Yum Cha had always been a part of my bringing up, and tradition. Sunday, was yum cha day, (well in Hong Kong everyday is Yum Cha day.) My grandparents go for yum cha every morning after waking up, and also for afternoon tea. (Instead of having lunch.) It's pretty enjoyable chatting, reading a newspaper, drinking tea and eating a range of different little steamed or fried dishes. It is definitely like chinese tapas. My memory of yum cha in Hong Kong always included the old ladies pushing around trolleys with food on it and saying or yelling out loud what types of dishes they had in their trolleys.
The trolleys had steamers in them to keep the steamed food warm, or they had constantly boiling/hot water in containers so if you wanted to boiled choi sum vegies with oyster sauce, they do it straight away (so your vegies are fresh and not limp) Sweet soup also came in similar ways, you'd ask the ladies to lift the lid so you can have a look inside to see what yummy dessert soups you can have today. Egg tarts and other steamed or baked desserts came on trolleys with glass windows so you can see inside what they have.
People often went to their "regular" restaurant for yum cha, so all the staff and the trolley women would know you. And when I went back to the usual restaurant my grandparents go to, the staff (especially the trolley women would say "ahhhh, its Mrs. Wong's oldest daughter's daughter, she's back from Australia... look how much she's grown.. and etc." Its pretty cute :) The people have worked there for so long they remember your grandkids!
Last time I went to Hong Kong, the restaurant that I have been to all my life, have changed to the list ordering system. So you basically tick/select the dishes you want and hand it to the waiter. Its just not as fun anymore. Ahh, the old days!
Back to yum cha at Kowloon cafe, the selection of food is a little bit less than what you have in Hong Kong, but that doesn't matter, it's still yummy! We only had two people eating, but its definitely more fun if there's people, you can order a lot more dishes to share!
We ordered:
"Lor mai gai" Steamed Lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice with chicken pieces, pork mince, shrimp etc inside.
"Ma Lai Go" A steamed bun/cake favourite of mine, especially when I was young, it's more a dessert, so we ate it at the end.
"Gow Choi Gow" Steamed chive dumpling, a staple at yum cha. (on the right)
"Cha Siu So" BBQ pork pieces wrapped in triangular shaped pastry and baked. The pastry is soft and crumbly, not thick at all.
This was a newbie.. its a green tea mung bean cake, I think it had lotus seed paste inside. If you like green tea, this is for you!
Phil's and my favourite, "Hoy Jit" This is jelly fish strips with cucumber. carrot and spring onion (salad) dressed with sesame oil, seeds and paste and a little fresh chilli. It usually comes with chicken but since I'm allergic to chicken we ordered it with duck strips. (I asked mum the other day if this was Cantonese, but she thinks it originates from Shanghai!) It is divine! I love it!
