Key takeaways
- 飲茶 jam2 caa4, 'drink tea', is the word for going for dim sum; 點心 dim2 sam1 is the food itself.
- Har gow is 蝦餃 haa1 gaau2 and siu mai is 燒賣; Wikipedia counts them, char siu bao and egg tarts as the 'Four Heavenly Kings' of dim sum.
- 埋單 maai4 daan1 means to pay the restaurant bill.
- Wikipedia notes that tea is poured for others first and cups filled to about 80%.
- Tapping two fingers on the table thanks the person who poured your tea, a gesture called the 'finger kowtow'.
English menus spell the same dish several ways; Wikipedia lists har gow, ha gow, hau kau and ha kao for one dumpling. Those spellings all come from Cantonese, and knowing the Cantonese names, with their tones, makes ordering and reading a menu much easier. This guide gives the names of the classic dishes in traditional characters and Jyutping, the words for the meal itself, and the tea customs Wikipedia describes. The final digit of each syllable is its tone number; Jyutping explained covers how to read it.
Yum cha and dim sum: the meal and the food
飲茶 jam2 caa4, literally "drink tea", is the meal. Wikipedia describes yum cha as the Cantonese tradition of breakfast or brunch involving Chinese tea and dim sum, popular in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and Macau, and notes it is also known as "going for dim sum", 食點心. Wiktionary gives 去飲茶 as "to go eat at a dim sum restaurant". 點心 dim2 sam1 is the food: Wikipedia describes dim sum as a large range of small Chinese dishes traditionally eaten in restaurants for brunch, and Wiktionary's senses for 點心 also include "snack; light refreshment" and "pastry".
Related words from the Yum cha article: 早茶, "morning tea"; 下午茶, "afternoon tea"; and 飲夜茶, "drinking night tea", for the late dim sum some restaurants in Guangdong serve. Wikipedia also lists 嘆茶, "enjoy tea", as a colloquial alternative to 飲茶.
The classic dishes by name
Wikipedia's Har gow article says that har gow, siu mai, char siu bao and egg tarts are considered the classic dishes of Cantonese dim sum, called the Four Heavenly Kings, 四大天王. Here are those and a few more, with Jyutping from Wikipedia and Wiktionary:
| Dish | Characters | Jyutping | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Har gow | 蝦餃 | haa1 gaau2 | steamed shrimp dumpling |
| Siu mai | 燒賣 | siu1 maai2 | steamed pork and prawn dumpling |
| Char siu bao | 叉燒包 | caa1 siu1 baau1 | roast pork bun |
| Cheung fun | 腸粉 | coeng4-2 fan2 | steamed rice noodle roll |
| Chicken feet | 鳳爪 | fung6 zaau2 | chicken feet |
A few notes on the readings. Wikipedia gives haa1 gaau2 siu1 maai2 for har gow and siu mai served together, while Wiktionary records 燒賣 as siu1 maai6-2, the second syllable changing to tone 2; it gives 腸粉 the same kind of change, coeng4-2. Wikipedia lists wheat starch and tapioca starch among the main ingredients of 蝦餃 and says the skin must be thin and translucent yet sturdy enough not to break when picked up with chopsticks. Its Dim sum article lists 燒賣 as steamed dumplings with pork and prawns, and 腸粉 as steamed rice noodles with or without a filling, often served with sweetened soy sauce.
Ordering: carts, cards and measure words
Wikipedia describes two service styles. In the older 推車 push-cart method, servers bring out dishes cooked in advance and call out what they have, and customers tell them what they want. Wikipedia's Dim sum article adds that other Cantonese restaurants may take orders from a pre-printed sheet of paper and serve à la carte, and the Yum cha article notes that in modern restaurants servers mark orders by stamping a card or marking a bill card on the table. To get attention, use 唔該 m4 goi1, "excuse me"; Cantonese greetings explains when it means "please" and "thank you" too.
When counting dishes, Cantonese needs a measure word. Wiktionary lists 籠, "steamer basket", among the classifiers for 蝦餃, 燒賣 and 叉燒包, and gives the example 我哋食咗四五籠點心, "We had four or five baskets of dim sum". Cantonese measure words covers how these work.
A worked example: ordering for four
Wikipedia's Dim sum article says it is customary to order "family-style", sharing small dishes of three or four pieces among the party. Suppose four of you order:
- 2 baskets of 蝦餃, four pieces each: 2 × 4 = 8 pieces, two per person.
- 1 basket of 燒賣, four pieces: one each.
- 1 plate of 腸粉 to share.
That is three steamer baskets plus a plate, and enough har gow for everyone to have two. Wikipedia adds that dessert dishes can be ordered at any time because there is no set sequence to the meal, and that declining a dish from a passing cart is fine.
Tea etiquette, from pouring to tapping
The Yum cha article lists several tea customs:
- Pour for others first, especially the young serving the elderly, before filling your own cup. Wiktionary gives 斟茶 zam1 caa4 for pouring tea.
- Fill cups to about 80%, because of a Cantonese proverb that a full tea cup is a slight to the guest while a full glass of alcohol is a mark of respect.
- Tap two fingers on the table, occasionally one, to thank the person who poured, the "finger kowtow". Wikipedia traces it to a story about the Qianlong Emperor travelling incognito.
- Open or offset the teapot lid to signal that the pot is empty, and a server will refill it.
At the table, Wikipedia notes that the lazy Susan is turned so the oldest person can be served first, that chopsticks should not be stood upright in food, and that diners commonly insist on paying the bill.
Paying the bill
The phrase is 埋單 maai4 daan1, which Wiktionary defines as chiefly Cantonese for paying the restaurant bill, with a figurative sense of accepting responsibility. Wikipedia notes that the bill was traditionally worked out from the number, size and type of dishes left on the table.
Practising food vocabulary in the app
Learn Cantonese for Beginners includes food, shopping and money in its 12-unit path, with traditional characters and Jyutping together and a Cantonese voice where your device supports one. It is one of our language-learning apps. For a wider plan, see learn Cantonese for beginners.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
What does yum cha mean?
What are har gow and siu mai called in Cantonese?
How do you ask for the bill at a dim sum restaurant in Cantonese?
Why do people tap the table when tea is poured?
Sources
- Yum cha (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Dim sum (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Har gow (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- 飲茶 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 點心 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 蝦餃 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 燒賣 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 腸粉 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 斟茶 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 埋單 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
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