The first time I ever had dim sum (and not just a pot sticker – I’m talking about the whole experience), was in San Francisco more than twenty years ago. It’s strange but I have absolutely no memory of the food, which may be hard to believe for people who know me well. What I remember most is the atmosphere.
After graduating from university I moved back up north to continue working at wineries in Sonoma, but one day I was invited to go down into the big city to meet with some other old college friends who had moved away from Fresno. One lady who had lived in the same dormitory was living in San Francisco with her family, somewhere near Chinatown. I drove my dad’s old Corolla (or was it mine by then?) into the city, and the group of us ended up heading to her recommended restaurant to enjoy a dim sum lunch.
The atmosphere was pretty traditional – a big room filled with round tables covered with pink tablecloths, and there were two things that I still vividly remember even today. First, we were the only people who weren’t Chinese in the restaurant, and second, when we sat down the hostess walked over and placed forks next to our chopsticks. We were the only ones who got forks.
We ordered up and I guess it was a delicious meal, but I don’t remember much about it. In fact, since then, I think I probably had dim sum only one or two other times. There was a major gap between then and now. And now I can’t imagine life without dim sum.
I am always on the lookout for dim sum here in Japan. It is easier to get here than it is in California, but for the longest time even in Japan I never really sought it out. Then during a trip to Taiwan with Yoshi and Mamiko I was kind of reintroduced to steamed dumplings, and it all sort of clicked and I was completely hooked. In kind of a blazing epiphany I realized that I could get dim sum (or some version thereof) just about anywhere in Japan. We’re near Kobe’s Chinatown, the second largest Chinatown in Japan, and I just never really thought about it. Now I can’t get through a month without a heap of dumplings, shumai, or shorompo.
Interesting to imagine that I lived for about twenty years before ever trying dim sum, and then lived another twenty after that before I really understood how much I loved it. Food is like that, I think – the situation and the atmosphere plays a big role in whether you like something, or love it. You need to be out there trying new foods, trying variations on old foods, and enjoying them in different circumstances. It took three years of living in Japan before I tried sakuramochi (my favorite Japanese dessert), and I lived for nearly forty years before discovering my love for truffles.
One of the real perks of living in Japan is having easy access to so many other countries. We’re taking advantage of that this weekend, and flying off to Hong Kong where Kuniko is treating me to a dim sum trip for an early birthday present. Rather than spending a lot of time sightseeing we’re going to be focusing on dim sum in the mecca of dim sum eaters around the world. This may be our second time staying in Hong Kong but the trip this time is all about eating our fill of dim sum. To kiss the feet of the dim sum gods, as it were.
We fly out tomorrow morning, and we’ll be back on Sunday with full bellies and tired feet, hopefully ready to get back into the work routine. I’ll blog about the trip once we get back!
