When it comes to yum cha, there’s lots to choose from on the menu. From dumplings to steamed rice to buns to deep fried seafood, the choice of dim sum is endless – and there are some dishes we’ll always insist on ordering because they are our favourites.

說到喝百勝茶時(shí)吃的點(diǎn)心，菜單上有很多選擇。從餃子到米飯，從包子到油炸海鮮，點(diǎn)心的選擇是無窮無盡的——有些點(diǎn)心我們總是會(huì)在喝茶的時(shí)候吃，因?yàn)樗鼈兪俏覀兊淖類邸?/b>

Over the years across Asia and Australia, I’ve eaten yum cha countless of times with the folks and friends and we always order the same dishes. We love them, we order them, it feels right eating the same dishes over and over. Only occasionally we’d order something we don’t usually eat.

多年來，無論是在亞洲還是在澳大利亞，我和朋友們都一起喝過無數(shù)次百勝茶，我們總是吃同樣的點(diǎn)心。我們喜歡吃它們，一遍又一遍地吃同樣的點(diǎn)心的感覺很好。不過偶爾我們也會(huì)吃一些平時(shí)不吃的東西。

Yum cha is traditionally a Cantonese brunch that involves Chinese tea and dim sum. Yum cha literally means ‘drink tea’. The meal originated in the Cantonese-speaking regions of China, and the meal can be traced back to the time when travellers on the ancient Silk Road stopped at teahouses for tea and snacks. On the other hand, dim sum are small serving dishes. These dishes are commonly carted around on trollies in restaurants and served in bamboo steamers or on small plates. Here are some typical, classic Cantonese-style dim sum dishes that are popular at yum cha:

喝百勝茶是傳統(tǒng)的粵式早餐和午餐，包括中國茶和點(diǎn)心。“Yum cha”的字面意思就是“喝茶”。這種吃飯的方式起源于中國的粵語地區(qū)。在古代時(shí)，行走在絲綢之路上的旅行者們會(huì)在茶館停下來喝茶和吃點(diǎn)心。點(diǎn)心是用小碟子盛的食物，它們通常被放在餐館的手推車上，用竹制蒸籠盛著。這里有一些經(jīng)典的粵式點(diǎn)心，在喝百勝茶的時(shí)候很受歡迎:
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1. Siu Mai

1. 燒麥


Sīu máai are bite-sized dumplings. They consist of pork and/or shrimp filling, wrapped with yellow wrapper and topped with an orange dot made out of crab roe or carrot. Scallion, ginger and mushroom are commonly mixed in with the filling, which is usually soft and chewy. I’m not a huge fan of pork but this is one dumpling I never hesitate to eat.

燒麥?zhǔn)且豢诖笮〉娘溩印Ｋ鼈兺ǔＪ秦i肉餡和/或蝦餡的，被黃色的面皮包裹起來，頂部用蟹黃或胡蘿卜做成的橙色圓點(diǎn)來點(diǎn)綴。青蔥、姜和香菇通常都混在了餡里，吃起來很軟很有嚼勁。我不太喜歡吃豬肉，但這種燒麥我會(huì)毫不猶豫地吃下去

2. Har gow

2. 蝦餃


This is also known as shrimp or prawn dumpling. It’s a simple steamed dumpling: prawn wrapped in a smooth translucent wrapper. Often oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger and bamboo shoots are used to season the seafood. It’s usually served together with sīu máai, and together they are called hā gáau–sīu máai. If the two dishes happen to be served at the same time, I grab one of each dumpling right away.

它也被稱為蝦餃或蝦餃（注：不同的英文單詞）。這是一種做法很簡單的蒸餃:蝦被包在了光滑半透明的餃子皮里。通常人們會(huì)用蠔油、香油、姜和竹筍來給海鮮調(diào)味。人們通常會(huì)同時(shí)吃燒麥和蝦餃，它們放在一起被稱為蝦餃-燒麥。如果這兩種小吃碰巧同時(shí)上桌，我就會(huì)馬上各拿一個(gè)吃起來。

3. Cheong Fun

3. 腸粉


This rice noodle roll dish tends to be filled with chā sīu, shrimp or vegetable. Seasoned soy or sesame sauce is served together with the rolls. The English translation of chéung fán refers to intestines but this dish is not made up of intestines – it just looks like intestines. Arguably it’s one of the plainer dishes: the rice paper rolls themselves are plain and unseasoned. If made with precision, the rice noodles should be thin, soft and silky smooth – sometimes I find them slipping in between my chopsticks and almost impossible to put in mouth.

這道米粉卷通常是用烤肉、蝦或蔬菜做餡的。人們會(huì)把用來調(diào)味用的醬油或芝麻醬與腸粉一起端上桌。這道小吃的英文翻譯是腸，但這道菜不是由腸組成的，只是看起來像腸?？梢哉f這是最普通的一道菜:米粉卷本身很普通，沒有什么味道。如果制作精細(xì)，米粉卷應(yīng)該是細(xì)、軟、絲滑的——有時(shí)我發(fā)現(xiàn)它們甚至?xí)诳曜又g滑動(dòng)，幾乎無法送入口中。

4. Lor mai fan

4. 糯米飯


This is steamed glutinous rice, served with or without chicken and wrapped in lotus leaf. The sticky glutinous rice is cooked with oyster sauce and the centre is packed with mushrooms, shrimp, scallop, peanuts, pork and laap cheong. As one of the more filling dim sum dishes, it’s also one that comes in a bigger serve compared to the others mentioned here.

這是一種蒸熟的糯米，被荷葉包裹了起來，你可以搭配雞肉一起吃，也可以不搭配雞肉吃。糯米里面加入了蠔油，中間還夾雜著蘑菇、蝦、扇貝、花生、豬肉和臘腸等。作為最能填飽肚子的點(diǎn)心之一，它也比這里提到的其他點(diǎn)心的分量都更大。

This dish is usually a hit or miss with me. Sometimes it leaves a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, which still lingers after drinking some Chinese tea. Not the kind of taste I like. As lotus leaf is considered a bitter herb, it’s probably the reason why.

我只會(huì)偶爾吃這種小吃，因?yàn)橛袝r(shí)它會(huì)在我的嘴里留下一種苦澀的余味，這種余味在喝了一些中國茶之后仍然揮之不去。這不是我喜歡的味道。荷葉被認(rèn)為是一種苦味的草藥，這可能就是原因。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://nxnpts.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處


5. Lo Bak Go

5. 蘿卜糕
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://nxnpts.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處



This is turnip cake, made up of radish and also known as radish cake. It’s pan-fried and served up in square pieces. It’s soft on the inside with slightly crispy outer edges and sometimes there are small pieces of laap cheong mixed in. It’s a popular dish around Chinese New Year and the Chinese believe that this savoury cake brings good luck: loh bak go is synonymous (in texture) with lin go/nián gāo, which in itself is synonymous to the Chinese phrase nián nián gāo shēng– meaning ‘higher each year’.

這種蘿卜糕是用蘿卜做的，也叫蘿卜糕。做法是先把它放進(jìn)平底鍋里煎，然后再切成方形。它的里面很軟，外緣略脆，有時(shí)還會(huì)混入一小塊臘腸。這種糕點(diǎn)是在中國新年期間很受歡迎的一種食物，中國人相信這種美味的糕點(diǎn)會(huì)帶來好運(yùn):它的口感與“年糕”差不多，而“年糕”則與“年年高升”同義，寓意“每年都能升職”。

6. Daan taat

6. 蛋撻


This is sweet egg tart, consisting of bright yellow egg custard flanked by a flaky puff pastry. It’s smooth, silky, has a slightly wobbly centre and tastes slightly eggy. Interestingly enough, Macau’s egg tart resembles the Portuguese tart. Portuguese tarts look similar to egg tarts but the former has a caramelised top, doesn’t taste eggy and tastes like sweet vanilla custard.

這是一種甜蛋撻，由亮黃色的蛋奶凍和片狀的酥皮組成?？诟腥犴樈z滑，中間有點(diǎn)搖晃，嘗起來有點(diǎn)雞蛋味。有趣的是，澳門的蛋撻很像葡萄牙的蛋撻。葡萄牙的蛋撻看起來和普通蛋撻很像，但前者的頂部是焦糖，吃起來不像雞蛋，像是甜香草蛋奶凍。

7. Chā shāo bāo

7. 叉燒包


This bun comes either steamed or baked. The steamed one has a soft white fluffy outside and the baked one a glazed, crispy exterior. The centre of the bun consists of soft pork, corn starch, onions, sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Quite commonly the pork filling is red in colour and that is usually due to marinating the meat in saltpetre before cooking it.

這種小圓包子有蒸的和烤的兩種。蒸熟的外面是柔軟蓬松的，烤熟的外面是光滑酥脆的。包子里面的餡是由豬肉、玉米淀粉、洋蔥、香油、醬油和蠔油組成。豬肉餡通常是紅色的，這是由于在烹飪之前需要將肉浸泡在硝石水中。

Growing up, I watched my parents peel the outer skin of steamed baos before eating them. They claimed the outer layer is dirty and not safe for consumption. Baos are commonly left out in the open before being warmed and served. Others argue that the outside of baos are dosed with sulphur water during the steaming process to ensure they come out white. I’ve eaten baos as they are, unpeeled, and have not gotten sick eating them.

從小到大，我每次看著父母在吃包子之前都會(huì)先剝掉外面的皮。他們說外皮是臟的，不適合食用，因?yàn)樵诩訜岷蜕献乐?，包子通常都被放在露天。也有一些人則認(rèn)為剝掉外面的皮是因?yàn)樵谡舭拥倪^程中需要在外皮涂抹硫磺水，以確保包子蒸好后是白色的。我吃過沒剝皮的包子，但也沒生病。

8. Wu gok

8. 芋角


Known as taro dumpling or yam puff, this is a deep fried delicacy. It has a savoury pork-filled centre covered with a thick layer of mashed taro, and the outer taro layer is fluffy, light and crispy. It’s one of my most-favourite yum cha dishes, and I’ve previoulsy eaten 4-5 of these in one sitting.

這是一種油炸的美食，被稱為芋頭餃子或芋頭泡芙。香噴噴的豬肉餡兒中間覆蓋著一層厚厚的芋泥，而外面的芋泥層則松軟酥脆。這是我最喜歡的一道美食，我以前有一次一口氣吃了4-5個(gè)。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網(wǎng) http://nxnpts.cn 轉(zhuǎn)載請(qǐng)注明出處


* * *
Other much-loved classic dishes at yum cha include: steamed Chinese broccoli, congee with century egg, chicken feet, beef tripe (cow’s stomach), fried squid, sago pudding, roast duck and ham sui gok. As such, yum cha is more than just dumplings. Not all dim sum dishes are dumplings; not all dim sum dishes are bite sized.

其他深受喜愛的經(jīng)典美食還包括:清蒸花椰菜、皮蛋粥、雞爪、牛肚、炸魷魚、西米布丁、烤鴨和咸水角。因此，喝百勝茶不僅僅是吃餃子。并非所有的點(diǎn)心都是餃子;也并不是所有的點(diǎn)心都是一口大小的。

We all have our favourite kind of dim sum. A survey in 2015 showed that sīu máai was voted the most popular dim sum in Hong Kong while shrimp dumplings came second. In Australia, these two dishes are extremely popular as well. Perhaps some dim sum are more appealing than others: sīu máai and hā gáau are dumplings and as I wrote in this post, some dumplings remind us of familiar comfort foods that we love eating.

我們都有自己喜歡的點(diǎn)心。2015年的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，燒麥被評(píng)為香港最受歡迎的點(diǎn)心，蝦餃位居第二。在澳大利亞，這兩道美食也非常受歡迎。也許有些點(diǎn)心就是比其他點(diǎn)心更有吸引力:就像我在這篇文章中所寫的燒麥和蝦餃等餃子，它們會(huì)讓我們想起我們喜歡吃的其它熟悉的美食。

Yum cha is a sharing affair and a meal where we want to share is a meal where we share a good time together. Translated from Cantonese, dim sum means ‘touch the heart’. At yum cha, dishes are designed to be shared: dim sum are commonly served bite-sized, one piece of dim sum and one bite for one person, pass that dish around, move on to the next dish, everyone gets to eat. Notably, while dining yum cha on a few occasions in Australia, I’ve seen Westerners eat entire dim sum dishes individually and their dining companion have their own plates of dim sum. From a Chinese perspective this comes across as odd but in the general sense there’s nothing wrong with that since all of us have different ways of consuming food.

喝百勝茶是一件需要分享的事情，我們可以在一起一邊吃東西一邊分享美好的時(shí)光。dim sum（點(diǎn)心）是廣東話，翻譯過來的意思是“觸動(dòng)心靈”。在百勝茶餐廳，菜肴是為分享而設(shè)計(jì)的:點(diǎn)心通常是一口大小的，一個(gè)人吃一塊點(diǎn)心，然后把這道菜傳下去，接著吃下一道菜，這樣每個(gè)人都能吃到。值得注意的是，在澳大利亞有幾次喝百勝茶的時(shí)候，我看到西方人會(huì)一個(gè)人吃掉整盤點(diǎn)心，而他們的同伴也只會(huì)吃自己的點(diǎn)心盤里的食物。從中國人的角度來看，這有點(diǎn)奇怪，但總的來說，這也并沒有什么關(guān)系，因?yàn)槲覀兠總€(gè)人都有不同的飲食方式。

These days where and how we eat yum cha is changing. Frozen dim sum is normally sold in grocery stores in Australia today. Vegetarian dim sum options are usually on the menu these days too (e.g. Red Ginger and Din Tai Fung). Also, it’s common for many Chinese restaurants that serve à la carte meals to also serve à la carte dim sum too. That is, in Australia one can order dim sum as a side dish to a main meal, and eat dim sum any time, all day, every day.

如今，我們喝百勝茶的地點(diǎn)和方式正在發(fā)生變化。冷凍點(diǎn)心在澳大利亞的雜貨店里很常見。素食點(diǎn)心也經(jīng)常出現(xiàn)在餐廳的菜單上(例如紅姜餐廳和鼎泰豐餐廳)。此外，許多提供點(diǎn)菜的中國餐館也會(huì)提供。也就是說，在澳大利亞，人們可以點(diǎn)一些點(diǎn)心作為正餐的配菜，而且可以隨時(shí)隨地、每天都吃點(diǎn)心。

A few times on the weekend I’ve eaten solo at Tim Ho Wan, the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant. While the portions here are small and I could get more dim sum for the same price elsewhere, the dim sum does taste more flavourful compared to some other yum cha places I’ve been to in Australia.

有幾次在周末，我一個(gè)人在最便宜的米其林星級(jí)餐廳添好運(yùn)吃飯。雖然這里的份量很小，我可以在其他地方以同樣的價(jià)格買到更多的點(diǎn)心，但與我在澳大利亞去過的其他一些百勝茶餐廳相比，這里的點(diǎn)心確實(shí)味道更鮮美。

On one of these occasions at Tim Ho Wan, a Western couple who looked to be in their forties sat next to me. The woman beside me seemed upbeat and eager to try everything. The man in front of her on the other hand seemed restless and did not look like he was in the best mood – picking up a chopstick and fidgeting with it in his fingers, saying that he wasn’t sure what the menu (with English translation) meant and eyed the two colourfully dressed Asian girls at the next table who were chatting away in Cantonese. Rather brusquely, he said to his companion, ‘It’s like another world in here’.

有一次在添好運(yùn)餐廳，一對(duì)看起來四十多歲的西方夫婦坐在我旁邊。我旁邊的女人看起來很樂觀，渴望嘗試一切。而相反，坐在她前面的那個(gè)男人似乎焦躁不安，看起來心情不太好——他拿起一根筷子，用手指擺弄著，說他不確定菜單上(有英文翻譯)寫的是什么意思，并看著鄰桌兩個(gè)穿著鮮艷的亞洲女孩，她們正在用廣東話聊天。他很焦躁地對(duì)他的妻子說:“這里就像另一個(gè)世界?！?/b>

He probably was open-minded enough to walk in and have a seat in a Chinese restaurant that he never tried before. He probably would remember his time at this restaurant whether he liked it or not. Having finished my dim sum, I got up, paid for my meal and left with a reflective mind.

說實(shí)話，他接收新事物的心態(tài)已經(jīng)足夠開放了，因?yàn)樽哌M(jìn)了一家他從未嘗試過的中餐館，并在那里坐了下來。不管他喜不喜歡，他可能都會(huì)記得他在這家餐館度過的時(shí)光。吃完點(diǎn)心后，我起身付了飯錢，帶著沉思的心情離開了。

Often yum cha feels like a treat. Or at the very least a meal that makes us curious enough to try it. And then want to come back for more.

通常，喝百勝茶感覺像是一種享受?；蛘咧辽偈且活D讓我們有足夠的好奇心去嘗試的飯。而這之后你可能還想要體會(huì)更多。

Do you like eating dim sum / dining yum cha?

你喜歡喝百勝茶嗎?