你好, Hello, Bonjour, Salaam, Hola,

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It doesn't matter where you're from, everyone can appreciate a good session at Yum Cha.

In simplified Chinese, 饮茶 (Yum Cha) has the literal translation for '"drink tea". The traditional Chinese brunch involves drinking Chinese tea and dim sum. This practice is most popular in Cantonese-speaking regions of China such as Guangdong and Guangxi. It is also very popular in the regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and obviously, has since spread all around the world, and right here in Adelaide!

Yum Cha consists of small portions of steamed, pan-fried and deep-fried dim sum dishes served in bamboo steamers. These are designed to be eaten communally whilst being washed down with tea.

Chinese tea, chili oil, pan-fried pork buns, siu mai (pork & shrimp dumpling) We love our siu mai, we have to get a serve each ;)

Fun Fact, In Fact: Yum Cha is a literal translation for 'drink tea'. Dim Sum is sometimes interchanged with Yum Cha, however refers to the range of small dishes, where as Yum Cha refers to the entire meal. That made sense, right?

Yum Cha Etiquette

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It is customary to pour tea for your fellow companions prior to filling your own teacup. It is also considered good manners to be the first to pour tea. Tea drinkers may tap the table with two (sometimes one) fingers of the same hand, in a gesture known as finger kowtow, symbolizing thank you. It is also considered rude to fill the teacup fully; it is preferred to be poured about 80% full.

"茶满欺客，酒满敬人" A full cup of tea is fraud, but a full cup of alcohol is a sign of respect.

The teapot lid should also be left open or ajar to signify for a refill.

How To Order?

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Traditionally, dating back to the early 190's, dim sum items prepared and pre-cooked in the kitchen and brought out to the dining area in baskets by the employees.

Later on, transportable trolleys with heating (often using gas) were used, allowing more items to be brought out at one time. The employees would call out their items, and customers would notify their desired server. This allowed for hot, fresh items to be quickly served during peak periods.
Nowadays, many Yum Cha restaurants have adopted paper-based ordering system. This method allows only those items requested, to be prepared in the kitchen, reducing leftovers and waste. Some restaurants (including this one) adopt both methods, serving push-trolleys during peak hours.

This sheet is for the employees use. I did not take a picture of the ordering sheet. All the available items are listed on the paper-based ordering menu and you put a desired number next to each item you want to request. The employees will bring out the food and then circle which category the meal is aligned with, in order to calculate cost. The cost was traditionally calculated by the number and size of dishes left on the table at the end.

What Else Did We Have?

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Salt and Pepper Squid Tentacles, Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Groups may also order a noodle dish to share. This is the Empress Noodle dish. House meal, as the restaurant name is Empress Restaurant

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#Mallsballers hit me up for a Yum Cha session soon!