喝茶 (Yum Cha)

Location: Mr Chao's Seafood Restaurant, Hurstville
Occasion: Mum's Birthday

To celebrate dear mumma's birthday, the Li Family took a trip to Yum Cha at Hurstville (or..pronounced by full-on-asian-adults "hurseeevill") As expected, since we went on a Saturday, the place was packed full of screaming Asian babies and aunties yelling out their orders to the trolley ladies. So, we ordered the usual favourites but also tried out a new dish! All in all, yum cha = da besttttt :D

char siew bor law bao (pork pineapple bun)

 Ok, this HAS to be the best combo ever made. It is basically your standard pork bun put together with a pineapple bun to form this heavenly goodness :9 It is crispy on the outside with hot pork in the middle. YUM!

chiu chow fun gor (chiu chow dumpling)

 This is my dad's absolute favourite yum cha dish which he orders EVERY single time we go out to yum cha. He says this restaurant cooks it the best. I never eat it though, nor does my sister..or mum, so usually my dad just eats the entire 'loong' HAHA

lul lin so (durian pastry)

 OK LADIES AND GENTS, THIS HAS GOT TO BE MY #2 FAVOURITE DISH OF ALL TIME (you'll see why it's #2 later). This restaurant is the only place where I've ever found this delightful durian dish, which makes me name this yum cha place the #1 place for me to go! If you're lucky, like me, you get it steaming hot once it reaches your table. A light, crispy pastry wraps the warm durian meat (ok meat sounds weird) on the inside, as demonstrated by the photo of the cracked open lul lin so. I don't know who thought up this dish, but they must know how to get to my heart <3

saan jook ngau yook (beef balls with bamboo shoots)

 So, ever since I could remember, I have always eaten this at yum cha. I remember experiencing the excitement of cutting the beef ball with my chopsticks into 4 distinct quarters and using a toothpick to stab each piece and plop it into my mouth HEHE. Ok if you ever order this dish, ALWAYS ask for the 'geep tsup' (some asian sauce)

fung zhow (chicken feet)

 WOOT WOOT, so here's my #1 yum cha dish of ALL TIME! Some of you (a minority..I hope) might go "eww why would you eat chicken feet?" Well you know what my answer would be? IT'S COS I'M CHINESE. Like seriously, how can you not like the succulent meat? Ok, I won't go into detail on how you eat this (cos it might sound weird) But I don't think anyone could ever eat chicken feet with any sense of elegance heh. Even my mum knows it's my favourite, she always asks for it whenever we go yum cha :)

ngau gun (beef tendons)

 This is a dish which I have never ordered before, nor has my parents. But on a whim, mum decided to order it and so..I tried it. IT WAS SO YUMMY! I personally don't like the harder, less chewy ones. The really soft ones feels like they melt in your mouth :3 Hingis said she felt sorry for the cows, cos we even eat their tendons LOL. Will definitely order this dish next time I go!

ngau lei so ("cow tongue" pastry)

 I have no idea why they're called "cow tongues"..maybe they resemble cow tongues? But anyhoo, they have nothing to do with the tongues of cows! They're just fried pieces of sweet bread which have a crunchy exterior and a soft interior. They're reaaaally addictive but so small! In Hong Kong, they're twice the size that they are in Sydney and taste even better!