​
​First Saturday PDX's Dim Sum/ Yum Cha Brunch
Excellent Cuisine Restaurant
8733 SE Division St,
Portland, OR 97266
12 October, 2024,  10:20 am sharp!
For our second event of the season, we are gathering for a dim sum brunch at another favourite restaurant, Excellent Cuisine Restaurant.   Come join First Saturday PDX for "yum cha" - a casual no host brunch (approx. $28/ person) and share mouth watering dishes of "heart's delight". As ever, the diversity of the dishes allows us to include gluten free selections and we will try our best to accommodate other food allergies.
​
​Dim sum ( 點心) is a traditional Chinese meal made up of small plates of dumplings and other small bites, usually accompanied by tea.  It is comprised of  a large range of small dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch, with a selection of over 1,000 varieties of small-plate foods, usually meat, shrimp or vegetables in dough or a wrapper that is steamed, deep fried or pan-fried.  Similar to the way that the Spanish eat tapas, the dishes are shared among family and friends,  consumed during brunch hours.  Dim sum restaurants have a unique serving method: while traversing the room,  servers call out the names of the dishes they are offering to customers from steam-heated carts.
 
​“Yum cha” translates to “drink tea” meals, and is the pre-curser to what we now know as dim sum.  Originating in the 10th century, from Guangzhou, Guandong, in China’s southeast region, yum cha appeared in tearooms frequented by travelers of the Silk Road.  Yum cha included the practice of serving two small pieces of savory or sweet foods with one cup of tea.  Dim sum translates to “touching heart” and described the actual food accompanying the tea, which grew to include a wide variety of traditional Cantonese snacks.  By the end of the second half of the 19th century, yum cha gained regional popularity and made its way to Hong Kong.  From there, dishes from other regions were incorporated and the practice evolved into brunch.
Please meet us just inside the restaurant entrance at 10:20am.  The restaurant has its own parking lot and parking is available on SE Division. 
REGISTER HERE
If you cannot attend after registering, please email us ANY TIME at [email protected]
​We look forward to seeing you all there!
* We recommend that attendees be vaccinated and boosted, and follow CDC guidelines.
Our program series is supported by Reed College, Northwest China Council, Lan Su Chinese Garden and Portland Chinatown Museum.   All our programs are free and open to the public.   ​