Then some and Dim Sum Dispatch from a Gastronomy Nomad.

We ventured into the banquet hall of East Market Restaurant on East Broadway, a grand venue for a delectable Sunday dim sum brunch.  It was my first time eating in New York City’s China Town and I was intrigued by the city’s culinary streets that never sleep and never stops serving food.
Before we began our bite-size meal, I didn’t know what dim sum was, looked like or even how it tasted. I saw steaming silver carts weaving through the maze of round family tables with culinary curiosities. Small portions of steamed buns, fried dumplings, rolls and vegetables were crammed on tiny plates or served in tiny bamboo baskets. My sister whispered in my ear “Dim sum is meant to touch the heart.” We sat down to a pot of jasmine tea, and I looked around me. The restaurant was filled with generations of large families, sharing bottomless portions and sensational chatter.

At our family table, we nodded our heads to the chewy delights and had plates sprinkled over our pink table linen. The lazy susan spun a variety of shared flavors and communal bites. We enjoyed double portions of Cheong fan (rolled rice noodles) and Wu gok (taro dumplings) and I shared a smile across the room with a grandmother feeding sponge cake to her grandchild.

After all the lotus leaves were unwrapped and all the steamed bao’s began to expand in our stomaches, we agreed our dim sum brunch was a culinary success.  All of our senses were feasted and I exhaled a happy sigh of satisfied balance and digestive harmony.  As we stood at the cashier to pay for our meal, the room was full of more sharing tables with boisterous families. The grandmother was giggling while she enjoyed her soft marshy bun, and a mother and son were dipping their dumplings in a shared bowl of tangy happiness. I saw friends eating together and sharing flavors and conversations. I began to understand the importance of shared food as a nourishing celebration, a culturally celebrated experience. Sharing food together, whether it's taro dumplings or tofu skin rolls, invited a harmonious exchange that communicated and satisfied our physical and emotive senses. For me, dim sum became a symbol of the way we share a piece of our heart, when we share our food in the company we love. That Sunday made me understand what my sister whispered into my ear. If dim sum is meant to touch the heart to those who share it, it certainly captured mine.