“It’s a fruit.”

“Is it good?”

“Yeah. Sort of like lychee.”

“Lychee?”

“Think really juicy, really sweet cherries but white. We’ll get some for dessert. Come on. We’re almost there.”

Nom Wah was already in full swing. The dining room was loud and busy, crammed with diners and waiters wheeling food carts trailing steam like skywriters.

“So dim sum’s just like a buffet?” Jim asked.

“Sort of,” I said. “A mobile buffet. The food comes to you.”

“A lazy person’s buffet,” Dad said.

“Perfect,” Winnie said. “I love dim sum already.”

“How do you know what to take?” Josh asked peering into one of the carts as we followed the host to a large round table in the corner.

“Just take what I take,” I said.

“Mommy likes the chicken feet,” Zoe said.

“Phoenix claws,” Mom said. “And don’t knock them until you try them.”

“Calling them something fancy doesn’t change the fact that you’re sucking on chicken toe jam.” I snapped my chopsticks apart.

Jim pointed to one of the metal pots on the table. “Are these…”

“Tea.” Mom poured a cup for Jim and one for herself, then handed the pot to Dad. “You should have seen Tris today. He was so great.”

I took the napkin folded like a fortune cookie off my plate and ripped it open. “I didn’t drop the knife on the floor. I don’t think that qualifies as great.” Did we have to talk about this?

Mom set her cup on the table, and tapped whatever she was really thinking in code on her lips.

Winnie eyed a cart piled high with bamboo steamers as it rolled by. “So how do you flag them down?”

“Like this.” Zoe stood up and waved both arms like she was directing traffic on an aircraft carrier.

The waiter nodded and wheeled the cart to our table. “Xiao long bao?”

“Soup dumplings,” Zoe translated.

“Do I want those?” Winnie asked.

Zoe nodded. “For her too,” she said to the waiter.

“And me too please.” Josh raised his hand like we were in school.

“I might as well try some too,” Jim said.

Josh tipped his chair back against the wall and studied the room. “This place is so cool. How many carts do they have going at once? And do they all carry different stuff?”

“They usually have a few carts going around with the most popular stuff,” I said.

Another cart stopped at the table. “Char siu bao. Pork buns?”

“Do we like those?” Josh asked.

“We do,” I said.

I know. A meat baked good? But think about it: you eat meat and bread together in a sandwich all the time, right? This is just one step away from that, one step that will make you forget your blah roast beef on a roll forever, because shredded sweet-and-sour pork tucked inside a soft, doughy bun kicks that sandwich’s butt.

Winnie pulled off the top of the bamboo steamer releasing a cloud. “Ooh, a meal and a facial all in one. Where’s the soup?”