 | This article possibly contains original research .(August 2016) |
| Cantonese restaurant | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 粵式酒家 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 粤式酒家 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Cantonese Restaurants | ||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 酒樓 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 酒楼 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | wine house | ||||||||||
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A Cantonese restaurant is a type of Chinese restaurant that originated in Southern China. This style of restaurant has rapidly become common in Hong Kong.
Some of the earliest restaurants in Colonial Hong Kong were influenced by Cantonese people. [1] Throughout the history of Hong Kong cuisine,a great deal of Southern China's diet became synonymous with Cantonese-style food.
Following the emigration of Cantonese people from Hong Kong to Southeast Asia and the Western world,these authentic Cantonese restaurants began appearing in many Chinatowns overseas. From 1980 to 1986,an estimated 21,000 people permanently left Hong Kong each year,and from 1987 the numbers rose sharply to 48,000 people a year [2] and continued to increase dramatically following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
Many Chinese restaurants in the United Kingdom are actually Cantonese take-out restaurants,with few people recognizing the difference between Cantonese and mainstream Chinese.
The origin of Cantonese restaurants was the tea-house. Tea-houses were places where people met to drink tea during China's imperial history. They were popular in southern China where people used to love drinking tea. Therefore,tea-houses were always characterised as a social function to gather people.
Many early Chinese restaurants were influenced by the Cantonese people. Southern China is famous for nice weather benefiting agriculture. Therefore,many regional Chinese cuisines in fact originated in Southern China,although one managed to gain immense popularity as Cantonese cuisine.
Typically in the afternoon,dim sum are served during yum cha hour. A few Cantonese dishes may be available. In the evening,various Chinese banquets of Cantonese cuisine are held in the restaurant.
Modern Cantonese dishes are a far cry from their early roots in Guangzhou. They include generous use of off-the-shelf condiments,enriched by natural and artificial additives,boosting uncanny colour and flavour. Most Chinese restaurants nowadays cannot afford to cook with 100% raw herbs and spices.
Nearly all the Cantonese restaurants provide yum cha,dim sum,dishes,and banquets with their business varying between the hour of the day. Some restaurants try to stand out by becoming more specialised (focusing on hot pot dishes or seafood,for example),while others offer dishes from other Chinese cuisines such as Sichuan,Shanghai,Fujian (Teochew cooking,a regional variation of Guangzhou is similar to that of Fujian),Hakka,and many others.
A new kind of Cantonese restaurant is quickly spreading overseas and mainland China,often referred to as Hong Kong-style jau lau (Chinese :香港式酒樓) outside Hong Kong.
In the inaugural 2009 Hong Kong and Macau edition of the Michelin Guide,14 restaurants received stars including ten with one star,three with two stars and the maximum of three stars to Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong helmed by Chef de cuisine Chan Yan-tak. It remains as the only Chinese restaurant in Hong Kong to carry such distinction. [3]
Other Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurants includes: [4] [5]
In the 2013 edition,independent restaurant Pang's Kitchen in Happy Valley was awarded one star. [8]
Yum cha has a rich history and customs have been developed.
For the traditional Chinese Restaurant,all tables must be round. Food is served in the middle of the table and dishes are shared among the people at table. This is why yum cha is regarded as a social function. The design of the table helps to foster communication between people.
A usual practice is whenever you see others’teacup is emptied,you would help them,especially the elders,to refill the tea. It is a Chinese custom to tap fingers on the table near your cup twice as a sign of reverence and thanks. [5] Parents usually teach their children to practice filial piety to elders by refilling tea and serving food to them.
From the 1980s,there were several migrating waves in China. Among the migrants,many chefs brought along their skills and developed a Chinese food industry overseas. [6] Some enterprises brought capital with them to open up Chinese restaurants abroad. Migrants brought Chinese cuisine and its eating culture overseas. And it became the main type of business of Chinese immigrants. However they are not gaining acceptance by most of the non-Chinese locals until the 20th century. [9] Therefore,the younger generation has tend to change the image of Chinese cuisine from a cheap to trendy image. [10] Alan Yau,the CEO of Soft chow,who changed the Chinese cuisine industry in a professional way,for him the past is a template to refashion and resist. [11] He is both troubled and inspired by his own history in Spain,it is reported that there were eight hundred Chinese restaurants in Madrid and one hundred in Barcelona. [7] In recent times,the number of Chinese restaurants in the United States is three times more than the McDonald's franchise. [8]
Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine,also known as Yue cuisine,is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China,particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou,and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Macau. Strictly speaking,Cantonese cuisine is the cuisine of Guangzhou or of Cantonese speakers,but it often includes the cooking styles of all the speakers of Yue Chinese languages in Guangdong.
Dim sum is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine,although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuisines. In the tenth century,when the city of Canton (Guangzhou) began to experience an increase in commercial travel,many frequented teahouses for small-portion meals with tea called "yum cha" (brunch). "Yum cha" includes two related concepts. The first is "jat zung loeng gin",which translates literally as "one cup,two pieces". This refers to the custom of serving teahouse customers two delicately made food items,savory or sweet,to complement their tea. The second is dim sum,which translates literally to "touch the heart",the term used to designate the small food items that accompanied the tea.
Yum cha is the Cantonese tradition of brunch involving Chinese tea and dim sum. The practice is popular in Cantonese-speaking regions,including Guangdong province,Guangxi province,Hong Kong,and Macau. It is also carried out in other regions worldwide where there are overseas Cantonese communities. Yum cha generally involves small portions of steamed,pan-fried,or deep-fried dim sum dishes served in bamboo steamers,which are designed to be eaten communally and washed down with hot tea. People often go to yum cha in large groups for family gatherings and celebrations.
Cha chaan teng,often called a Hong Kong-style cafe or diner in English,is a type of restaurant that originated in Hong Kong. Cha chaan teng are commonly found in Hong Kong,Macau,and parts of Guangdong. Due to the waves of mass migrations from Hong Kong in the 1980s,they are now established in major Chinese communities in Western countries such as Australia,Canada,the United Kingdom,and the United States. Likened to a greasy spoon cafe or an American diner,cha chaan tengs are known for eclectic and affordable menus,which include dishes from Hong Kong cuisine and Hong Kong-style Western cuisine. They draw comparisons to Western cafés due to their casual settings,as well as menus revolving around coffee and tea.
Hong Kong cuisine is mainly influenced by Cantonese cuisine,European cuisines and non-Cantonese Chinese cuisines,as well as Japanese,Korean and Southeast Asian cuisines,due to Hong Kong's past as a British colony and a long history of being an international port of commerce. Complex combinations and international gourmet expertise have given Hong Kong the labels of "Gourmet Paradise" and "World's Fair of Food".
Hong Kong–style milk tea is a tea drink made from Ceylon black tea and milk. It is usually part of lunch in Hong Kong tea culture. Hongkongers consume approximately a total of 900 million glasses/cups per year. Although originating from Hong Kong,it can also be found overseas in restaurants serving Hong Kong cuisine and Hong Kong–style western cuisine. In the show Top Eat 100, which aired on 4 February 2012,Hong Kong–style milk tea was listed as the 4th most popular food/drink in Hong Kong. The unique tea making technique is listed on the representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong.
The egg tart is a kind of custard tart found in Chinese cuisine,derived from the English custard tart and Portuguese pastel de nata. The dish consists of an outer pastry crust filled with egg custard. Egg tarts are often served at dim sum restaurants,Chinese bakeries and cha chaan tengs.
Cantonese culture,or Lingnan culture,refers to the regional Chinese culture of the region of Lingnan:twin provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi,the names of which mean "eastern expanse" and "western expanse",respectively.
Fook Lam Moon is a Chinese restaurant chain with its main and original branch at 35-45 Johnston Road,Wanchai,Hong Kong. Fook Lam Moon means "fortune and blessings come to your home." The restaurant is often dubbed the Cafeteria for the Wealthy by the media.
Forum Restaurant is a Cantonese restaurant officially established in 1977 at Sino Plaza,Causeway Bay,Hong Kong. Run by Hong Kong's international chef and ambassador of Chinese cuisine,Yeung Koon-yat (楊貫一),it is known for its expensive abalone dishes.
Lung King Heen is a fine dining Cantonese restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong. Its kitchen is run by chef de cuisine Chan Yan-tak,who came out of early retirement in 2002 for the Hotel.
Chan Yan-tak is a Hong Kong/Chinese chef,who is best known for being the first Chinese chef to earn three Michelin stars. He began to work in restaurants in his early teens,and went on to earn his stars at the Lung King Heen restaurant in the Four Seasons hotel in Hong Kong,after they coaxed him out of retirement and back into the kitchen.
Chinese regional cuisines are amongst the many different cuisines found in different provinces and prefectures of China as well as from larger overseas Chinese communities.
Dim Tu Tac,founded in 2015,is a Cantonese cuisine and dim sum restaurant chain in Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam. 'Dim tu tac' means "anything you want" or "anything is possible" in Cantonese language. The name also expresses the restaurant's mission to help food lovers explore the Cantonese gourmet world through a combination of innovative cooking techniques and the using of ingredients from many different culinary cultures.
Wong's King Seafood Restaurant was a chain of Chinese/Cantonese and seafood restaurants in the metropolitan area of Portland,Oregon,United States. In addition to the original restaurant in Southeast Portland,the business operated in Beaverton,Estacada,and Sandy,and specialized in dim sum.
Australian Chinese cuisine is a style of cooking developed by Australians of Chinese descent,who adapted dishes to satisfy local Anglo-Celtic tastes. Its roots can be traced to indentured Chinese who were brought to work as cooks in country pubs and sheep stations.
Adeline Grattard is the head chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Yam'Tcha in Paris.