If there is one meal that I love to share with friends and family, it would have to be yum cha. A meal of “entrees”, served en-masse and served communally.
So this year for Father’s Day, I wanted to create a Yum Cha brunch of our very own at home. Partly because Charlotte’s lunch time nap can make it difficult to eat out, and partly because I had some tasty recipes that I wanted to try.
The food
For the meal itself, we went with a collection of dishes. Some, like the pork and chicken that I could marinate in advance and then bake just before serving…
And others like pork buns, dumplings, spring rolls (purchased frozen) and greens, that required a bit of time-management to get them all heated and on the table at once.
But somehow it all came together, and we managed to get everything on the table at once. Then the feast began!
The drink
What Yum Cha meal would be complete without tea? And copious amounts of it.
I found some Green tea with jasmine that tasted just delightful – and we were sure to re-fill this little teapot on many occasions throughout the brunch. Oh but let’s not forget the other ‘adult’. beverages Chinese beer – in the cutest beer bottles I ever did see!
The added bonus being that they tasted pretty good too.
The dessert
Not being the biggest fan of Asian desserts, I went with a more European end to our brunch. Profiteroles!
Filled with crème patisserie, and dipped in dark chocolate…
A delicious, albeit a not-so-traditional, end to our yum cha brunch.
(Recipe to come)
The scene
Perhaps not quite the same as our local yum cha haunt, where the food is fast paced, the tablecloths are plastic and the waitresses are more on the ‘pushy’ side than pleasant, I went with a simpler theme. Chopsticks (of course!) and lovely little bowls and plates that I picked up at the local Asian grocer.
Not strictly necessary…no. But I am always on the lookout for new pretty bowls 
Finished with a freak out for my employer if this fortune cookie insight comes true…
Or perhaps it was just a hint that I should open a yum cha restaurant lol.
What about you? Are you a fan of yum cha?
Those beer bottles are so cute! I thought that it was a vase at first! 😮
My family LOVES Yum Cha so much! I make a lot and then stash it in the freezer for when the mood stikes. Great idea for Father's Day Lisa, and lots of fun too 🙂
I think you definitely made the right call on dessert 😉 And I'm so impressed you made and hosted Yum Cha! What a nice Father's Day idea.
We call it dim sum here in the US. My husband is Chinese and try as I might, I haven't been able to acquire a taste for dumplings. But I do love Thai food. I would have bought that beer just for the bottles!
It looks lovely Lisa. What a great idea for brunch.
Anne xx