My husband's family is Chinese, so overtime we have shared many dim sum ("yum cha" in Cantonese) meals together. I had never tried dim sum until I met M, so the foods and etiquette were new to me. And I usually pick up on the etiquette once I have done something wrong. For example, we were at a dim sum restaurant last weekend. Each person was given a bowl and plate. When I served myself soup, I put it in my bowl. When I served myself some vegetables, I put them on my plate. Makes sense, right? Wrong! My husband quietly nudged me and whispered in my ear that I should not use the plate for eating. I quickly put my veggies in my bowl of soup. Now I know that the bowl is for your food and the plate is for discarded bones or food you could not finish.
Knowing I still had a lot to learn about eating out in Hong Kong, I searched for tips on the Internet and came across the website www.virtualtourist.com, which included information on local Hong Kong dining customs.
Boy do I wish I had come across this site years ago! It would have saved me from several embarrassing moments.
Here are some great dim sum etiquette tips found on the site.
- When tea is poured into your cup, tapping the table surface gently with two fingers is a gesture of acknowledgement to say thank you.
- If you want more tea, first offer it and pour it for others first, then fill your own cup.
- If the teapot runs out, simply lift up the lid and stand it on its side on the teapot, or lift it off and put it on the table. The waiter will fill it for you and close the lid.
- Avoid using the bowl one eats from for discarded bones. Instead place the bones on the side-plate provided.
- Avoid touching the food morsels with chopsticks one eats from. Use the serving spoon provided and precise on the bit to be picked.
- If someone is serving you food with their chopsticks or spoon, do not accept it with chopsticks. The correct way is to hold out a bowl or plate to accept it.
- Offer other people food to be polite and put it in their bowl with chopsticks/a spoon, it is unlikely they will decline,
- If you're having trouble eating, lift your bowl to your lips and use the chopsticks to push the food into your mouth.
- Do not split the bill (with Chinese friends), this is not polite, offer to pay, but if they firmly refuse, accept it and pay for a meal on a later occasion.
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