Asian American Expo

To kick off our three day weekend we went to the Asian American Expo in Pomona. The only reason we went was because D was able to get free tickets from work since Mazda was a sponsor.

According to the website, they expected 100,000 attendees over the weekend–crazy! I’m not sure if they hit their estimate, but it was certainly crowded when we arrived at 11 a.m. Our first stop was the food pavillion, of course. There were free samples of soy milk, instant noodles, various crackers/cookies, and coffee/tea. We ended up buying a couple of boxes of soy milk and two jars of Kikkoman sauces for $1 each. It would have been more enjoyable if it wasn’t so difficult to get through the crowds of people with a stroller.

Afterward we bought lunch at a couple of stalls outside. We didn’t know where to go, but I guess we should’ve just stuck with the places with the long lines. A lot of the signage was in Chinese, so it was kind of difficult figuring out what to get. One thing that grossed us out was the “octopus on a stick” we saw people walking around with. Too bad I didn’t get a picture of that.

D took k to look at the elephant rides.

Then we went to the other halls where there were various vendors: steam irons; all- you-can-catch goldfish, $1/minute; beauty products; black fermented garlic and ginseng, etc. One of the samples we brought home was a full size can of white gourd juice and black soy milk…interesting.

Mazda had a display with the 3 and the 6. One of the Mazda dealers (Alhambra, I think), was giving out free tote bags with a Mazda car shade, red envelopes, and a calendar (all with Chinese writing on them). That was probably our best freebie of the day.

The highlight of k’s day was the frozen lemoande we had for dessert. She kept on smiling and saying “Sour!” after each bite.

We were able to listen to various bands, including a high school jazz band and a worship band from a Chinese Christian church while we ate outside.

I’m glad we checked the expo out, but we probably won’t go again anytime soon. It was a bit “too Asian” for us, if you know what I mean.