Congee and Dim Sum on Colonial Drive.

Congee at Lac Viet

New town, everything is shiny with rain. I'm sitting at Drunken Monkey working on my dissertation, and while my library queries are running I'm pondering this new life.

We moved here to be nearer to my parents. Dave and I have a very, very active little girl that needs as much love as an extended family have to offer, and luckily they're happy to pitch in for an only granddaughter! My stepfather and mother have been in Orlando for about five years, long enough to see the local economy peak and fall...

I have a job at Valencia starting in the autumn. I'll be teaching struggling college-aged readers, an area that apparently has much growth at this community college. I'm looking forward to the work, but until then I have a certain dissertation to take care of. Also until then, I've got long summer days to get my life in order, as well as check out the restaurants with my family.

My stepfather is a bit of a connoisseur of the local ethnic food, and so far he's taken us to a number of excellent places along Colonial Drive. So far I've sampled the Congee at Lac Viet, which is flavorful and authentic, a definite soothing bit of Vietnamese home cooking that I could eat over and over again. The rice soup (photo above) comes with optional duck or chicken, and the duck is baked to a juicy, melting tenderness.


Dim Sum at Chan's

The second restaurant that I've tried was Chan's, which serves sit-down Chinese menu items as well as Dim Sum every day of the week. We had the Dim Sum -- cheerful, energetic saleswomen don't let you get away with one or two dishes, they make the rest sound so appealing that soon your table is laden with a bevy of dumplings and noodles and rolls... I've tried a range of the Dim Sum items and especially liked the sesame-coated mochi balls wrapped around sweet beancurd, as well as the cooked noodle dish Lad Na. The flat noodles were wok-fried with crisp greens and beaten-thin chicken, a good addition to the Dim Sum fare.

We're still looking for a good place for Cuban sandwiches! Despite the stress of job hunting in this economy, the cheap, wonderful options at restaurants nearby will surely pull us through...