Lunar New Year - 2018 - Phuoc Loc Tho

Banh Chung wrapped in Banana Leaves with Pickled Vegetables

Phuoc Loc Tho, or The Asian Garden Mall, is a Vietnamese shopping center located in the heart of Little Saigon, a district of Westminster, California. It often hosts little festivals, in celebration of Vietnamese culture and heritage, particularly around holidays and summer, when there is peak season. This year, my Vietnamese family and I decided to go there on Februrary 8th, 2018 to kick off our Lunar New Year celebrations.

Before we headed out for our night, we started with home made "Banh Chung", or "Banh Tet", shown here. For those who read my Lunar New Year at DCA post, this is the more authentic version that they were going for. Banh Chung's main ingredients are sticky rice, mung bean, and pork; and its eaten with a variety of pickled veggies. However, there are many variations of this dish with different meats and veggies. There are even fruity dessert varietions.

Once at Phuoc Loc Tho, we were greeted with a row of street food booths and vendors selling Tet (Lunar New Year in Vietnamese) essentials, including home decorations, art, toys, flowers, and more. It wasn't too crowded and parking wasn't impossible (which is typically a huge issue come food festival seasons), so I started the night with high spirits.

My Aunt & Cousin walking through the Night Market Vendors

One vendor that particularly caught me eye was selling paintings made with pennies. They were absolutely beautiful. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since leaving - I may return just to buy one of his creations. Here's a pic of some of them. I think my favorite is the bowl of flowers at the top. The detail in the paint and texture of the canvas were so cool.

My aunt reminded me that this was especially clever of the vendor because it is a tradition to hang red envelopes filled with money around your house for Lunar New Year. This would be literally hanging money in your house. This added cultural significance to an artist's already beautiful work.

Street Food Stands

Would this even be my blog if there wasn't a designated food section?

The food scene was a bit separated from the shopping scene, having a separated row of its own for people to dilly dally in.

These vendors sold all types of street food, including different soups, teas, meat on sticks, meat in bowls, corn, waffles, desserts, etc. The hubbub was increased, as many vendors sold similar things, and so they competed for your attention, trying to convince you to come try their food or why theirs' was the best.

While there, we tried Thit Nuong Skewers (Marinated Pork Skewers), Banh Trang Tron (Rice Paper/Peanut/Meat/Veggie Medley), Hot Vit Lon (Duck Embryo), Muc Nuong Cay (Grilled Squid with Sriracha), and Banh Kep La Dua (Pandan Coconut Waffles). Pics of the yummies are below!

Several unpictured things include some delicious skewers of Thit Nuong, different Teas that we drank through the night (think Thai Tea, Lychee Tea, Nuoc Rau Ma (Pennyworth Drink)), and a karaoke stage for anyone brave enough to show off their Cai Luong skills. (Cai Luong is Vietnamese folk music filled with undulating vibrato - the more the better)

Date Night, HolidayKimberly YoungerFebruary 10, 2018Phuoc Loc Thoevent, lunar new year, phuoc loc tho, tet, vietnamese, food, hot vit lon, balut, banh trangComment