If I am ever in need of replenishment after a hectic day of work, I have yet to find something that can top the sheer afternoon delight of dim sum. I say afternoon as it is my favourite time to recharge with a cup of jasmine tea and very often a beautiful combination of sweet and savoury bites laid out for my eyes to enjoy before the belly. Suddenly all seems right with the world and I know that no matter what I need to get done, will be done after I enjoy an hour of dim sum.
The tradition began in China when travellers on the Silk Road stopped for rest at little tea houses for yum cha. As people started to realise that tea was a good digestive with food, the tea house owners started serving little bite sized snacks to their guests. From there grew this popular culinary art that has become synonymous with Chinese cuisine around the world.
The artist who puts his heart behind the dim sum at Naturally Chinese – chef Chiu, has spent a good couple of decades perfecting the skill of creating dim sum that is nothing less than which brings comfort, healing and happiness to the heart. When we started Naturally Chinese, Chiu and I talked a great deal about the focus on dim sum and how we wanted to bring that amazing experience to our tables and especially as an afternoon tea.
The art to enjoying dim sum lies in spacing those delicate bites in between a heart warming beverage together with what your eyes take in from the delectable pastries set before you. It seems to enhance the flavours even more and bring a kind of lightness and joy to the aesthetic.
On May 18th, we will be promoting our more popular dim sum with a special tea tasting event so please stay tuned for more on that in the coming posts and newsletter. (You can subscribe to our newsletter on the bottom right of this page)
