1966 – Every Sunday like most Hong Kong families my brother-in-law would take us to Dim Sum. While western people say “let’s go dim sum” Chinese people say “let’s go Yum Cha”. Yum Cha literally means Drink Tea but is in fact going for dim sum. In Mauritius my family never went to dim sum which was something very luxurious and unaffordable for us. Occasionally once or twice a year though my eldest brother-in-law would bring us take-away dim sum purchased at one of the only two or three Chinese dim sum restaurants in the city, run by Cantonese families. Mainly barbecue pork buns, crispy roast pork and spring rolls.
In Hong Kong however dim sum was and is still a way of life. Families poor or rich would go Yum Cha every week if not more frequently. There were cheap places for dim sum like Tai Pai Tong, street stalls, or more expensive places like restaurants and hotels. The choice was wide. To get a table on Saturdays and Sundays was a challenge. The restaurants were always full and it was not unusual if some guests had to wait in line for an hour or two. Some smart folks however would send one or two members of the family well ahead of time to try to secure a table. Once a table was offered, they would sit there shuffling through stacks of newspaper and waiting for the rest of the family to appear. Another way to secure a table was to look out for a table where the guests appeared to be nearing the end of their meal and a member or two would stand close to the table, a sign to the whole world, that they were in line for the table as soon as it was vacated. Quite often though the choice for the table was wrong as the sitting guests refused to budge even after the full meal, they would remain seated and chat non-stop oblivious of the waiting people standing by their side.
The good thing about going for dim sum was that it got all the members of the family and sometimes friends together, and the gathering nurtured filial development, goodwill, friendship and closeness. It was a good two or three hours of quality time, family communication at its best, each member had something to say or brag about, each one shouting as loud as possible lest their voice was swallowed by the yet louder shouts coming from all the tables in the large dining hall. It was mayhem man but much satisfaction was derived there.
Most of the dim sum were wheeled to us in a cart by middle aged women, shouting the names of the dishes they were carrying. Every member at the table had a say as to the choice of dishes. Once a consensus was achieved we would signal to the women and she would place the dishes on our table. Most dim sum were served in small round bamboo baskets freshly steamed and brought out from the steaming wok in the kitchen. Delicious they were. Hong Kong people loved their exotic dim sum which included stewed chicken feet, deep fried pork intestine, chewy steamed curried octopus.
Dim Sum is wheeled to the guests on cart. The guests choose and order.
Stewed Chicken Feet Dimsum
Deep Fried Pork Intestine
Curried Octopus
Before we started nipping at our delicacies we would all raise our tea cup and yelled in unison “Everybody Yum Cha”. For more formal and extremely traditional families, the young siblings might have to raise their tea cup to the Seniors present, grandpa, grandma, uncle, auntie, and reverently say: “Yeh Yeh Yum Cha”, “Po Po Yum Cha”, “Sook Sook Yum Cha”, “Ah Soh Yum Cha”.
Bowls, chopsticks and spoons did not always arrive spot clean. A trough of boiling hot water was often brought to the table or you might have to ask for it, to wash your bowl, chopstick and spoon. Sooth your peace of mind.
Tea, besides the dim sum dishes, was the main focus of the Yum Cha experience. Tea was traditionally served in porcelain teapot and not metal pot. The waiter always asked “What type of tea you would like guys”. Several preferences would be uttered from the family members, some liked Oolong, some Jasmine, some Pu-erh. A consensus would be reached, leading to the order of one or two types of tea. Needless to say tea was poured and sipped continuously throughout the meal. In some restaurants waiters with big usually charcoal black metal kettle of hot boiling water roamed the hall and refilled the guests’ empty tea pot. In other restaurants you might have to signal the waiter for refill. To make things easy for everybody the guests usually removed the lid from the tea pot as a tacit message to the waiter for refill. Removing the lid from the teapot for hot water refill had its own folklore. The story went that centuries ago a poor beggar wanted to go dim sum but had no money. So he placed a small bird inside the teapot. The waiter came, removed the lid and poured boiling water in the teapot. By doing so the waiter killed the bird, it was his fault and the shop had to compensate the beggar with free lunch. Since then lid not removed no refill.
Server with large kettle of hot water refills guest’s empty teapot
When going for Yum Cha there is certain etiquette to follow. Before pouring tea for yourself it is good manner to first pour tea to other members sitting around the table, even at the expense of having to get up to reach the person across the table. Some lazy people would stay put and wait for other guest to initiate the routine, even though their cup is empty and they have an urge for more tea. To the person on your right use your left hand to pour tea and the person on your left your right hand. The person you are pouring tea to has to acknowledge your effort and say thank you. More often than not, because either the person is busy in deep conversation or his/her mouth is full, he/she would simply acknowledge by tapping gently on the table the bent index finger if you are single, or the index and the middle fingers if you are married, which symbolises the gesture of bowing. The story went that Emperor QianLong while travelling incognito outside the Forbidden City with his entourage happened to go Yum Cha in a local tea shop. He was serving tea to his subjects, an honour which required a kowtow to the Emperor. So as not to reveal the identity of the Emperor, the subjects tapped their middle and index fingers as a gesture of Kowtow.
Finger tapping as a tacit way to say Thank You
No paper records were kept of our order but we had to keep all the bamboo baskets and dishes stacked in a corner of the table which the waiter would count and charge us accordingly when we were ready to leave. Sometimes whether it was out of greed or just to show their audacity, some families would hide some of the bamboo baskets under the table or sneak them on to the next unattended table, these would be free dishes. The higher the bamboo baskets were stacked the more satisfying and prestigious the family would feel, able to afford such a large meal.
Stacked Dim Sum, the higher the more prestigious, proud and happy the guests feel.
The bill was always footed by my brother in law as he was the most senior member of the family and the one with the money. For families with adult son and daughter the bill might be shared among the adult siblings as a filial gesture towards the parents.
After dim sum everyone would be in high spirit. The family would disperse, younger ones leaving with their parents, older ones having their own free time to go meet their friends, shopping or simply walk the busy streets of Hong Kong.
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