Hong Kong is a place with plenty of night life. However, streets are almost empty from 7am – 8am. Most shops open at or after 9 in the morning, while Cantonese restaurants open at about 6am or even earlier.
The working class usually have breakfast in these Cantonese restaurants in early morning. They enjoy 一盅兩件 (Lit. One bowl with two pieces, meaning a cup of tea with two Dim Sums) and read newspapers before work. Many elderly bring their caged birds here to chat with others. And they can spend a whole morning by doing this. Well, this is the well-known Hong Kong “Morning Tea”.
This tea-drinking culture of Hong Kong residents derives from the mainland tea culture and has its roots in travellers on the ancient Silk Road needing a place to rest. Thus teahouses were established along the roadside.
At first, it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food, because people believed it would lead to excessive weight gain. People later discovered that tea can aid in digestion, so teahouse owners began adding various snacks. And the habbit later becomes a world’s uniqueness not only in terms of the tea itself, but also in terms of the underlying social and cultural values.
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