what do you have at Yum Char

[helen]

was reading about the sweets - on the Dim Sim website
www.dimsum.co.uk/food/dont-forget-the-sweets.html

Daan Taat – Baked milk custard tarts / Naai wong baau – Sweet egg filled buns and my total favourite Sai ma bo din – Sago pudding

[jing]

Hi,

For those of you who don't speak any Chinese and you go for yum char (dim sum), have a seat at a table. Tea will be brought to you.
Then, restaurant servers generally bring out carts with plates of food to your table. You may point at whatever plate of food looks good to you. However, each different size plate will cost a different price. Larger plates cost $$ more than the small plate. Explore the culture with your taste buds. When you are full and the food carts are still being offered, hold out your hand like you've come to a full stop - its universal sign language for I've enough.

If you want more water for the tea leaves in your teapot, put the teapot lid on top at an angle. That's also pretty universal for "more water."

To thank to server, you may tap the tablecloth twice with three fingers of your right hand and a nod and a smile.

When you're all done and want the bill, say "Moy- Don" (Cantonese) to the server. You may need to catch a server's eye and a wave of your hand. If all else fails and you've forgotten the words, you may pantomine holding your left hand like a sheet of paper and write with your right index figure.

[geoff]

Recently, I invited an overseas born cousin to try our Aussie style yum cha. He was interested in my research on his mother's & grandfather's history in outback Australia. We drank many pots of tea so when it was time to leave, I couldn't believe how cheap the meal was. We'd talked so much rather than consumer the delicious food. Oh well, there's always a next time

[chansomvia]

Hi Helen,
Just a comment on sweetness on the sago pudding. This in Malaysia is a mixture of sago pearls mixed with full cream coconut santan and sweetened with the addition of brown cane sugar syrup which you add yourself to suit your own sweetness taste. The dish served in New Zealand is sometimes made from tapioca pellets, not sago, and the cream is sometimes not the rich creamy stuff, the sugar is also not from the brown sugar called Gula (sugar) Malacca.
Some of the comments were negative as they felt it too sweet, hence my comments that in Malaysia we add the sweetness yourself. Ever tried Chendol?