Yum cha
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- This article is about the Chinese custom, for the Dragon Ball character, please see Yamcha.
Image:DSCN1968.JPG Yum cha (Chinese: 飲茶), a term in Cantonese Chinese meaning "drinking tea", refers to the custom of eating tiny servings of different foods while sipping some well-brewed Chinese tea in southern China. It is an integral part of the culinary culture of Hong Kong and the Guangdong Province. In any city with a sizeable population of Cantonese people, yum cha is a tradition on weekend mornings, and whole families gather to chat and eat dim sum and gulp pot after pot of Chinese tea. Yum cha is also a morning ritual for the elderly to spend a good part of the morning after early morning exercise of Taichi or walk. The tea is important, for it is said to help digest the rich foods, which may be included in the choice of offerings. In the past, people used to go to a teahouse for yum cha, whereas dim sum restaurants have been gaining an overwhelming popularity of late.
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Teahouse
Image:Chajing.jpeg Although the Chinese tea ceremony is not as elaborate as those developed in Japan, the ritualized drinking of tea is often still practiced. The most important work on tea making is the Cha Jing (茶經). It is the only extant work of the Tang Dynasty scholar and poet, Lu Yu, and was written about 800 BCE. He describes many aspects of tea making from the location of the teahouse to the mode of drinking. His treatise is considered definitive by many.
In Northern Imperial China, teahouses were regarded as retreats for gentlemen, and later for businessmen. Deals would be discussed and sealed in the neutral, relaxed surroundings of a teahouse, rather than in offices.
Some teahouses in Hong Kong still uphold such a tradition, and are frequented by Hong Kong Chinese industrialists and entrepreneurs. This being Hong Kong, however, dim sum are positively available. Teahouses were, and are, also places where disputes could be settled harmoniously over tea. Courts of law were not spots where Chinese felt at ease. They preferred to accept the judgment of a reciprocally respected arbiter. The disputing parties would agree terms and apologies, pay for the tea, shake hands, and part in peace. In the same way that London later developed its insurance and stock broking businesses out of simple coffee shops, so the Chinese were using teahouses as places to conduct business.
Today in Hong Kong, traditional teahouses are still to be found in the older communities. The most well-known example in Central is the Luk Yu Teahouse, a half-century-old living monument to the sedate stylishness of old Hong Kong. Stained-glass murals and massive framed scrolls decorate white walls. The teahouse's original black ceiling fans spin idly in the air-conditioned rooms. Mirrored and marbled private wooden booths are conspiratorial businessmen's havens. To go for yum cha at the Luk Yu is to enter a new era. It is best experienced mid-morning or mid-afternoon, outside the breakfast and lunch rush hours when every seat and table is usually reserved for regular customers. This very special teahouse is Hong Kong's appropriate compliment to that 8th-Century tea master - Luk Yu being the Cantonese version of Lu Yu.
Eating utensils
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Teabowl
Methods of tea-tasting have undergone considerable changes since the Tang Dynasty, and the use of covered teabowls is one development of note. The simple yet practical design of covered teabowls makes them an excellent utensil for tea-tasting. The fine painting on these bowls also enhances their aesthetic value. Nowadays, a small teacup is used instead in most dim sum restaurants more often than not.
Chopsticks
Chopsticks, a pair of small even-length tapered sticks, are the traditional eating utensils for yum cha. Chopsticks are commonly made of plastic in the Chinese restaurants. Held between the thumb and fingers of the working hand, they are used as tongs to take up portions of the food, which is brought to the table cut up into small and convenient pieces, or as means for sweeping the rice and small particles of food into the mouth from the bowl. Many rules of etiquette govern the proper conduct of the chopsticks.
Toothpick
The manipulation of toothpicks at a table is another typical practice. As in most Asian countries, the polite way to deal with lodged fragments of food is to cover one's mouth with one hand while the toothpick is being used with the other. Toothpicks are frequently used between courses, as it is believed that the aftertaste of one course should not be allowed to ruin one's enjoyment of the next course.
Toothpicks have another major value. They are ideal, and socially acceptable, for picking up those meal items which often defy the best chopstick approach, such as slippery button mushrooms and jellyfish slices served with sesame oil.
Dim sum
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Dim sum is usually a light meal or brunch, eaten sometime from morning-to-early afternoon with family or friends. Classical dim sum includes buns such as Baozi, dumplings and rice rolls, 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. People go yum cha when they are having meals in a Chinese teahouse or a dim sum restaurant, and tea is always served along with dim sum.
Dim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods. The size of the dim sum 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 dishes can be ordered from a menu or sometimes the food is wheeled around on a mobile cart by servers. Traditionally, the cost of the meal is calculated based on the number and size of dishes left on the patron's table. Some modern dim sum restaurants record the dishes on a bill at the table. Not only is this tidier, it also prevents patrons from cheating by concealing or stealing the plates, which has been known to happen. Servers in some restaurants even use different stamps so that sales statistics for each server can be recorded.
Rituals
Finger tapping
Image:Yumcha finger tapping.jpg Also known as finger kowtow, the finger-tapping ritual of thanking someone in the traditional Chinese-style has historical significance. When you see tea-sippers tapping the table with three fingers of the same hand, it is a silent expression of gratitude to the member of the party who has re-filled their cups. The gesture recreates a tale of Imperial obeisance and can be traced to Qianlong Emperor, a Qing Dynasty emperor, who used to travel incognito. While visiting South China, he once went into a teahouse with his companions. In order to sustain his anonymity, he took his turn at pouring tea. His stunned companions wanted to kowtow for the great honour. Instead of allowing them to disclose his identity, the emperor told them to tap two fingers on the table. One finger represented their bowed head and the other represented their prostrate arms.
Placing the lid diagonally on the teapot before refilling
Just as the arrival of food is ongoing, the supply of tea is incessant. When a teapot is unfilled, the customer need only leave the diagonally lid up, and it will be whisked away and refilled. This is a polite way to ask for the teapot to be refilled with fresh hot water: by diagonally placing the lid and letting it hang loose by the wire or cord that binds it to the pot, or balanced in the handle.
One story told to explain this custom involves a poor student who hid a bird in his teapot. When the waiter came to refill the pot and lifted the lid, the bird flew away. According to his plan, the student made a loud fuss. It was a very precious bird, he said, and the restaurant owed him compensation. After this, the restaurant—and all others—decided to wait for customers to lift the lid of an empty teapot if a refill was needed. This custom is not usual in northern China, where patrons may have to ask waiters to refill the pots. Alternatively, staff may take the initiative.
This is also a good indicator how good the service is. The best service is when the teapot filler goes around to each table taking a feel of how full your pot is and automatically refills it before you ever run out during the entire meal. A sign of below par service are your teapot lid being constantly open, meaning the waiters aren't paying attention to you. This could dictate the amount of tip that is left for the staff.
References
- Everything You Want to Know about Chinese Cooking by Pearl Kong Chen, Tien Chi Chen, and Rose Tseng. Woodbury, New York: Barron's, 1983.
- How to Cook and Eat in Chinese by Buwei Yang Chao. New York: The John Day Company, 1945.
- Dim Sum: The Delicious Secrets of Home-Cooked Chinese Tea Lunch by Rhoda Yee. San Francisco: Taylor & Ng, 1977.
- Classic Deem Sum by Henry Chan, Yukiko, and Bob Haydock. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1985.
- Chinese Dessert, Dim Sum and Snack Cookbook edited by Wonona Chong. New York: Sterling, 1986.
- Tiny Delights: Cooking Dim Sum and Simple Chinese Dishes by Elizabeth Chong. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1987.