China 2026: Yum Cha and Dim Sum Adjacent

[Google_Gourmet]

To me, YUM CHA (Drink Tea) is going out for Dim Sum. HECK CHA GNOW (Eat Tea Food) is what we Toishanese call it. DIM SUM (Touch the Heart) refers to the actual morsels.

We’re in week #2 of our 3 week trip, now in Jiangmen, our third city. So far, we’ve had full blown YUM CHA, or at least some Dim Sum just about every day.

Rather than log all chronologically, I’ll share our Dim Sum Eats randomly. Many of these restaurants do not have English names, and GOOGLE maps is wonky here. So no restaurant names and addresses, for the most part.

A couple of mornings ago in FOSHAN:

Our Tea Lady cheerfully prepared our Pu-ERH CHA.

In the old Dim Sum Cart Lady days, the pro move was to position by the kitchen door. First pick as the fresh dim sum is carted out. Those days are long gone, replaced by QC Mobile Device ordering, for better or worse.

(Better for me. When it comes down to Dim Sum Combat with some smiling elbow wielding Grandma for the choicest baskets, nolo contendere!!)

Nevertheless, we chose a table by the enormous glassed-in kitchen, and got to scope out all the goodness coming out and got to drool and get some off-menu ideas.

BITTER MELON SALAD an off-menu item. Our tea lady had to ask us what unusual item we were munching on from the bed of shaved ice!

Thin shaved gourd. Healthy mound of uber-fine crispy DEEP FRIED TARO SHREDS, ROASTED PEANUTS and PICKLED SHALLOTS. 1000 ISLAND’ish dressing.

UNUSUAL. DELICIOUS!! The components worked together and made for a refreshing tasty snappy treat.

RED RICE ROLL with SHRIMP and YOUTIAO
When in Guangdong…….

LEEK DUMPLINGS
The ones we just enjoyed in GUANGZHOU had set a high bar. These were just very good.

The OG (Old Gangsta) and Old School never gets OLD:

BEEF CHEONG FUN

LO BAK GOH

BEEF MEATBALLS on FU JOOK

SIU MAI

HA GOW

PHOENIX CLAWS

Well prepared food. Good friendly service, well spaced tables and ambiance conducive to conversation and relaxed dining. Representative of the quality-mid-range Dim Sum Houses we’ve encountered in [China.]

• this may be it: Qingyuan Mingcha

(https://maps.app.goo.gl/DEx3rapA31JzTozRA?g_st=ic)

[ZivBnd (Ziv)]

@Google_Gourmet

(Better for me. When it comes down to Dim Sum Combat with some smiling elbow wielding Grandma for the choicest baskets, nolo contendere!!)

When I was in China I attempted to buy tickets for buses or trains on my own and found out Chinese people do not form lines, they form scrums and every man, woman and child is on their own. And the little grannies were the worst elbow throwing menace of the lot. The worst aspect of it was that those granny elbows struck me at a rather unpleasant location on my body.
By the second week in China I realized it was worth it to have someone else buy tickets for me. The commission increased the price for me to travel but not getting thrashed by little old ladies was worth every yuan it cost me.

[Google_Gourmet]

OLD SCHOOL YUM CHA with OG’s

The Dim Sum experience has evolved from early days when folks (mostly men) sat around reading the morning paper, sipping endless pots of tea, smoking butts and shooting the sh**. A basket of hot dumplings, baos or fun every now and then. All part of the day-to-day.

Tianhai Restaurant harkens back to those Old School days.

Hostess with a walkie talkie earpiece to greet and seat you? No Way!!

Find yourself an empty table, or a recently vacated spot and guard your space until a server clears and resets.

No QR codes here. Order off the specials on the wall, from the printed menu and table tents, or walk to the station around the corner for some unlisted hot items.

The service was GRUFF initially to us foreign newbs. The learning curve was kinda steep, no handholding here. I was tempted to walked out, not wanting to waste a meal trying to ignore the soiled table cloth and trying to gain the attention of servers who seemed intent to ignore us.

Then a server commiserated and took pity on us. Actually gave us some instructions on how to negotiate their process, even favored us with a spanking new tablecloth. The day quickly took a brighter turn!!

THE USUAL SUSPECTS:

SIU MAI, MEATBALLS, PORK SPARERIBS and TOFU SKIN ROLLS

HA GOW

BEEF CHEONG FUN

GON CHOW GNOW HAW (DRY FRIED BEEF FUN)
GREAT Wok Hei!! A super satisfying dish.

STEAMED SWIMMING CATFISH in BLACK BEAN SAUCE

Not many points for presentation. Very tender, sweet and flaky!!! Would come back just for this or to try their other seafood.

The actual dim sum was serviceable and acceptable by every day standards. This is a neighborhood Yum Cha house after all, catering to the local working person clientele.

Most of the customers were (retired) men who seemed to know each other. Lots of greetings between tables, smoking and OG swearing (Dill Nay gall……). I was no stranger to this culture, so it didn’t faze me much.

Oh yeah…. Many of the men were openly pouring and throwing back healthy shots of Baijiu (Chinese distilled spirits) or Brandy from the many open bottles. Drinking before noon. OLD GANGSTA!!!

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@Google_Gourmet

HA GOW

This was exactly how dim sum were served in my childhood years (1960s-70s): har gow in threes, and siu mai in fours. Oftentimes, I’d questioned myself if I’d remembered correctly, or if my memory is playing tricks on me.

This old yum cha spot really brought our old traditions back to the fore.

[Google_Gourmet]

@klyeoh

(1960s-70s): har gow in threes, and siu mai in fours.

Your memory is still sharp.

Have you ever tried Victor’ s Kitchen? We’ve been there a couple of times, most recently about this time last year.

[medgirl]

@Google_Gourmet

with OG’s

I thought this stood for Old Grannies!

[klyeoh (Peter)]

@Google_Gourmet

Have you ever tried Victor’ s Kitchen? We’ve been there a couple of times, most recently about this time last year.

Oh yes, a total legend!

[Google_Gourmet]

@medgirl

I thought this stood for Old Grannies!

Maybe in GB!?!?

[Saregama]

@Google_Gourmet

GON CHOW GNOW HAW (DRY FRIED BEEF FUN)

It was interesting to me that all the chow fun / ho fun I ate in HK this year and last used narrower rice noodles like the ones here, vs the wide (fresh) rice noodles that are standard for the dish in NYC.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

I want to eat all of that

[PedroPero]

@Google_Gourmet

Those days are long gone, replaced by QC Mobile Device ordering, for better or worse.

I’m glad those days are long gone, I could never compete with the pros

[Google_Gourmet]

A light Dim Sum Adjacent Breakfast to fuel up before a day of exploration.

HOUSE FUN ROLL

NOODLES TOSSED with LARD

LO MI FAN GLUTINOUS SWEET RICE

SHRIMP WON TON
Very well done.

ALL TOGETHER NOW!

Exchange rate today is 1$USD = ¥6.97. Breakfast was $4.45 all-in. Left room in budget for some fancy tea!!!

HEYTEA
The very first original store.

TRIPLE MATCHA
Wife is the Matcha lover.

TANGERINE PEEL Pu-ERH ICE TEA
Expensive teas not my thing. Had to keep wife company.

Plenty fueled up for a day of walking and MORE eating!!!

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Thank you for continuing to make my stomach growl

Those shrimp wontons!

[Steve (from DC)]

I disagree about the presentation of the catfish. That looks wonderful.

Or maybe it’s your photography skills….

[THECHARLES (Charles Yu)]

@Google_Gourmet

GON CHOW GNOW HAW

Nice, mouthwatering, food spread!
However, IMHO, for GON CHOW GNOW HAW, some Hong Kong rendition did a better job…..equally great wok-hay but the colour presentation and quality of beef used was more appealing and better!
Attached, a rendition by one of the Michelin 1* Ho Hun Kee/Tasty’s group restaurant. I had in HK two months ag

o