A-CAR Heads South to Eat Like Hogs! Part Three

This is part three of “A-CAR Heads South to Eat Like Hogs.” Make sure you read parts one and two below before reading this entry.

Dinner time! The lives of us AFAT-ers is determined according to our meals. When asked for the time, we have to be careful not to express time by referring to a meal. E.g., “1 hour prior to dinner,” “30 minutes prior to dinner,”  “15 minutes after dinner,” etc.

Anyhow, our AFAT dinner takes us to the newish Raleigh restaurant David’s Dumpling and Noodle Bar. See http://www.ddandnb.com/.  The restaurant is the creation of “iconic” Raleigh Chef David Mao. Chef Mao, who is ethnically Chinese, arrived in the United States from Vietnam in 1972 and eventually opened a very successful white table-clothed restaurant, The Duck and Dumpling. in Raleigh. The restaurant was so successful that it spawned five other restaurants. Mr. Mao sold his share of The Duck and Dumpling and retired but became bored after three months. True to Asian work ethic, Mr. Mao opened his eponymous restaurant in January 2011. The prices at David’s Dumpling and Noodle Bar are extremely reasonable but Chef Mao did not scrimp on quality or décor. The restaurant is clean, tastefully decorated and very comfortable all around.

Mr. DL ordered the “Seafood Noddle Soup” and commented “Wow . . . this is very good. Shrimp. Scallops. Broth is very good. Aww . . . it’s great!”


Seafood Noodle Soup

Mr. YM ordered “David’s Original Half-Fried Dumplings” and the “Open Top Pork & Shrimp Sui Mai Dumplings.” “This is ri-dock-u-lous!”, exclaimed Mr. YM. “What is ri-dock-u-lous,” the others asked.  “Ri-dock-lous is better than ridiculous. Very tasty!”

David's Original Half-Fried Dumplings

Open Top Pork & Shrimp Shu Mai Dumplings

Mr. DA ordered “David’s Original Half-Fried Dumplings” and the “Filet Mignon Chinois.” “Yum,” he said!

Filet Mignon Chinois

Ms. ER ordered “David’s Original Half-Fried Dumpling” and the “Chinese Turnip Pickle Noodle Soup” and commented, “I am very impressed with their food so far.”

Chinese Turnip Pickle Noodle Soup

Other dishes ordered included “Moo Shoo Pork with Steamed Buns” and “Sesame Tofu,” ordered by our two vegetarians, Ms. LB and Ms. EJ.  “Edamame & Mushroom Dumplings” and “Roasted Pork and Dumpling Egg Noodle Soup” ordered by Ms. RJ; “Pork Meatball filled with Scallops” ordered by Mr. MW; and “Moo Shu Pork” ordered by Mr. L. Mr. L also got some other food but was too engrossed in his eating to consent to being interviewed by the author of this blog – okay, to be fair, he was at the other end of the table and probably did not hear.  Nevertheless, shouldn't he have volunteered some comments?  Maybe AFAT-ers need to adopt a new by-law amendment to impose a punishment for those who are too busy eating to consent to an interview by the blogger of the month.  This rule would complement the rule that prohibits eating before a picture is taken of the food!

“Where is Chef Mao,” we think to ourselves. “We must get a picture with him,” we say to each other. Since AFAT-ers have telepathic skills, Chef Mao comes over to our table to say hello. Mr. DA, who by this time had purchased not only a David’s Dumpling and Noodle Bar t-shirt but also a David’s Dumpling and Noodle Bar baseball cap, asks for a picture. Mr. Mao obliges and both put their arms on each other’s shoulders. “We’s tights,” Mr. DA thinks.

AFAT-ers of course make a good impression. We are the most funnest group, right? Apparently Mr. Mao thought enough of us to send over some strawberry and whip cream desserts to cap off our meal! “Mmm!!”, we all thought! Happiness!

After dinner, Mr. YM leads us on a relatively uneventful driving tour of downtown Raleigh (i.e., no one took Mr. DA on his suggestion that we all get AFAT tattoos at a tattoo parlor in downtown), followed by a trip to Yogurt Mountain (http://www.yogurtmountain.com/). For us AFAT-ers, visiting a frozen yogurt place is like being kids in a candy store! Okay, we sometimes behave like kids but that’s another story. Seriously, this place is awesome. There are frozen yogurt machines along one wall with like a dozen different flavors, including my favorite “Cookies N. Cream.” Along the other wall were toppings galore, including gummy bears! There also was plenty of seating for us. Did we die and go to heaven? Best of all, the prices were incredibly reasonable. Only a few of us partook since we were stuffed. For those who partook, the cost was about $2.30 to $2.50. For one person – Mr. YM – it was $5.00 something but he likes his yogurt.

Wall of Frozen Yogurt Dispensing Machines!

Close-up of Frozen Yogurt Dispensing Machine

Toppings Galore!  Look at all the options!

All except Mr. L returned to Mr. YM’s place around 9:30 to play games. Mr. L had checked into a hotel so, after dropping some of us off, headed there for some beauty rest. The rest of us decide to watch a movie – “I love you, Man” – on the largest television I have ever seen. This thing was 60 inches and showed faces in pretty much life size! Mr. MW even tested it out by placing his head next to a face. I’m not exaggerating!

AFAT-ers though need to create a challenge so, of course, a game needed to be played. The game chosen: a drinking game. Take a drink when: (1) the Paul Rudd character acts unmanly, (2) there is an awkward moment on screen, and (3) someone takes a drink on screen. Mr. YM decided to partake in some Georgia moonshine he had purchased earlier in the evening. After barely one sip, he ran to the sink and dumped it all out. Can we say, “I told you so?” Apparently, it tasted like anti-freeze! Needless to say, there was a lot of drinking. Ms. RJ did surprisingly well – I saw her get up to refill her drink like 6 times!

Aftermath of the party....

Empty Vodka Bottles!



Ms. JC passed out on the cake!  Okay, this isn't really Ms. JC but, since Ms. JC couldn't make this trip, we brought this bear to represent her and to keep her a part of the group.

 At about 2:30 AM, we finally turn off the lights to try to sleep. But can we remain silent? Of course not! In true AFAT style, we make sure to make a lot of noise. This time, one of our quietest members comes to the rescue! He does it in his sleep too! See AFAT-ers gots talents! Sadly, though, talented Mr. DL is the only one who gets some good rest -- yes, we heard your snores Mr. DL!

Rise and shine! Morning arrives way too fast. Ms. LB is the first to rise, followed by Mr. DA! When Ms. RJ gets-up they text message Mr. L, who decided to stay at Fairfield Suites Hotel – he’s a member of the “one percent” so likes to get his own place. Or maybe the rest of us just smell after midnight? Oy! Anyways, back to our story . . . Mr. L arrives back at Mr. YM’s place. Mr. DA hears footsteps and tells Ms. LB and Ms. RJ that Mr. L arrives. Mr. L then suddenly and noisily opens the door to Mr. YM’s place. Ms. LB and Ms. RJ think, “You’ll wake the others Mr. L!” Ever practical Mr. DA says, “Wait we didn’t lock the door last night? I could have been raped!” Somehow people thought this was funny.

“I need to watch Jeremy Lin,” says Mr. L. “Jeremy Jeremy,” Mr. L and Mr. DA chant in unison. “Okay okay,” Ms. LB relents. “Let’s head back to DC so we can be home in time to watch the game.” And so this story of the “Asian Caravan Approaching Raleigh” ends. What’s next for this group? Will this group be allowed back in Raleigh? Will this group cause mayhem in another city? Well, you’ll just have to stayed tuned to find out!

Over and out!

Respectfully submitted by Mr. DA!