As a traveller, when you get up late because of jet lag, brunch in a teahouse is a good choice if you can live without coffee in the morning because they do not offer coffee. A Chinese brunch tea (Yum Cha) including Dim Sum (dumplings) is traditional Cantonese food. It is usually served in a bamboo steamer, eaten with various dipping sauces and usually combined with drinking tea (Yum cha). The well known Cantonese Dim Sum is in Hong kong where you can enjoy shopping as well.
Some hotel restaurants with top view of city offer Dim Sum brunch buffet where you have to make a reservation before you enter.
Chinese dumplings have many shapes, fillings and different names. Let 's have a look at the simple style of dumplings.
1. Shumai = a kind of ground pork dumpling with mushroom or shrimp filling variation in Japan. The other names of shumai is called Siomay in indonesia, a kind of fish dumpling, served with peanut sauce. It can be steamed and grilled. The thin wrapping has light yellow because it contains egg.
* A character in Star Wars has this name "Shu Mai" (a female member of the Separatist Council), maybe because she has wrinkle?
2. Jiaozi is meat and vegetable filling wrapped in round dough and closed the edge in one side. It can be pan fried or steaming dumpling:
In Japan, the similar version with meat and vegetable is called "Gyoza" (commonly fried in oil = Yaki gyoza):
It is served with a dipping sauce (sweet and salty soy sauce), filled with a mix of ground meat and vegetables (cabbage, onion, carrot, garlic chives), usually has horn shape, close edge (no opening) and thicker wrapper than wanton. It can be steamed or fried in oil.
The dipping sauce for Gyoza is usually contains dark soy sauce, rice wine/vinegar and honey.
There are at least 3 types of dipping sauces. If it is liquid --> sour & salty taste.
or you dip with Hoisin sauce or Peking duck sauce : Chinese sesame sauce, it is a thick sauce -->sweet&salty taste (not sour).
The other type is plum sauce. It is a thick sauce and has clear color with traces of plums (sweet and sour).
3. Wanton = a kind of noodle dumpling, served with noodle soup, made of thin square dough (flour, eggs, water, salt) as a wrapper, filled with ground meat, garlic, onion and spices:
It can be wrapped in triangle shape and can be in crispy version (fried in oil) as well.
4. Baozi = a king of soup dumplings, steamed bun with pork filling, large version is called Tangbao. It has opening to fill soup and filling:
A: Xiaolongbao = a soup dumpling or a type of steamed bun (Baozi), but smaller version with opening:
5. Har gow = a transparent steamed bun with shrimp filling. The wrapper is made of wheat starch and tapioca starch.
and others (mix character of dough and shape):
6. A variety of crispy filled or rolled appetizers.
1. Spring rolls
2. Samosa
If you are not vegan or vegetarian, you should try all of them. One of Dim Sum dishes could be your favorite food. After consuming too much, it should start moving. Many local people and tourists go for a walk after dinner in Tsim Sha Tsui promenade:
There is a night light show in the evenings:
What a wonderful world! Good night!
To be continued... The mystery of the dark sauces.
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