“Yum cha is a term in Cantonese which means “drinking tea”. It now refers to the dining experience of eating small servings of different foods, e.g., dim sum, while sipping Chinese tea in Cantonese speaking areas of southern China. It is an integral part of the culinary culture of Guangdong Province, Hong Kong and Macau and some parts of Malaysia. In any city with a sizeable population of Cantonese people, yum cha is a tradition on weekend mornings, and whole families gather to chat and eat dim sum and drink Chinese tea. Yum cha is also a morning ritual for the elderly to spend a good part of the morning after early morning exercise of tai chi or a walk. The tea is important, for it is said to help digest the rich foods. In the past, people went to a teahouse to yum cha, but now people yum cha mostly at a Dim sum restaurant.”

Um, because the only people confused by this are North American tourists and we don’t need to change our entire language to cater for a small group of visitors?

Seriously though, is it really that confusing given that the entrees are first on the menu and relatively cheaper and lighter sounding and followed by a section called ‘mains’? You’re a bright girl — I’m sure you figured it out first go without anyone explaining it.

Brits seem to have gone with the middle way of calling the first course the ‘starter’ and the main course the ‘main’. I have no problem with calling the first course the ‘starter’ or ‘appetiser’ but I have a big problem with calling the main course the ‘entree’. I’m used to it living in San Francisco but you must admit it’s a bit silly if you think about it.

»Oh, and why is dim sum called “yum cha” here?

Because, for whatever reason, the Cantonese-speaking Chinese who emigrated to Australia from the 19th century onwards called it that. I’m not 100% sure if this is right but I have a feeling that the word ‘dim sum’ refers to the food and the word ‘yum cha’ refers to serving of food from a trolley. I’m pretty sure it’s a real Chinese word though.

Which makes sense, since ‘entrée’ is the French word for ‘entry’. An ‘entree’ is the entry point to a meal.

North Americans are weird for insisting that an ‘entree’ is a main course. I find it especially weird in supposedly bilingual Canada!

*laughs ass off*

Love your review Anny, I must say it’s very unique! Good grief you’re so BROWN! Your sis is gonna be so jealous