Dim Sum Ritual & A Surprised Treat

John and I had dim sum (Chinese small plates and tea) yesterday at Mayflower on Geary at 27th. We weren't sure if we would be able to grab a table since it was around 1 p.m., as Chinese families pack almost every dim sum place during the lunch rush. Traditionally dim sum is a morning ritual that brings together people from around villages--housewives catch up with the latest gossips, older men flaunt their birds. Now the Chinese families, who have yet completely ridden of their gregarious nature, would usually gather around the round table on Sunday for a feast of chicken feet, beef tripe, and pigs blood.

John and I didn't have any of the innards thank God, nor did we have any gossip to catch up with. No sooner had we sat down did the ladies who were carrying tray full of deep fried squids, deep fried shrimp puffs, and a variety of sweet-stuffs flocked to our table, but John passed all those plates that were usually catered to a gweilo (Chinese slang that refers to a foreigner). The servers at Mayflower were somewhat taken aback at John's reckless rebuttal to all the hot-sell plates made for the Americans. Anyway we opted for plates that were not only the staples of dim sum but were also reminiscent of my childhood: cha siu bao (pork bun), har gow (steamed shrimp dumpling), har cheong (steamed thick rice noodle with shrimp), steamed tunip cake, siu loong bao (Shanghai dumpling), and the disappointing wu gok (crispy taro puff). I am very impressed with John's adroit chopsticks skills!

For tea the expert in John called for gook bow, a mix of chrysanthemum and the Chinese black tea pu er, and the strength of which lasted through the meal. Hidden in his plastic bag were secretive dessert treats he would save for the last. So we hopped back into the car and headed for the water but instantly regretted it because there were absolutely no parking at Ocean Beach nor its vicinity. So we went up to Twin Peak instead, sat on the heated stoned rail and had these cream puffs from Beard Pa Pa, a Japanese phenomenon that had swept all over Asia more than 5 years ago. Enjoying the panoramic view of the city, we munched away those cream puffs in no time as the tourists who scuttled about striking their best posts for pictures watched us with envious eyes.