One bowl with two pieces has to eat Char siu bao

Charsiubao¹ (叉燒包) may conjure up the image of a white fluffy steamed bun filled with diced barbeque pork in a thick sweet-savory sauce, served in a round bamboo basket. To many Hongkongers, it may be one of the most common dimsum (點心) eaten at yumcha (飲茶). However, not all restaurants serve the same charsiubao. In a way the naming of its charsiubao is part of the impression management of a restaurant. Take “oyster king charsiubao” (蠔皇叉燒包) or “old-style oyster king charsiubao” (古法蠔皇叉燒包) as an example—the image of an older-style tea house which takes pride in its sauce made with real oyster sauce and not gravy made of thickener comes to mind. In contrast, “gold leaf bamboo charcoal charsiubao” (金箔竹炭叉燒包) implies an upmarket hotel restaurant. With a striking streak of gold on top of the black surface of a baked dinner roll served on a porcelain plate, this version fetches a price higher than many regular dimsum items.

There are also various iterations of charsiubao based on global and local influences. Consider the case of “snow mountain charsiubao” (雪山叉燒包). With a sweet, white crispy crust on top of a dinner roll, served on a long rectangular plate, it looks more like a western dessert. An invention of the 21^st century, it harks back to bolobao (菠蘿包literally pineapple bun) which could be a local adaptation of the Russian bread lieba that came to Hong Kong via the Russian diaspora of the 1930s. Later local Chinese chefs added charsiu as a filling, producing the “charsiu baked dinner roll” (叉燒焗餐包). By replacing the white steamed bun with a baked dinner roll, and served on a plate rather than a bamboo basket, charsiubao took a step on a westernized path as was common during the colonial era. Today, following this path of glocalization, the versatile charsiubao has merged with bolobao, which makes sense both culturally and commercially. Undoubtedly this version has become one of the most successful reinventions of a traditional dimsum and was quickly adopted by Chinese yumcha places.

In the last few years, we have witnessed the popularization of take-away chain stores that specialize in Chinese-style steamed buns and single-serve steamed rice. The steamed charsiubao has also morphed into a much larger size version and, like the rice on the menu, obviously serves as a meal. No more a dimsum (literally touch of the heart) in yumcha where it is consumed with Chinese tea in a leisurely pace with family on a Sunday morning, charsiubao has taken up the function of a staple.

Historically yumcha in Hong Kong has developed from the lifestyle of urban Guangzhou, where going to the tea house (茶樓) was a cultural event as participants took the time to savor good tea (歎茶) and have a chat with friends. Often taking an hour or two, yumcha (literally drink tea) emphasized the quality of the tea and the experience of updating oneself via reading newspapers and chitchatting with friends and business partners. Carried out in between main meals, the purpose of yumcha was not to fill the stomach. This explains the yumcha custom of “one cup two pieces” (一盅兩件), where the quality of food rather than quantity was emphasized. 

Diametrically opposed to this leisure enjoyment of tea and bite-sized snacks is the popularization of frozen dimsum. Frozen dimsum came on the market to suit the fast-paced lifestyle in Hong Kong as it grew into a financial center. Instead of having to make a trip to a restaurant, wait for tea to be poured and dimsum to be made, now one simply digs into the freezer at home and microwave the plastic trays of dimsum. Convenience stores take this time-consciousness and individualism to another level. At the self-help corner with a microwave oven and small table, customers may thaw frozen dimsum that they have just purchased and eat them while standing. Often, a single individual or handful of young people would enjoy the dimsum and use this as a quick catch-up place, allowing a middle ground for the preservation of tradition and meeting emergent needs of city life, showing how much Hongkongers love yumcha and how resilient dimsum are in Hong Kong.

The evolution of charsiubao is not limited to Hong Kong. With the spread of the Cantonese diaspora throughout the 20^th century, charsiubao has travelled to Southeast Asia, Polynesia, the Americas, Europe and Australia. It has inspired, for example, the siopao in the Philippines, banpao in Vietnam, chaopao in Tahiti, and manapua (literally delicious pork thing) in Hawaii. Charsiubao has indeed made its way into the collective memory and diet of people around the world.

The social history of charsiubao sheds light on Hong Kong’s diverse food culture and the city’s  makeover into a metropolis. Charsiubao cuts across social class and generations, and despite the constant re-inventions and creative presentations, it has always maintained its core value—the decidedly Cantonese barbecued meat as the filling—attesting to Hong Kong’s diverse and resilient food culture. 

Notes  

1、Transliterations of Cantonese terms in this article follow the everyday usage rather than phonetic systems such as Yale Romanization, International Phonetic Alphabet, or Jyutping used in education institutions. The author hopes to evoke the voice of Hongkongers who have made linguistic and other improvisations amidst a long history of glocalization when phonetics is seldom taught in school even in the making of a metropolis.