Dim Sum To Remember

May 20, 2016:

Jason Todd takes Lunair to a new Dim Sum restaurant. HIS restaurant.

Hell's Kitchen

Characters

NPCs: None.

Mentions:

Plot:

Mood Music: [*\# None.]


Fade In…

~ GRAND OPENING ~ DEVIL'S DIM SUM

Right there in Hell's Kitchen, not terribly close to Chinatown, is a brand new Dim Sum restaurant. The restaurant itself is fairly unassuming from the outside, but the sign is all red and gold and inside is the same color scheme with gilt decorations, red-papered walls, and crisp white tablecloths on every table. The restaurant itself is two stories and they can either open the second floor if it's busy or keep everyone on one floor for smaller crowds. Carts laden with covered plates or holding bamboo steamers are being wheeled around by knowledgable servers so that one can choose what they want.

Jason has brought Lunair to this restaurant at the opening. "Have you had Dim Sum before? You like Chinese food, right? Althought this is a little more authentic…mostly." Some dishes have been Americanized.

Lunair is getting to spend time with Jason! She seems glad, even if this sort of thing is kind of tough due to her total lack of social skills. Still, she's wide-eyed, alert and curious. There's a smile as she looks to him.

"I haven't tried it. I've been mostly learning Japanese food from a friend," Lunair admits. "It's really cute here," She seems to like. "Bamboo steamers? Ooh." Neat. She is in awe, and the sensory input is a lot for her. "How have you been, by the way? And thank you for bringing me." Beam.

Jason Todd is used to Lunair's social awkwardness so he just smiles when she asks her usual 'How have you been?' question. He gently guides her inside and nods to the hostess who smiles back and begins to lead them to the table. It seems that they know him here already. "This is different than Japanese food. It's sort of like…Chinese tapas."

When she mentions the the bamboo steamers, he glances over, "We can get whatever looks good to you! There are some things I'd recommend, but if something looks good, just point to it."

They're brought to a table in a little alcove and water and a pot of tea are placed there. There's almost no time between sitting down and when the first cart comes over to them.

Lunair smiles back as he does. She has to work at that. She inclines her head. "I see," She murmurs. "I am curious about those, but you can recommend things. I trust you," Sagenod. "Ordering food on sight alone, hmm…" She considers that. A shrug. "I will try your suggestions. There is always time to try other new things, too." Lunair is easy going, and curious.

Plus, it's time to hang out with Jason! Whom she seems to like hanging out with. "Thank you." Nod. "What kind of tea is it?" She asks.

Jason Todd leans closer to the teapot and opens the top to take a sniff. "Oolong, I think. Maybe a Jasmine Oolong. They change it up, which is nice." He glances over at the cart that's brought over, "Do you eat seafood? Pork? What should I avoid?" The server with the cart just waits patiently while they figure out if they want what she has.

"Wow, you can tell just by sniffing?" An eyebrow lifts. That's pretty good! Lunair nods. "That sounds lovely. I like the Jasmine dragon pearl thingies… they unfurl when you put them in. And I can eat pretty much anything at least once," She says. "Just no bland food, please." Lunair is not a picky eater. "The steamers look neat." A beat. "I am sorry, it must be embarrassing to be around someone like me sometimes."

Jason Todd chuckles, "I've smelled the different teas a number of times," is given before he nods to the cart. One of the steamers is put on the table and Jason begins to explain, "This is Shu mai…sort of like a dumpling. There's pork and mushrooms and some other stuff in it." Reaching to the steamers with his chopsticks, he deftly takes one out and places it on Lunair's little plate. He then takes one to place on his own. "I enjoy spending time with you. Not everyone's had Dim Sum so I don't hold that against you. Let me know what you think."

"Oh yeah? Is it a hobby?" She asks. Lunair looks over as he explains. She peers intently. "Thank you." She's well mannered, even if she's a bit flat and quiet at times. Her gaze is distant as she thinks, not setting aside energy to emote properly. Unintentionally, the corner of her tongue sticks out a little as she experimentally tries chopsticks.

"And I enjoy spending time with you." Nodnod. "And I- yes. I will catch up." She will try to pick up the Shu mai. It'll take her a bit, and she furrows her eyebrows in concentration. She'll manage it with some difficulty before taking a bite.

Chomp, think. After she eats it, she beams. "That's awesome!"

"Smelling tea?" Jason asks, the dumpling paused on the way to his mouth. "It's not a hobby." He grins a little more before putting his whole shu mai into his mouth. He watches as she struggles with the chopsticks and waves one of the servers over to bring a knife and fork. "This might be easier if you want." Some of the dishes might be a little slippery.

"Glad you like it! We'll try some more things then." Carts are brought over and dishes are chosen for her to try. "Ok, so these steamed buns are barbeque pork. You can pick them up by your hands and eat them that way."

"Or having tea. There's a Japanese culture club on campus and they often do tea ceremonies," Lunair notes. She takes a bite again. She looks to the knife and fork, swallowing. "Probably is easier, but I wanted to try. I like - when I go to new places - to try their things," She admits. "But I will use those if I cause a mess," She promises.

"And surely." Lunair seems to trust Jason's taste in foods, at least, peering over. "Okay… got it," A play-solemn nod. She will do as said. Nomf. "Awesome! And ah, I feel bad just talking about me." She thinks a moment. "I've been busy with school mostly…"

Jason Todd shrugs, "I spent some time in Eastern Asia, so I got familiar with it. Don't worry about causing a mess. It's part of the whole thing, really." Sort of a mess. More steamers and plates are brought over — steamed rice wrapped in a banana leaf, taro buns, daikon cakes, more dumplings stuffed with shrimp or sweet yellow bean. "I don't mind you talking about you. How's school going? Are you near the end of the semester already?"

"Really? Which country? Or lots of them?" She is curious. "And oh… that's fair, I guess," Lunair is used to the idea of NOT causing mess when eating. This causes some consternation. But the dishes are curious, tasty and she is the archnemesis of picky eaters. Nomf!

"I like talking about you and other things, too." She states. "And it's alright. Yup, just cramming in for finals and turning in my portfolios." She's an odd duck, the deadliest art student. Aside from disgruntled Austrians, at any rate. "What would you enjoy studying most?"

"Oh, lots of them," Jason offers while taking a dumpling of his own. "Well, I like talking about -you-, so…there." He grins and listens as she explains what her schedule has been lately. "Portfolios…for art?" He knew that.

When the question is asked of him he gives a little cough and takes a long drink of the tea, "Me? Oh, school and I didn't get along very well."

"I see. Any favorites?" Lunair asks. She is talking between eating, though, his comment makes her blush deeply. Aw. And she nods. "Yeah. This semester is mostly painting and sketches," She remarks. "I don't think I'm going to do sculpture." Doing sculpture in a world of big chests and sculpted abs might be tough, right? Granted, Lunair wouldn't admit to going dark due to the whole not wanting to be vivisected alive thing.

There's a pause at his cough. "I see. That's okay, I was just curious. I guess you are a travel kind of guy," She muses.

"Any favorite…places? I liked Tibet. I liked where there weren't many tourists." Jason names off a few remote places in China, Mongolia, Tibet, and India…not that he expects her to to know those places. "Painting and sketches. That's kind of awesome. Why would you do sculpture if it's not your medium? Play to your strengths!"

More food is brought over…rice noodle dishes and steamed buns and then a bunch of different little desserts.

"You're allowed to be curious. I guess I'm more about the experience than reading about it."

Lunair nods. "Tibet sounds lovely," She remarks. Lunair isn't always certain of the places, but she grasps his tastes. "Um. The degree requires those courses. I'm a botany major, though," A wry smile. "So - I get more use out of colors and drawing."

She looks at it all, eyes wide. "Wow, the meals are serious here." She's a bit in awe and concerned. Lunair is goin to make sure she eats 'em though! "Well, even if I cannot have the experiences, it's interesting to see how others do," Lunair says. She is seriously playing catch up, it seems.

"Where do you look forward to going next?"

"It was. I mean, not the tourist parts, but away from that." Because while he doesn't mind crowds, he needed some time at that point. Cities were explored later. "Right, I knew you were Botany, which is why the whole art thing surprised me. But I guess it helps to be able to draw the plants, right? Although now we have good cameras on our phones…" he shrugs then.

There's a laugh when she comments about the food, "We'll slow down. Basically, you just get as many dishes as you want. It's sort of a la carte." They do have desserts, so things do seem to be winding down in that Jason isn't calling over more carts.

At the question of where he's going next, there's a shake of his head, "I think I'll hang around here for a bit. Not sure where I'll go next. It'll probably be somewhere unexpected."

Lunair nods, listening. She tilts her head. "I see." She is a pretty hefty eater, but even Lunair has her limits. "Yeah, trouble is, a lot of journals and publications don't just take phone photos. They have to follow certain formats," She remarks. "And a la carte. Neat. I love the dumplings," She does! "But the company is great, too." Smile.

Then she pauses. "I hope it is awesome, then. I should try to travel over the summer, maybe. Somewhere with some cool plants. Or by an ocean…" Pause. "Do you take many pictures?"

"But they take drawings?" Jason cants his head. "That's really interesting. I would have thought they would have accepted photos. Maybe professional ones then? I have to be honest, I've never really looked at botanical journals. But I enjoyed going to the Botanical Gardens," the last time.

He offers a smile, "I'm enjoying the company as well. The dumplings are probably the most famous Dim Sum dish."

"You should definitely travel as much as you can. Cool plants, huh? What about Polynesia? Or Indonesia? Or Australia. That's all by oceans as well." At the mention of pictures, he shakes his head, "Not really."

Lunair nods. "Depending, yes," She remarks. "On size and format." Then she smiles. "Really? Their exhibits change during the seasons. So let me know, if you'd like to see anything. Or the art museum," She muses. Lunair blushes and beams at him.

"Yeah? Sweet."

"And I'd like to," She remarks. "Just sort of a bad time for now," Lunair seems more quieter and subdued at that. "Australia has all the deadly wildlife, right?" She frowns. "And ah. Do you like journaling?"

"Well, it's warmer so I bet that there are different things blooming. I'm always happy to go there." It's nice to be occasionally reminded that there is actual innocent beauty in the world. That not everything can be owned or destroyed. He pours some more tea before taking a custard tart to eat, "That's what I hear. That Australia has all these dangerous bugs and snakes and stuff. It's kind of amazing that people live there."
Jason Todd adds, "Journaling? Like…writing things down? No. I think I'm too paranoid for that."

Lunair nods. "Totally! They have orchids," She remarks. "Ancient flowers." Then she watches him, sipping some tea. She considers him a moment, and hms. "Yeah. Even the plants can kill you there, apparently." Lunair is - not so sure on that place, not really.

"Yup. Writing things down, collecting memories." Though, she pauses, peering at his words. Paranoid, huh? Maybe a bit more to this than a simple hobby? Hmm. She doesn't say anything, though, aside from- "I guess there could be stalkers out there." He is cute.

"Orchids are ancient, huh? That's pretty cool." He grins at the deadly plants in Australia, "Well, I mean…other plants can kill you too. If you eat holly berries or rhubarb leaves…or belladonna you'll probably die too." Australia doesn't have the bounty on deadly plants.

When she mentions the Journaling, Jason shrugs, "I prefer to live in the moment. Memories only bog you down and can come back and bite you in the ass."

"Yeah, but Australia has EXPLODING TREES. And the suicide plant," Lunair counters. "And you don't even have to eat them," Headshake. "Deadly things do live all over. Australia's are just more hardcore and numerous," Yes. "All the um, competition in a small space, I guess." She shrugs.

"And that's fair. I have lots of good memories since I struck out on my own. I treasure those a lot, but I try not to think much on the far past. Hopefully these are not bad memories." That they are making.

"Exploding trees? Really?" Now, that he didn't know. Jason works on the tart and the tea as he listens. "Maybe they're all condensed in one place, which makes it seem even worse there? Not that Australia is small…" because it's really not, at all.

"These here are good memories. But I don't need to write them down to enjoy it or to remember it."

"Yeah, they have spikey bark and it launches the spikes all over…" Lunair splays her fingers out. Then she pauses. "Could be, but it is an island and evolution gets WEIRD." She pauses. "And true. I just - worry about forgetting," Having likely had her memories tampered with at least once in life has left her wary. "You know? Maybe that's too much worrying. Oooh, that looks like a cute bun." Yoink.

"Well, if you don't want to forget, I understand taking pictures and journaling." Some things he knows he'll remember and some he doesn't mind forgetting. Jason passes over the plate of dessert buns, "That's a sweet yellow bean. And that one's a sweet red bean. Adzuki bean, actually." He continues to nurse his tea and custard tart. "I'm not going to tell someone to stop worrying, but…we're not in Australia."

"Thanks. And neat," She smiles. She'll try some of what he offers. Lunair looks thoughtful. "It's okay. We all decide what we want to do in the face of lost memories," She considers it. "I don't know why it bothers me to forget," She admits. Her paranoia swings in other ways against his. "And that's true. But have you SEEN some of those pigeons? In the mafia, carrying switch blades. Why, I saw them with a seagull on the docks, his little talons in cement blocks…" Ominous finger wiggle.

"Well, you're a good candidate for the photos and journaling then." Jason grins. He does chuckle, though, when she mentions the pigeons. "But they're easily cowed. Just throw out some bread or popcorn and they'll do anything for you. I'd be more afraid of the seagulls. Those thing'll take food right out of your hands."

Oddly enough, no check is being brought over as they finish up.

"Fair," She smiles at his grin. Lunair considers it. "Are you sure? The goodfeathers versus the codfathers?" She is being wry. "And yes, I've seen sea gulls just GRAB ice cream. Positively beasty little critters," She remarks. She starts to finish, and looks over it. "Wow. Thank you. I will have to think of something awesome to match this," She promises.

Jason Todd chuckles, "You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it and now I introduced you to a new cuisine. I'm a bit of a fan of it…" maybe because one gets to choose what they want? "And you don't need to match it. I enjoyed sharing it with you." He looks at the table. "Want to take any of it home? They don't reheat very well though, which is sort of a shame."

Lunair is genuinely grateful and happy, even if it's hard to show it. "This is awesome and you have good taste," She smiles over to him. "I still would like to do something neat. I have time to think." Grin. Provided she stays alive and undissected. "Um, just a bit. I stuffed myself, you could almost roll me out. And really? Aw. Well. You pick first."

Jason Todd shakes his head and gives a dismissive wave of the food, "Naah, I'm good. I can get this whenever I want." He gets up and moves to help Lunair out of her chair. Again, still no check. They do exist as other tables are getting little cards stamped when they choose something from the cart. "Take all the time you need. I enjoyed spending this with you, so thank you."

Lunair ahs, smiling. "Okay. Thank you." She seems a bit puzzled. He's not getting a check? A curious look. But she doesn't pry. "Well. Okay. Thank you, too. I adore our time together." Beam. She will help pack up their leftovers, not terribly quickly, and go with him.

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