Welcome to this edition of China Lifestyle Journeys, the series that brings you chats, discussions and insights on all aspects of Chinese living. We will cover festivals, food, traditions, customs and much, much more. I’m your host Jocelyn … and I’m Mat, just an English guy with lots of questions.

So, Mat, what’s your big question today?

(Mat)

Hello and welcome to another episode. Today, we're going to be exploring the topic of Chinese breakfast. Now I'm really excited about this topic because, I love food and food culture and I’ve tried lots of different Chinese dishes in different regions of China. So, now to start off with I’m going to ask you a challenging question Jocelyn. What do you think my three favourite Chinese breakfast items are?

(Jocelyn)

Well actually I know your number one favourite is Wuhan hot and dry noodles, because I know you lived in Wuhan for many years, we used to work together in Wuhan in the same school and it was quite a well-known fact that you loved hot and dry noodles!

(Mat)

Yeah, you’re right. Wuhan hot dry noodles are my number one favourite. Actually every foreigner I’ve ever met who has tried them, says they are amazing. And we’ll come back to this later, but you still haven’t guessed my number two and three.

(Jocelyn) 

OK, let me think…. Em…….. I’ll have a few guesses, so how about, youtiao(油条) and a bowl of soy milk, doujiang(豆浆). Maybe jianbing(煎饼), which is a type of savoury pancake filled with egg, scallions, and sometimes meat or vegetables. And what else? … Maybe something like dim sum, the popular breakfast food in Southern China, particularly in Guangdong province. Maybe one of those small, bite-sized dishes that are usually served as dim sum. Am I right?

(Mat)

Well yes and no. First of all, I really don’t like youtiao and soy milk. Jianbing is OK, but dim sum is definitely a yes. Now I used to live in Southern China so I really learned to love dim sum. Now there’s something I never really understood though, dim sum is meant to be a morning thing, a breakfast tradition, it’s even called morning tea sometimes, but I often saw people eating it in the afternoon and even late at night. So is it really breakfast or is it just served all day long and throughout the evening?

(Jocelyn)

OK. That's a good question. Dim sum is traditionally eaten for breakfast or brunch in Southern China, but just like other breakfast dishes, some people want to eat it during the day or even at night, so if the customers want it, the restaurants will serve it! Think about your traditional English breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, toast … can you buy that in the afternoon?

(Mat)

Yes – absolutely. No problem, on menus you will see ‘All Day Breakfast’ to show that it’s available at any time.

(Jocelyn)

So it’s exactly the same with dim sum.

(Mat)

Now dim sum always seemed interesting to me, all those little plates with just two or three items. So is there some kind of story or history behind this style of breakfast dining, these small plates with just two or three items on each plate.

(Jocelyn)

The story goes that many centuries ago, dim sum was served in teahouses for brunch. Travellers used to stop for a break to have tea or two small food items to eat with their tea. This eventually became known as "yum cha",饮茶. Dim sum culture grew quickly during the 19th century in Guangzhou, with chefs introducing different cooking styles and ingredients. So today, dim sum has a wide range of flavours and can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or even as a late-night snack as we just mentioned. So tell me which item is your favourite from the dim sum trolley? We still don’t know your number two and number three.

(Mat)

So my number two is those rice noodle rolls(肠粉), especially the BBQ pork version. And my number three is similar, it’s also from the dim sum trolley. It’s steamed pork buns (叉烧包).

(Jocelyn)

So your favourites are Wuhan hot and dry noodles(热干面), rice noodle rolls(肠粉) and steamed pork buns(叉烧包). Tell me why these are your favourites.

(Mat)

Well, let me tell you, Wuhan hot dry noodles are my all-time favourite because they have that unique texture and that amazing, it’s almost like peanut butter style sauce. Now as for the rice noodle rolls, I love that really soft texture on the outside of the rice noodles and then you can get that crispy BBQ pork inside. And last but not least, steamed pork buns, again so fluffy on the outside and soft, especially when they’re hot, and the pork filling is juicy - it’s just that perfect combination of texture and flavour. It’s really, it’s a wonderful breakfast item.

(Jocelyn)

You're making me hungry just thinking about these. I love all three of those dishes too, especially the hot and dry noodles. I think we need to take a trip to Wuhan soon to try some really authentic local hot and dry noodles.

Well, that’s it for today. We hope you enjoyed this episode, thanks for listening. We hope to see you again next time. Until then, goodbye. Stay wise.

不论中外，对于早餐都有过类似的描述，那就是：“早餐是一天中最重要的一餐。（Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.）”

中式早餐一直以来都是花样极多的，在广东，有名的早茶点心足够让人吃上一整年还不重样。而在其余地区，豆浆、烧饼、油条绝对是“老三样”，喝一口热乎乎的豆浆，咬一口脆脆的油条，一整天的好心情就是从此开启。更不用说小笼汤包、蒸饺、天津大肉包等等面点了，各有各的美味。中式早餐也许花样极多，但是最终离不了的本心就是“热”这一点。中式早餐基本上都属于热乎乎的类型，跟东方人注重“养生之道”离不开干系。

西式早餐一般来说可以分为美式早餐跟欧式早餐。除了众所周知的面包跟吐司之外，欧洲人也喜欢用黄油涂在面包上，一口咬下去，配合煎蛋就是一顿非常美味的早餐。而在传统的英式早餐中，香肠、培根、番茄、蘑菇、鸡蛋、焗豆、面包等等，都是不可或缺的食材。作为英式早餐的绝对主角，香肠几乎在英国各个小镇都有不同的风味。其中，最最常见的便是康宝兰香肠和林肯郡肠。

当然，如果是比较讲究的家庭，有时候还会熬法式浓汤，早上也可以吃一顿热乎乎的，但是比起我们中式早餐来说，花样还是略少了一些。中西式早餐的不同也是因为传统文化的不同所造成的，因此，这也间接反映了中西方的区别。

摘自《中西方早餐的营养对比》