Maik invited us (whom he 'stuck the carrot at' to help him move to his new flat up a thousand and one steps) for crepes the other day....lovely perfect little things he made....(but that's not what i want to tell you)....Karin who then just got back from London visiting one of our classmates, Shihpi, couldn't resist telling me how wonderful Dim Sum (点心) is.... that poor girl...i mean the poor nation! they really don't know what they have been missing out!!! (i don't know of any places serving Dim Sum here in Germany, if any one of you out there does....please tell me....i shall be eternally grateful!)
Dim Sum... literally means 'touching the heart' but in reality, it is more of a potpourri of different sorts of delectable snacks, perhaps better described as 'Chinese Tap'as'; ranging from an assortments of steamed varieties e.g. dumplings with all sorts of delicious fillings, rice noodles, buns with lotus seed filling or minced barbecued pork, lotus leaf wrapped glutinous rice; to fried wantons or jiao zhi or fried carrot cakes and custard egg tarts (to name but a few) ... all beautifully arranged either in three or four pieces within little bamboo steamers (or little dishes) which are served from a trolley that's being carted around a Dim Sum place. one could also enjoy congee, or almond pudding and other treats.
historically, the emergence of Dim Sum followed after the tradition of tea drinking at Teahouses, which travellers through the Silk Road depended for 'refuel'. in those days, heeded by the advise of the famous Imperial physician Hua Tuo (3rd C. AD), that combining tea with food would lead to excessive weight-gain, teahouses served only teas! however, as it became better known that drinking tea aids digestion and cleanses the palate, Teahouses began to serve various 'small eats' for hungry travellers. today, Dim Sum is enjoyed as brunch in many parts of the world and i hope this tradition will continue to spread across the european continent!
however, even though i can't get near any Dim Sum Teahouses here, i am satiated by Joan's DimSumDolly, a Dim Sum inspired weblog which like the variety of food assortments of this form of enjoyment, is filled with many different wonderful thoughts, experiences and observations, some of which would make your mouth water...
posted by ~overacuppa~ on Wednesday, 13 August, 2003 at 09:43 hrsoh boy, do i feel hungry! Lovely write-up on the history of DimSum. I shall put a link on my blog! :)
Posted by: joan on Wednesday, 13 August, 2003 at 11:20 hrsOooh! It's 9pm and I've just come back from the gym, tired and hungry. And I had to read your post!!
Yeah, the poor nation! I don't believe there isn't a single restaurant in Germany that serves dim sum. Hmm.
Posted by: vantan on Wednesday, 13 August, 2003 at 15:02 hrsthanks joan...although i suppose the picture says it all!
Van i don't believe it either...but well i really haven't seen any...not the last time i was in Munich... but maybe they might actually have some in Berlin...although Karin has never had any before she went to London.
However, Karin wrote in her email to me earlier today and i quote her: "Cool, thank you!-) Actually, I could make out two restaurants in Germany that serve Dim Sum. Unfortunately one is in Bremen and the other's in Hamburg!-) But either I'll once make it there, or I'll find another place!"
That's why i keep telling you you have to come back to Asia darling girl!
Posted by: Stella on Monday, 18 August, 2003 at 09:56 hrsyes...i really should visit you guys in Hong Kong...and enjoy Dim Sum there!!
Posted by: hrm on Wednesday, 20 August, 2003 at 11:16 hrs*Note: in case you were thinking of leaving a comment and the option isn't here anymore... it is because the comment section of each entry is closed after sometime to prevent malicious comments... if you are looking for the actual entry, type in the keyword(s) in the little box on the main page http://overacuppa.com where it says "fossicking pebbles & seashells" and press *search*... thank you for popping by and happy browsing!