We had an early start, leaving San Francisco at 5:30am to head to West Covina for our friends’ wedding. Ron did all the driving so that I could sleep on the way. We made good time and arrived in Arcadia around 10:30am to get some lunch. We ended up eating a bit later after waiting for some friends to meet up with us at Din Tai Fung.

We had a quick lunch of their famous dumplings:

Minced meat noodles with edamame:

Chinese tamale:

We went to the original restaurant in Arcadia (they have a 2nd store very close by) but it’s still not the same as in Taiwan.

We headed to the wedding ceremony in West Covina and although lovely, it was very long. It was our first time to a Catholic wedding that was in Vietnamese (and English). The church was decorated beautifully with these huge flower arrangements.

The bride and her dad walking up the aisle.

The smiling newly married couple.

Joshua & Phil after the ceremony.

After the two hour ceremony, Ron and I went to check in to our hotel and we both had a nap before heading to the reception in Garden Grove.

The reception was held at a hotel but it was catered by a Chinese restaurant, a first for us, this is apparently common in the OC, the hotel doesn’t require you to use their in-house catering. The reception was exceptionally large, 500-550 people, and 8 courses + wedding cake.

We were at lucky table 28.

First course: roasted chicken and shrimp salad. We all loved this salad, very refreshing and a nice creamy dressing with a little spicy kick at the end.

Second course: Shark’s Fin Crabmeat Soup.

Third course: Candied Walnut Shrimps & Shrimp Balls.

Fourth course: Assorted Meat Stuffed Duck (we weren’t sure what the “assorted” meats were…)

Fifth course: Furiwa House Special Lobster.

Sixth course: Lotus Leaf Fried Rice.

Seventh course: Hot and Sour Fish Fillet.

The last course was a plate of seasonal fruits and then we had a strawberry filled wedding cake.

It was fun to catch up with our UOP classmates and a beautiful wedding. It was one of the most unique weddings I’ve been to. For one, the size. For another, the entertainment. They had a magic show in the middle of the reception where the magician pulled out white doves, bunnies, and chickens. Also, the emcee for the wedding spoke four languages: Vietnamese, English, Mandarin, & Cantonese. They had special guest singers and and instead of just playing plain music throughout the reception, they had music videos playing on the big screens. Overall, it was pretty cool. Oh, and we were lucky, Ron ended up winning the floral centerpiece… although we have no idea what to do with it.

This is Lynne and we will be going back to LA for her wedding in September.

Looking forward to tomorrow for the good eats.

Din Tai Fung
1108 South Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, CA