Same or Different

Back in China, Whenever my grandparents and I went to cha lou, which means restaurant, we always got up at 6:30 a.m. Cha Lou for people who live in south side of  China is a good place to spend time with family and friends, and its traditional breakfast is Dim Sum. Before I came to America, having Dim Sum in the early morning hours had become my lifestyle. In Chicago, there are so many Chinese restaurants, but most of them open at 9:00 a.m. It means that I had to change the time of going to restaurant for breakfast. In addition, the taste of food has changed comparing to Guangzhou, China. For these reasons, I no long have a strong feeling for breakfast now that I live in Chicago. 

The highlight of eating Dim Sum in China was to spend time enjoying the food and having conversations with family and friends. My family usually stayed at restaurant for average of four and half hours including ordering, waiting for food, and talking things family members doing recently. I was different to my cousins because they did not need to get up at the same time as me. They always came to restaurant between 9 and 9:30 a.m. The reason why I needed to get up at 6:30 a.m. is because I lived with my grandparents. I had been trained by them. When they woke up, I got up. Six thirty a.m. is a common time to have breakfast for the elders in Guangzhou. However, there is another reason that also requires people to get up early. A lot of places that serve Dim Sum often do not have enough of tables for costumers at 6 to 9 a.m. It is the busiest time of restaurants especially for the well-known places. If people do not want to wait for tables, they must need to have a real good relationship with the restaurant’s manager. I know that this is probably unfair to other people who do not know the restaurant’s manager, but it works in China. I have had Dim Sum in Chicago with my family and friends, but the experience is not like the old times. The time is rushed because members of my family mostly have to work at 10:00 a.m. The most annoying part is that people will not lower their voice when they are talking. They do not care about the people who are sitting next to or behind them. Dim Sum for me is not just about food. It is about the quality time that I spend with my family. 

It is normal that restaurants charge money for drinks. The Chinese restaurants in Chicago do not charge for tea, but those kinds of teas are not good quality. It tastes like some kind of herbs with water. When I went to any restaurant in Guangzhou, I needed to pay for cha wei, which means each customer needs to pay for different kinds of tea the restaurant serves, and they usually charge ten to fifteen RMB for each person. One dollar exchanges about six RMB. It depends on what kind of tea people ordering. I usually ordered thirteen RMB Tie guan yin the green tea because it is good for blood pressure. It tasted very smooth, and I could smell the fragrance of it. Nowadays, when I go to restaurant in Chicago, I will just order water instead of tea. 

When I talk about Dim Sum with foreign friends, the first thing I mention is how nice the food looks like. The Dim Sum that I had was always plated artfully. The look of the food made my mouth water, and I could taste the freshness from the ingredients. These are the memories from Guangzhou that have stayed on my mind. when I recall them, I just cannot get away from them. The Dim Sum of Chicago Chinatown does not look delicate and is often overcooked. I think the food is just plated randomly by chefs. I no longer taste the freshness from the ingredients. In my opinion, it is possible that they are using the frozen ingredients making food for customers. 

Since the restaurant opening times are different in Guangzhou and Chicago, I have changed my lifestyle not only by waking up early. The environment made me live differently. Overall, I have come to realize that there is no place like home. It is not about the difference between two places, rather it is that I miss the old times that I spent with my family.