Ms. Fabulous Hosts A Cherry Blossom Boozy Brunch

 Is it spring? Ms. Fabulous and Stretch n' Flow Yoga hosted a boozy brunch to celebrate the city's blooming cherry blossoms. The dress code was garden party chic, hosted at the gorgeous Hudson View Gardens Lounge. 

June Li Lo, director of Stretch n' Flow Yoga conducted an artisanal dumpling demo based on the recipes of her father's restaurant in Philadelphia (see recipe below). Of course, she made it look easy. The skills needed to include finite knife skills and delicate finger manipulation of the delicate wrappers and pleats. Shockingly, the prettiest dumplings were made by designer Byron Lars, who admitted later it "wasn't his first dumpling rodeo." Other guests included other fashion and media colleagues from AMC Networks, First Look Media, Macy's, Gwynnie Bee and Victoria's Secret. 

modern doll cocktail lab enhanced drinks

Cocktails are always a part of a Ms. Fabulous event. Today, they were hibiscus and berry teas spiked with "The Vicious Purple", floral cocktail bitters from Modern Doll Cocktail Lab. There were also mimosas using "Bitter Mandarina" and espresso martinis made with "Cocoa Canelle" a chocolate and cinnamon liqueur.

My outfit for the day was a pastel flared dress by Byron Lars. My pink petal headband is from Weng Meng Design Studio (my design).

Mr. Lo's Pork Dumplings:

1 lb Ground Pork

2 Bunches of Scallions (finely chopped)

2 oz. Bamboo Shoots (finely chopped)

2 oz. Nappa Cabbage (finely chopped)

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. Oyster Sauce

1 tsp. Soy Sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

Ground pepper to taste

1 (50 ct) package of Dumpling Wrappers 

1 egg (optional)

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients except the wrappers and egg together in a large bowl.

Place either the egg (beaten) or water in a small dipping bowl. Scoop 1 tsp. of the pork mixture into the middle of a dumpling wrapper held in the palm of your hand. Dip a finger into the water or beaten egg and rub along the edge of the wrapper to act as glue. Gently fold wrapper in half, but do not close it. Use two other fingers to create 3 light pleats along one edge, then pinch the edges closed to create a half-moon shape.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and add your folded dumplings to the pot. When the pot boils again and the dumplings rise (approx. 2-3 minutes) add an additional cup of water to the pot. When the pot boils a second time, repeat with adding an additional cup of water until the pot boils again and the dumplings rise.

Remove the dumplings and serve!