How did we end up at a Chinese restaurant eating unknown items for unknown prices then wandering around the Bellagio Conservatory taking pictures of the floor?

It all started when my sweet Chinese neighbor showed up at my front door with a bag of random items (I had no idea what any of it was) and invited my family to celebrate the Chinese New Year with her.

Not wanting to look ignorant, which I clearly was, I smiled and thanked her for her generosity and sent her a picture of the item I proudly hung up on our family room wall. 

A few days later I met with my fellow homeschooler moms as we discussed upcoming lessons for our co-op. We planned on discussing China and I wondered why on earth I would teach on the topic when I lived next door to a resident expert! So, I called my awesome Chinese neighbor and asked for a favor. She was more than happy to help and agreed to come to my house and teach the kids about China and the Chinese New Year.

Shared here with her permission, she made this awesome presentation, passed out envelopes of money to the kids, and taught us how to paint the Chinese symbol for “luck.”

During the presentation someone mentioned that they love Panda Express. My sweet neighbor explained that Panda Express did not represent true Chinese food and that if we wanted to experience authentic Chinese food we needed to visit the New Asian Market in China Town. So we did.

Wouldn't you know it, we had no idea how a traditional Chinese restaurant works. There are no menus. Once you are seated at your table, someone shows up with a trolley cart and holds up different dishes in the air. They tell you the name of the dish and you either say, "Yes" or "No," whereupon they put the dish on the Lazy Susan in front of you, put a stamp on the sheet at the table, and walk away. We could make out some of the descriptions such as "wanton," "shrimp dumpling," and "red bean sesame."

Bless all the kids' hearts, they tried everything. Despite not knowing what we were accepting, it was all delicious! One of the kids even said, "this is actually really good," which we think is the ultimate litmus test for a family. If you are up for an adventure, we definitely recommend.

Here's what we learned about the pricing: When a server sets a plate of food on the table, they also put a stamp on a sheet of paper in a pricing grid. Each grid is titled with a price. At the end of the meal the server will multiply the number of stamps in the grid by the price at the top of that grid. The totals of each grid will be added together to give you the price of the meal. They also add 18% gratuity for large groups. Hopefully you won't be as surprised as we were by the total you spent on your meal out with kids! 😱

After lunch, we embarked on the next portion of our adventure to see the culture of China in person, right here at home.

Each year, the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens puts together a display for the Chinese New Year. We were overjoyed to understand the meaning of the display! There were giant replicas of envelopes, boats, lanterns, and the dragon meant to be chased away by the color red, lanterns, and loud noise. The experience took on new meaning since we understood the display and the meaning behind each piece.

The Bellagio Conservatory is free and open to the public all day every day with 3 free hours of parking for Nevada Residents. Remember to take your driver's license and scan it when you exit the parking lot.

Click here to learn more about the garden and to see the current display.

China and the lunar calendar have taken on new meaning in our home since this experience. Now we can properly celebrate the Chinese New Year.

While I still have intense ambitions to visit China and the Great Wall one day, I will relish in the fact that we can have our own Chinese experience right here in Vegas! Las Vegas is the best place in the world to homeschool your children, and for experiential learning because whatever you're looking for, we've got that at home!