south, east, west, and central. Though Sunday, January 29, 2006 is the first day of the lunar new year, the celebration actually lasts for 15 days. What a great reason to have your fill of some dim sum all over LA!

Westside

• VIP Harbor Seafood, 11701 Wilshire Blvd (2nd floor), Los Angeles, CA
• (Both Royal Star Seafood and JR Seafood do not have dim sum)

South Bay

• Sea Empress, 1636 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Gardena, CA

Downtown

• ABC Seafood, 708 New High St, Los Angeles, CA
• Empress Pavilion, 988 N Hill St Ste 201, Los Angeles, CA
• Ocean Seafood, 747 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA

San Gabriel Valley

• 888 Seafood Restaurant 8450 Valley Blvd Ste 121, Rosemead, CA
• Capital Seafood , 8823 Garvey Ave, Rosemead, CA, (626) 572-8918
• Empress Harbor 111 N Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA
• Mission 261 261 S Mission Dr, San Gabriel, CA
• NBC Seafood 404 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA
• New Concept, 700 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA, (626) 282-6800
• Ocean Star 145 N Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA
• Sea Harbor 3939 Rosemead Blvd., Rosemead, Ca
• Triumphal Palace, 500 W Main St, Alhambra, CA (626) 308-3222

Eastside

• Hong Kong Palace, 19101 Colima Road, Rowland Heights, CA (626) 854-9829
• Sam Woo, 18922 Gale Ave, Rowland Heights, CA, (626) 913-9933
• New Capital, 1330 Fullerton Rd, Rowland Heights, CA (626) 581-9813

As we already know, the Chinese New Year is steeped with tradition, and lucky for us at Slashfood, many of those traditions are associated with food. If you plan to celebrate this weekend (we wag in the Year of the Dog this Sunday, January 29, 2006), or want to learn a little bit more about the culture, here are what some of the traditional New Year foods symbolize, mostly health, wealth, and togetherness, based on some research I've done around the web:

• Dumplings - Good luck, fortune, and family togetherness
• Lettuce - Prosperity
• Noodles - When noodles are served, they are never cut because long noodles represent long-life.
• Oysters - Receptivity to good fortune
• Seaweed - Specifically, the black moss seaweed is the Chinese word for it also means "wealth"
• Whole fish - The Chinese word for fish "yu," is the same word for "success" or "abundance." Serving the fish whole is a symbol of togetherness of the family.
• Turnips  - "Cai tou," the word for turnip, also means "good omen."
• Meat balls - Symbolize reunion because the Chinese word "rou wan" is the same for both 
• Chicken - Like fish, chickens are served whole to symbolizing togetherness of the family.
• Lotus seed - Is a symbol (or wish) of having many male offspring
• Ginkgo nuts - Represent wealth
• Dried bean curd - Like many of the foods that are served because the Chinese word for it also means something else, dried bean curd (tofu) symbolizes wealth and happiness
• Bamboo shoots - The word for bamboo shoots also sounds like the phrase for "wishing that everything would be well"
• Garlic chives - Symbolize "everlasting"
• Prawns - Stand for liveliness and happiness
• Mixed vegetables - Represent family harmony
• Oranges - We've already mentioned how they stand for abundance and sweetness of the New Year. 

With the Chinese New Year goings on around the world this weekend, it's no better time to stock your kitchen with commonly used Asian ingredients both in the pantry and in the refrigerator (right after you've purged it of all those useless gadgets). A lot of Asian foods are healthy and delicious, so if you haven't done much Asian cooking at home, let the new Year of the Dog be the year you try it.

I do a lot of Asian cooking at home, so these are a few things I like to have on hand:

• Soy sauce - I actually have a giant 1-gallon container in my refrigerator. Yes, keep soy sauce in the refrigerator. Also, if you are wary of gluten or carbs, there is wheat in soy sauce (who knew?)
• Sesame seeds - I have both regular and black sesame seeds. They taste the same to me, but the black ones add some contrast for presentation. However, there is a difference in taste between regular and toasted sesame seeds. If you buy regular sesame seeds, toast them yourself in a dry pan over medium high heat.
• Sesame oil - It's rarely used as a cooking oil, but rather, as a seasoning in marinades or added to a dish like a condiment just before serving for its fragrance.
• Rice - Short grain rice that is "sticky" when it is steamed.

While some of us may have already broken our 2006 New Year's resolutions, we do have a chance to start over, as this weekend marks the beginning of the new lunar year. Year 4703 is the Year of the Dog, and New Year's Day is Sunday, January 29, 2006.

Everyone knows it's the Year of the Dog, but do we really know what that means? The Dog is a symbol of loyalty, warmth and caring, so hopefully, we can expect a year of harmony, relative to the clamor that was the Year of the Rooster last year. Chinese astrology goes even deeper, though.

We won't go into all the element and animal combinations, but if you want to know the detail, 4703 is actually the Year of the Fire Dog! Like a hot dog? Yes, but don't jut go to LA's Pink's or Chicago's Portillo's and have a chili cheese dog to celebrate the new year!

There are a lot of traditions associated with Chinese New Year, and so many of them have to do with food! Between now and Sunday, expect a few posts with restaurants, recipes, and other ideas to celebrate the new year...again!