- This topic has 11 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 11 months ago by
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Hi guys! I have to tell you that people in Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong use big teapots like we do and not the gaiwan! Most I went to actually use teacups with handles and not those tiny tea bowls! The tealeaves are left in the pot all the time with the tea and the waitresses fill your pot with a thermos right at your table! I was totally surprised. However, the food, I mean particularly the dim sum, was amazing.
I guess the gaiwan is more a special thing? -
A good dim-sum’s on my to-do list when I visit Hong Kong in a few years; find any must-visit spots?
As for gaiwan, I’d guess they’re (maybe?) relatively more expensive than the mug. Also easier to walk off with, and certainly more “fussy” than a mug. It has three parts to keep track of – a mug doesn’t. Simplifies things a little bit at the table.Now is this representative of all eateries? Would higher class places use gaiwan in place of mugs, perhaps with better pots not kept with leaves in the whole time?Thanks for doing a bit of recon; I’ve much to read up on and learn before I book my flight.M. -
yum cha restaurants use teapots and cups here. no mugs. only star bucks use mugs. maybe sa11 went to restaurants use teacups with ears. some old style restaurants still use gaiwan, but not many this kind of restaurants now. people call gaiwan with another name here: cha chung. many people do not know how to use it. maybe reason restaurant change to teapot. teapot is harder to break. normally very ugly teapot they use. some special restaurants or tea places use gaiwan, mostly better gaiwan than old style restaurants. in hong kong, many restaurants, many different styles.
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People use gaiwans in HK. Though mostly very rough ones, unlike the kind of gaiwans Leo thinks are good. Here is one photo:
This is from Lin Heung, an old style yum cha (dimsum) restaurant. People share the table here. Very noisy and mostly men. I don’t like it.A better and more expensive restaurant that serves with gaiwan (only when specified) is Luk Yu. Both their tea and dim sum are much better:But their tea quality is never as good as any of the more specialized tea rooms, which are usually hidden away in less expensive areas. The rent in HK is too high and has killed many kinds of better businesses.Some Chinese restaurants in better hotels can offer slightly better tea with gaiwans, but you have to test your luck.Remember: gaiwans are sometimes called cha chung in HK. -
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i think lok cha next to the tea ware museum is not good quality tea although still better than regular dim sum restaurants. but they are giving you a much much more expensive bill for the tea. considering that, they are actually very bad for the price. their food is below average very much. i bring my own tea to better food restaurants.
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I have been to Lok Cha once and never want to return again. Lin Heung and Luk Yu are not that good either. They are just famous because of some publicity.
I like the idea of bringing one’s own tea to the restaurant so one can choose whichever restaurant one likes for the food. Although they never make it quite right in the restaurant, at least I have the freedom to the quality of the leaves.@MEversbergII, cha chung and gaiwan are two different phrases basically meaning the same thing. There are subtle differences in Chinese linguistics, apart from the former being Cantonese and the latter Mandarin. Few people outside of Hong Kong even know the existence of the term cha chung. It is an old expression that is still alive only in Hong Kong. -
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