There are certain things that are simply better together; like a burger and a soda. Harry and Sally. A dog and his bone. Dim sum and tea.
One of the things I love doing with my family is going for dim sum on Sunday. That usually requires dragging out of bed my sleep-loving sister on her day off, piling our family into the car and debating which of the dozens of dim sum restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area we should go to.
Har gow, churn fun, shumai, oh my!
For dim sum virgins, the first thing the waiter or waitress will ask when you are seated is what kind of tea you would like. Most restaurants charge tea by the head, even if you're not drinking it and usually, you order one kind of tea to share with everyone at the table. I learned early on my family's tea preference at dim sum.
“Bo lay,” my father would tell the waiter.
Bo lay is a type of tea with a dark, intense flavor that can be slightly bitter if steeped for too long. That's why you'll usually get a pot of hot water placed on your table along with the tea, in case you have to dilute the tea. My father says bo lay is good for you and, more importantly, it helps cut the grease of the dim sum dishes, each delicious morsel washed down by the hot liquid. It is quite a palate cleanser and gets your mouth ready for the next bite. I realized later, after years of ordering bo lay, there are actually other teas the restaurant offers. Bo lay is still a favorite, but when I'm in the mood for a sweeter tea, I go for “gook bo” - half chrysanthumum, half bo lay.