Small Plates and an Interesting Wine Store

We recently went for first grade breakfast at my daughter's school. They have an interesting
exercise that they do before school

starts to familiarize the kids with

their new class rooms, drop off supplies, meet their new teacher.

I remember doing this just a year back. For some reason I was so emotional this year. My daughter was so confident and seemed so much more grown up. I never saw myself as the kind of mother who would cry at any excuse but I did spend the rest of the week feeling really teary.

As always, there is certainly a sure fire way to console oneself. For me this consolation starts and ends with food. One of my many weaknesses is good Dim Sum. The destination was Aberdeen on Barker Ave in White Plains. We have been to this place several times, a couple of instances for dinner but most for Dim Sum.

The first interesting feature of this place is that it is located within a hotel, in my mind at least this is a somewhat unusual place for a Chinese restaurant.
But then again, what do I know about such things? It certainly looks quite spacious and "typical" once you enter. Something that I find rather interesting is that they have a display of artificial flowers in their waiting area.

The usual fish tank, this used to interest
the kids more a few months back, now they are somewhat less interested. The manager is very

pleasant and prompt. One of the good things about a meal with several options is that you are bound to find something that will appeal to little palates. My two do very well with the Shu mai. Actually, the older one has become quite the "foodie in the making". She seemed rather startled to hear that I could not effectively handle chopsticks until I was well into my teens. We had an assortment of dumplings, both the shrimp shu mai and the shrimp dumplings had the right touch. The carts moved around effectively without overwelmning us but offering us just the right amount of replenishment. We went on a weekday this time so the carts had the usual staples, but they promptly brought us the items like leek chive patties and stuffed peppers upon request.

They also have an assortment of bubble tea, which I sometimes find a lot of fun! We are looking at a few more exciting months. I cannot wait to get through another year to Aadi starting, "school school".

My daughter has just figured out the joys of opening and reading the fortune in a fortune cookie, she discovered this on father's day, actually. Well, now she can read this herself, the pithy meanings for some of those rare cookies that extend beyond - you like chinese food! actually might be food for thought!

Well all of this actually gave me a reason to feel saintly about drinking wine, ok I don't really need a reason, but just wanted to try out a store that I was hearing good things about. The Wine Geeks,

located in Armonk, Ny is a really nice little store to visit.
A remodeled store, this shop has a very warm and cosy feel. It actually

reminded me of a bookstore. The set-up was minimalistic. What I loved was their fairly wide selection of organic and bio-dynamic wines. They also had a large number of South American wines that tend to be my favorite. One of their value selections that actually intringued me was this selection yellow + blue actually packed in a tetra pack. This wine I think is going to be a household favorite.

Actually, this store with the nice table in the center, made me want to come with my favorite book and sample the wonderful selection in small doses.