Asian American Commission of Boston Unity Dinner at Hei La Moon

By: Finance Foodie

Hei La Moon on Beach Street has always been my go-to spot when I get a hankering for dim sum in Boston. Why do I like it? A. It's authentic. When you are surrounded by a sea of 95% Asian patrons all aggressively clamoring for food from the rolling food carts, you know you're in the right restaurant. B. It's cheap. A full table of food usually runs $10-15 per head.  C. The space is large and the turnover is quick (usually since the waiters are pushing you out the door as soon as you finish your meal, but I don't mind -- this means less of a wait for those days I show up late).

Last week, the Asian American Commission of Massachusetts held their 5th annual Unity Dinner at Hei La Moon to honor the social and economic contributions of Asian American female extraordinaire Laura Sen, CEO of BJ's Wholesale Club. Since I totally sing the praises of Hei La Moon's dim sum, I was even more pumped to finally experience dinner at the resto (while supporting my fellow yellow brothers and sisters)!

So what did I think? The twin lobster over longevity noodles was hands down my overall favorite (I've never met a lobster I didn't like -- and that night I met two that I felt in love with!). To be perfectly honest, I prefer Hei La Moon's dim sum over the dinner service -- the dinner dishes were much greasier than I expected -- even the light sounding Shitake & Kai Lan (chinese broccoli) was drenched in oil!

I attended the dinner as a guest of the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK), a truly wonderful organization that helps Asian families in the New England area who are victims of domestic violence. So even though I'll be sticking to Hei La Moon for dim sum in the future, I was glad to have been a part of this wonderful evening, surrounded by amazing talented and compassionate group of individuals.

PS. During the dinner, I learned about an awesome new organization called The Japanese Disaster Relief Fund – Boston (JDRF), which was created as a local vehicle for giving to aid those affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. This relief fund hit especially close to home for me, since my sister will be interning in Japan this summer (will be praying that her summer travels are safe and the city gets restored as quickly as possible)! So I encourage all my readers to check out this organization and their upcoming fundraising events -- remember every little contribution helps!

Hei La Moon
88 Beach Street
Boston MA 02111
(617) 338-8813