While Y&H was on vacation last week — not that my wife or my editor could really tell — I got an e-mail from reader Lawrence, who was equally confused about my working status. He wrote to say:

The latest information I can find about the anticipated opening of the new Hollywood East is your article of November 20 in the Washington City Paper, which reported an anticipated launch date of December 14 in Wheaton Plaza. Can you tell me if that has actually happened? And can you pinpoint the exact location in the mall?

Apparently I was confused about my vacation status, too, because I picked up the phone last week and checked in with Hollywood East Cafe owner Janet Yu who confirmed the obvious: The dim-sum palace hadn’t yet opened in its new spot inside the Westfield Shopping Center in Wheaton.

The predictable stumbling blocks were to blame: permitting delays and the holidays. Yu told me that she had to wait until after Christmas shoppers cleared out so that crews could drag their giant crane into the parking lot and install roof units. She also had to spend more time and money to bulk up Hollywood East’s duct work.

But Yu expected to have the last pieces in place this week and, with any help from the permitting gods, be open for business on or around Jan. 18. This is good news, because I’m not sure if I want to drop another dime (or lots and lots of dimes) on the chic Asian lounge vibe and cultural confusion at Ping Pong Dim Sum.

Hollywood East’s new location, by the way, is on the mall’s lower level, along restaurant row, right next to Crisp & Juicy.