Chinese Food On Christmas Day: The Traditional, Untraditional Gathering

Published Dec 25, 2023 5:26 PM

A young light skinned woman wearing blue jeans and a black jacket poses and smiles with an older light skinned woman in a black jacket and an older light skinned man in a red long-sleeve button down shirt. They are sitting at a picnic table in front of a restaurant that has Christmas decorations in the corner.

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For some folks, getting Chinese food on Christmas Day is as much of a tradition as writing letters to Santa Claus or hanging lights on the tree.

In Alhambra, like the rest of L.A, streets were quiet and parking was easy. But outside the Lunasia Dim Sum House, there were groups of people cycling in and out. The small swarm that formed outside the restaurant were chatting to each other cheerily and finding their own ways to pass the time.

While most groups had reservations, some did not. Every time one of the limited seats in front of the restaurant opened up, more people would swoop in to make themselves comfortable while they hunkered down for a wait.

Betsy Krieger was sitting with her husband David Kandel and their daughter Emma Kandel-Krieger. They were about 40 minutes into what the restaurant told them could be a 5 hour wait.

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“We’re number 30 something I think, we’re down from 91,” Krieger told LAist, looking to her daughter for confirmation.

Krieger said Dim Sum has been a family tradition for a few years now, and they were looking forward to trying out Lunasia, a new restaurant for them, this time around.

Specifically, Kandel-Krieger said she was looking forward to the pineapple buns, and Kandel said “anything with sticky rice.”

Bond over food

Chris Yu was also waiting outside the restaurant. He said getting Chinese food for the holidays has been a family tradition for years, which has only grown since meeting his girlfriend and her family.

“We don’t spend as much time with each other as much as we would like, so it just gives us an opportunity to hang out and talk and bond over food,” he said.

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Yu added that Chinese is a popular choice because his family has dietary restrictions and they’re looking for dishes that can accommodate everybody. Plus, he said everyone always loves the Dim Sum classics.

Just down the street, Linh Vuu and her husband were headed to order hot pot at The Bay Cafe, a Cantonese restaurant.

She said going out to eat on Christmas Day is new for her family, but they decided against cooking this time around.

“Just trying out this year because all my kids went out with their friends, so we’re empty nesters,” Vuu said.