Made in Macao | Don’t neglect the Cha when going Yum Cha

Jenny Lao-Phillips

Talking about cultural experience in Macao, one of the most beloved experiences among both locals and expatriates is “yum cha” 飲茶, literally translated as “Drink” and “Tea”. It refers to going to a Canton style restaurant or Tea House (茶樓 Cha Lau), usually for brunch or lunch. However, it is not literally for drinking tea that most people frequent, it is the delicious “dim sum”, assorted small Canton dishes, which makes yum cha the activity of choice when hosting visitors from abroad. Going yum cha has also been a weekly ritual for many local families, and almost a compulsory program for gatherings with old friends.

Therefore, it is not surprising to find that some of the first Chinese words foreigners learn in Macau, aside from “xie xie” (thank you), are “Har Gow” (shrimp dumplings), “Siu Mai” (pork and mushroom dumplings), and “Char Siu Baau” (roast pork steam bun), the most popular dim sums ordered when going for yum cha. This proves how fast anyone coming to Macao, or Hong Kong, gets familiarized with yum cha culture.

The tradition of tea drinking in China dates back more than 3000 years, with early records of tea since before B.C.1000, around the period of Western Zhou. The culture of our modern concept of yum cha started being widely practiced only in the beginning of the previous century among the working class. Tea houses then were simple tents set up for people, who were mostly doing hard labor, to stop by to rest and enjoy a cup of tea – an actual tea break. And since the cost of having a pot of tea and a few pieces of dim sum was relatively cheap, it became a choice for lunch among workers who stayed out for work all day. Later, these kinds of tea houses became popularized in Guangzhou after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China when lives became simpler, and no one went to expensive and classy restaurants.

However, it was only in Macao and Hong Kong that yum cha became a significant practice. Although yum cha literally refers to the drinking of tea, dim sum has stolen the thunder of the cha. In the modern days, the tea part of yum cha has become a side drink that is believed to be able to wash down the oiliness of the savory dim sum dishes. But being a thousand year old tradition, the importance of tea drinking in our culture should not be obscured. In fact, there are many levels of benefits to drinking tea which have been acknowledged in many places all over the world.

Since the beginning, tea has been studied and used as a form of medicine in ancient China, especially for detoxification. As the health benefits of this slightly bitter drink became widely accepted, our ancestors started drinking tea as a daily supplement. During the Tang Dynasty, when tea was already widely appreciated amongst nobilities, the mental benefit of tea drinking was spread, thanks to the Buddhist monks’ practice of drinking tea, which enhanced the promotion of the drink for clarity of mind and calming of nerves.

Aside from the detoxifying and nerve-calming benefit of tea, I have read research which shows that people who drink one liter of Oolong tea a day successfully lose more weight that those who drink only water. All the more reason to drink tea. Therefore, being someone who used to leave the cup of tea untouched and dig right into the delicious dim sum, I have started to readjust the tea and dim sum proportion whenever I go for yum cha. So, don’t forget to drink lots of tea when going to the Tea House for a physical and mental health enhancing cultural experience.