Yum Cha 101: A Beginner's Guide to Dim Sum in Sheung Wan

Ask ten Hongkongers where yum cha began and you will get eleven answers. What everyone agrees on is this: the ritual of tea and dim sum is woven into the city's mornings, and Sheung Wan - with its dried-seafood streets and century-old shop houses - is one of the best places on the island to experience it properly.

飲茶係香港人生活嘅一部分。上環呢個充滿歷史嘅社區,係體驗正宗點心文化嘅好地方。

What exactly is yum cha?

Literally "drinking tea", yum cha is a leisurely meal of small plates - har gow, siu mai, char siu bao - shared over endless pots of pu-erh or jasmine. It is not brunch. It is older, slower and considerably better for the soul.

Five dishes a first-timer should order

1. Har gow (蝦餃). The translucent shrimp dumpling is the benchmark of any kitchen. The wrapper should be thin enough to see the pink of the prawn, strong enough not to tear on the chopsticks.

2. Siu mai (燒賣). Pork and shrimp, open-topped, crowned with crab roe. If the siu mai is good, everything else will be.

3. Char siu bao (叉燒包). A steamed cloud of dough hiding sweet barbecued pork. Eat it hot; patience has no place here.

4. Cheung fun (腸粉). Silky rice-noodle rolls in sweet soy. Simple, slippery, perfect.

5. Egg tarts (蛋撻). The finale. Flaky pastry, trembling custard, and an argument about whether shortcrust or puff pastry wins. (Puff pastry wins.)

Yum cha etiquette, in ninety seconds

Tap two fingers on the table when someone pours your tea - a silent thank-you with a story about an emperor in disguise. Rinse your bowl and chopsticks in hot tea before eating, a custom borrowed from Guangdong. And never, ever stick your chopsticks upright in rice.

記住:斟茶嗰陣輕敲兩下手指表示多謝,食之前用熱茶洗餐具,筷子唔好插喺飯上面。

Where to start in Sheung Wan

Arrive before 11am on a weekend and the neighbourhood's teahouses are already humming. Look for the places where the trolleys still circulate and the average age of the clientele suggests decades of loyalty. Order the five dishes above, take your time, and let the tea keep coming.