Dim Sum Yum Yum

 "Good food ends with good talk." - Geoffrey Neighor

Air Temp: 82 degrees

Humidity: 50-75%

My second morning in Hong Kong I was treated to my first dim sum experience. My friend, Turk-A-Lurk was eager to show me the wonders of Hong Kong so we woke early before training and hit the streets of Mui Wo to break our fast. Turk has been in Hong Kong since last September, and is an intrepid traveler. I trusted his judgment and followed faithfully. I soon found myself sitting down to a table with a bowl and a set of chopsticks and a plethora of mouthwatering Chinese yummies. 

Dim sum refers to a style of Chinese food prepared as small bite-sized or individual portions of food traditionally served in small steamer baskets or on small plates. It is also well known for the way it is served in some restaurants. Fully cooked and ready-to-serve dim sum dishes are carted around the restaurant for customers to choose their orders while seated at their tables.

Mui Wo Dim Sum

I dug in wholeheartedly, my stomach growling.

Eating dim sum at a restaurant is usually known in Cantonese as going to "drink tea" (yum cha), as tea is typically served with dim sum.

The History of Dim Sum:

Dim sum is usually linked with the older tradition of yum cha (tea tasting), which has its roots in travelers on the ancient Silk Road needing a place to rest. Thus tea houses were established along the roadside. Rural farmers, exhausted after working hard in the fields, would go to tea houses for a relaxing afternoon of tea. At first, it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food, because people believed it would lead to excessive weight gain. People later discovered that tea can aid in digestion, so tea house owners began adding various snacks.

The art of dim sum originated with the Cantonese in southern China, who over the centuries transformed yum cha from a relaxing respite to a loud and happy dining experience. In Hong Kong many restaurants start serving dim sum as early as five in the morning. It is a tradition for the elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercises.

In an essence, it is the eastern version of the western idea of a diner. Back in the states, the little local greasy diner is the gathering for all the senior citizens to get caught up on the local gossip of the area. Or at least this is how it was where I grew up in Afton, NY. 

The Dim Sum Menu:

A traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns such as cha siu baau, dumplings and rice noodle rolls (cheong fun), which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee porridge and other soups. Dessert dim sum is also available and many places offer the customary egg tart.

Dim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods. The serving sizes are usually small and normally served as three or four pieces in one dish. It is customary to order family style, sharing dishes among all members of the dining party. Because of the small portions, people can try a wide variety of food.

Dim sum brunch restaurants have a wide variety of dishes, usually several dozen. Among the standard fare of dim sum are the following:

• Gao, or Dumpling is a standard in most tea houses. They are made of ingredients wrapped in a translucent rice flour or wheat starch skin. Though common, steamed rice-flour skins are quite difficult to make. Thus, it is a good demonstration of the chef's artistry to make these translucent dumplings. There are also dumplings with vegetarian ingredients, such as tofu and pickled cabbage.
• Bau : Baked or steamed, these fluffy buns made from wheat flour are filled with food items ranging from meat to vegetables to sweet bean pastes.
• Phoenix claws: These are chicken feet, deep fried, boiled, marinated in a black bean sauce and then steamed. This results in a texture that is light and fluffy (due to the frying), while moist and tender. One may also sometimes find plain steamed chicken feet served with a vinegar dipping sauce. This version is known as "White Cloud Phoenix Claws".
• Steamed meatball: Finely ground beef is shaped into balls and then steamed with preserved orange peel and served on top of a thin bean-curd skin.
• Spare ribs: In the west, it is mostly known as spare ribs collectively. In the east, it is Char siu when roasted red, or when roasted black. It is typically steamed with douchi or fermented black beans and sometimes sliced chili.
• Lotus leaf rice: Glutinous rice is wrapped in a lotus leaf into a triangular or rectangular shape. It contains egg yolk, dried scallop, mushroom, water chestnut and meat (usually pork and chicken). These ingredients are steamed with the rice and although the leaf is not eaten, its flavour is infused during the steaming.
• Congee: Thick, sticky rice porridge served with different savory items.
• Sou: A type of flaky pastry.
• Taro dumpling: This is made with mashed taro, stuffed with diced shiitake mushrooms, shrimp and pork, deep-fried in crispy batter.
• Crispy fried squid
• Rolls

Desert:

• Chien chang go: "Thousand-layer cake", a dim sum dessert made up of many layers of sweet egg dough.

• Egg tart: composed of a base made from either a flaky puff pastry type dough or a type of non-flaky cookie dough with an egg custard filling, which is then baked. Some high

Tea With Dim Sum:

The drinking of tea is as important to dim sum as the food. The type of tea to serve on the table would be typically one of the first things the server would ask dining customers. Several types of tea is served during dim sum:

• Chrysanthemum tea – Chrysanthemum tea does not actually contain any tea leaves. Instead it is a flower-based tisane made from chrysanthemum flowers, which are most popular in East Asia. To prepare the tea, chrysanthemum flowers (usually dried) are steeped in hot water in either a teapot, cup, or glass.
• Green tea – Freshly picked leaves only go through heating and drying processes, but do not undergo fermentation. This kind of tea is produced all over China and is the most popular category of tea.

Dim Sum Etiquette:

There are common tea-drinking and eating practices or etiquette that Chinese people commonly recognize and use. These are practiced not only during dim sum meals but during other types of Chinese meals as well.

It is customary to pour tea for others during dim sum before filling one's own cup. A custom unique to the Cantonese is to thank the person pouring the tea by tapping the bent index finger if you are single, or by tapping both the index and middle finger if you are married, which symbolizes 'bowing' to them.

This is said to be analogous to the ritual of bowing to someone in appreciation. The origin of this gesture is described anecdotally: an unidentified Emperor went to yum cha with his friends, outside the palace; not wanting to attract attention to himself, the Emperor was disguised. While at yum cha, the Emperor poured his companion some tea, which was a great honor. The companion, not wanting to give away the Emperor's identity in public by bowing, instead tapped his index and middle finger on the table as sign of appreciation.

Leaving the lid balanced on the side of the tea pot is a common way of attracting a server's attention, and indicates a request for more hot water in the tea pot.

The Turk in the flesh!

A glimpse of Mui Wo

A little Mui Wo magic

More to come :)