Yum cha is the Cantonese tradition of breakfast or brunch involving Chinese tea and dim sum. People often go to yum cha in large groups for family gatherings and celebrations.
Description
alt=|thumb|333x333px|Founded in 1889, closed in 2022 and reopened in the same location in April 2024, [[Lin Heung Tea House|Lin Heung Teahouse serves traditional dim sum in Central, Hong Kong.]]
Yum cha (; lit. "drink tea"), also known as going for dim sum (Cantonese: 食點心), is the Cantonese tradition of brunch involving Chinese tea and dim sum. It is also carried out in other regions worldwide where there are overseas Chinese communities, like Vietnam, Australia, Canada, England and the United States.
Yum cha generally involves small portions of steamed, pan-fried, or deep-fried dim sum dishes served in bamboo steamers, which are designed to be eaten communally and washed down with hot tea. Many have yum cha with family during weekends and holiday gatherings.
thumb|Overhead view of yum cha at Dim Sum City in Hong Kong
Etymology
Yum cha in the Cantonese language, both literary and vernacular, literally means "drink tea".
In Cantonese, yum cha refers to having a meal with dim sum dishes. Dim sum is the English word based on the Cantonese pronunciation of 點心.
In colloquial Mandarin dialects and Standard Vernacular Chinese based on one form of colloquial Mandarin, this character () is often used to mean 飲 for the verb "drink". In the Chinese language, 點心 refers to a variety of foods, including European-style cakes and pastries, and has no equivalent in English.
In the English language, dim sum refers to small-dish appetizers and desserts.
thumb|Dim sum dishes from top left in the clockwise direction: shrimp dumplings (蝦餃), congee (粥), jasmine tea (花茶), steamed dumplings (蒸水饺), barbecued pork-filled buns (叉燒包), and rice noodle rolls with soy sauce (腸粉).|alt=
History
In the early 800s, the etiquette as well as manners of the tea ceremony were already established in the Pure Rules of Huaihai () by the Tang dynasty Zen master Baizhang Huaihai () (749–814) as well as its transmission to Japan in 1103 in the Zenen Shingi(). It is evident that, along with tea, simple nuts and sweets were mainly used as accompaniments to tea, marking the prototype of modern tea-drinking customs which had already been completed. Furthermore, these practices spread as tea-drinking customs in Japan by the early 1100s.
The history of the tradition can also be traced back to the period of the Chinese Xianfeng Emperor, who first referred to establishments serving tea as yi li guan (, "1 cent house"). These offered a place for people to socialize, which became known as cha waa (, "tea talk"). These tea houses grew to become their own type of restaurant and the visits became known as yum cha.
Service
thumb|An introductory video on yum cha and dim sum
Traditionally, yum cha is practiced in the morning or early afternoon, hence the terms zou cha (, "morning tea") or xia wu cha (, "afternoon tea") when appropriate. The former is also known as yum zou cha (, "drinking morning tea"). In some parts of Guangdong province, restaurants offer dim sum during dinner hours and even late at night. This is known as yum je cha (, "drinking night tea"), though most venues still generally reserve the serving of dim sum for breakfast and lunch periods. The combination of morning tea, afternoon tea, evening tea, lunch and dinner is known as sam cha leung fan (, "three tea, two meal").
thumb|250px|A server pushing a dim sum cart at a yum cha restaurant in [[Hong Kong|alt=]]
The traditional methods of serving dim sum include using trays strung around servers' necks or using push carts. Employees call out the items they are serving, customers notify the server about the items they would like to order, and the server places the desired items on the table.
Many dim sum restaurants now use a paper-based à la carte ordering system. This method provides fresh, cooked-to-order dim sum while managing the real estate and resource constraints involved with push cart service.
alt=|thumb|250x250px|Tea cup, tea pot, and bill card
The cost of a meal was traditionally calculated by the number, size and type of dishes left on the patron's table at the end. In modern yum cha restaurants, servers mark orders by stamping a card or marking a bill card on the table. Servers in some restaurants use distinctive stamps to track sales statistics for each server.
Customs and etiquette
thumb|250px|A tea-drinker tapping the table with her fingers to show gratitude to the member of the party who has filled her cup
The customs associated with the tea served at yum cha include:
- Selecting the type of tea to be served immediately after being seated by the server.
- Pouring tea for others before filling one's own tea cup, especially for the young ones serving tea to the elderly first, as a sign of politeness.
- Filling tea cups to about 80% because of the Cantonese proverb 「」, which is translated literally as "it is fraud for the guest if the tea cup is full, but it is a sign of respect when it is alcohol."
- Tapping the table with two (occasionally one) fingers of the same hand in a gesture known as 'finger kowtow' that is a gesture of gratitude after receiving tea. While visiting the Jiangnan region, he once went into a teahouse with his companions. In order to maintain his anonymity, he took his turn at pouring tea. His companions wanted to bow to show their gratitude, but to do so would have revealed the identity of the emperor.
- Following a traditional practice of washing the utensils with the first round of tea, tea is best served in hot cup to restore the temperature. A basin is available for disposing of the rinse tea. The taste of the first round of tea is considered not the finest yet, and will be richer afterwards.
For the diners, some typical customs include:
- Selecting the tables closest to the kitchen because the dim sum carts exit from there and the diners closest to the kitchen have first choice of the fresh dishes.
- Ordering dessert dishes on the dim sum carts at any time since there is not a set sequence for the meal.
- Feeling comfortable with declining dishes being offered by servers pushing the dim sum carts, regardless of the reasons (dietary, food preference, budgetary, or other reasons).
thumb|Lazy susan at yum cha lunch in Hong Kong with dim sum and lunch dishes
While eating, some of the manners include:
- Spinning the lazy susan such that the oldest person at the table has the opportunity to have the first serving when the meal starts or when an additional dish is served, to show respect. The lazy susan should not be spun when someone is taking food from a dish.
- In the case when there is no lazy Susan, only pick up the food which is in front of you.
thumb|A video showing yum cha at [[Lin Heung Tea House|Lin Heung Teahouse]]
Status and future
Yum cha continues in both traditional and modern forms, including restaurants serving both traditional and modern fusion dim sum. Modern dim sum can include dishes like abalone siu mai and barbecued wagyu beef bun. Dim sum chefs for yum cha continue to be trained at leading culinary institutes. Whether traditional or modern-day, yum cha is to be shared with friends and loved ones.