Yum Cha 飲茶

Yum Cha is the Chinese word of eating dim sum and drinking tea. It is a traditional Chinese brunch, which rooted from the Chinese merchants who travelled on the ancient Silk Road and needed a place to rest. Now, dim sum is famous all over the world. Thus, one can find the most authentic dim sum in the Canton Region of China (Hong Kong, Guang Dong). Restaurants serve dim sum from 5a.m to 3p.m, and it is very common to see groups of elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercise and read newspaper together. Every Sunday, most of the Hong Kong families will go to yum cha together. It is like having Thanks Giving every Sunday. Yum Cha has become the staple food for most Hong Kong people.

The tea that comes along with eating dim sum is very important in Yum cha, since “Yum Cha”‘s literal meaning is “drink tea”. As many provinces in China produce tea, most of the Chinese are very meticulous about tea. There are different kinds of tea which restaurants serve along with dim sum, like Chrysanthemum, oolong and Puer. Chrysanthemum actually does not have any leaves; it is a kind of flower. Chrysanthemum tea with honey is known to be beneficial for sore throat or dry throat. Oolong has the characteristics of both black tea and green tea. Its leaves are partially fermented. Puer has leaves that had undergone years of fermentation, which give the leaves earthly flavors.

Besides numerous varieties of teas, there are countless selections of dim sum that are put in bamboo made basket, which has become the signature of Yum Cha. The bamboo basket has a very long history, and is made for the purpose of steaming food. Dim sum comes in all sorts of form; it can be fried or steamed. The most famous and popular dim sums are har gao (shrimp wrapped in rice wrap), siu mai (pork dumplings), cha siu bao (roasted pork wrapped in a bun), and chueng fun (rice noodle rolls). As for deserts, there are egg tarts, mango pudding, red bean soup, green bean soup and etc.

Growing up in Hong Kong, I always feel like I am back home when I go to yum cha in China town, New York, even though the dim sums are really bad quality. It was until I came to America that I realized my roots from things as simple as Yum Cha. Yum Cha represents a tradition, culture, and an event that brings family and friends together.