Dim sum, meaning touch your heart, is a favorite of ours, and wherever we happen to be: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Honolulu, New York, Las Vegas or San Francisco, we seek out Chinese restaurants that specialize in the delicacy guaranteed to touch both heart and stomach.

According to Chinese legend, dim sum was first created a thousand years ago by Asian travelers. The little ready-made, rice-dough-wrapped dumplings, filled with meat, seafood or veggies, could be stored in backpacks or on ponies. At stops along the road, over campfires, the quick snacks were steamed, toasted or fried.

When travelers reached inns, fresh-made dim sum delicacies were specialties of the house for sit-down and take-out meals. Depending on the locale in the Orient, thousands of varieties of the popular food were available. As today in Asian restaurants, carts of dim sum were wheeled around dining rooms for visitors to pick and choose their favorites.

Last year we were at Harrah's Atlantic City for my brother's 85th birthday party. It was the first visit to that hotel for my spouse and me, but because we always stay at Harrah's Las Vegas and are Total Rewards Platinum cardholders, we were comped. With season prices at Harrah's AC up to $300 a night for a room, we couldn't have found a better bargain.

Although we've lived in the Arizona desert for 20 years, we were born and raised in Philadelphia. I first went to Atlantic City at age two, but I don't remember much except the 1920s wool bathing suits all the women wore. My most vivid memories of the resort town were right after World War II.

Ah, yes, springtime in San Francisco. Although I've never been there for more than a couple of days at a time, my love affair with the City by the Bay goes back almost 65 years. As a 17-year-old graduate of Navy boot camp, my first trip ever out of the East was to report to the Naval Base at Treasure Island, California.

THAT Treasure Island, I thought. I conjured up images of pirates, Long John Silver, yo ho ho and all that adventure stuff. It turned out to be a bunch of drab Navy barracks on a little hunk of land under the Oakland Bay Bridge, halfway between San Francisco and ... what else ... Oakland.