As the sky begins to pale, teahouses throughout the city of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, come to life. Wooden tables glow with a soft sheen, bamboo steamers stack up like small hills, and the moment a lid is lifted, clouds of steam roll upward. The delicate sweetness of crystal shrimp dumplings, the savory richness of pork dumplings, and the mellow depth of braised chicken feet spread through the air, instantly stirring the appetite.
Groups of seasoned locals gather around tables, each with a pot of hot tea. With practiced ease, they rinse bowls and cups, pour tea, and chat. The murmur of conversation, the clink of porcelain, and the gentle hiss of steamers opening weave together into Guangzhou's most evocative morning soundtrack. This is yum cha — morning tea — etched deep into the rhythm of local everyday life.
That liveliness flows seamlessly from morning into afternoon, never truly pausing. Song Guozhen, executive manager of the Silver Delight Cantonese Cuisine restaurant in Guangzhou, says that morning tea has long been an indispensable part of local life.
Built on generations of craftsmanship and unwavering devotion to traditional flavors, the restaurant's dim sum has won not only local loyalty but also the admiration of visitors from afar.
For many travelers, morning tea becomes their first real encounter with the southern city, with some arriving specifically for a taste of authentic Cantonese flavors and the everyday warmth that comes with them.
As the core birthplace of Cantonese cuisine, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is defined by both inclusiveness and restraint. Its culinary philosophy rests on freshness, tenderness and balance.
Within this framework coexist the refinement of Guangzhou's morning tea, the ingredient-driven craftsmanship of Shunde, the bold richness of Chaoshan flavors, and the multicultural blends of Hong Kong and Macao. Every bite reflects local wisdom and an open, generous palate. At the heart of it all, Guangzhou's morning tea remains the most grounded starting point.
An unhurried pace
A day in Guangzhou begins with "one pot of tea and two dishes". Pu'er or chrysanthemum tea accompanies dishes like crystal shrimp dumplings, siu mai pork dumplings and chicken feet.
Crystal shrimp dumplings are thin-skinned and translucent, springy and fresh; chicken feet braised in black bean sauce are soft, deeply flavored, and fall cleanly from the bone. This ritual is less about filling the stomach than about sharing time, reflecting the city's famously unhurried pace. Song explains that all dim sum offerings at Silver Delight are handmade every morning, with chefs working patiently to preserve traditional flavors.
"Our crystal shrimp dumplings are large, with two whole shrimp inside, complemented by pieces of pork fat and bamboo shoots for crunch. They're wrapped fresh every day, each with 12 pleats," Song says.
"Our steamed rice rolls are made from aged rice batter and filled with various ingredients. They're finished with a brush of peanut oil and a drizzle of soy sauce — that's the final touch."
She adds that all sauces are made in-house, including the restaurant's signature yellow lantern chili sauce, blended from more than a dozen ingredients.
In these carefully judged combinations lies a shared culinary understanding among Cantonese people, a flavor memory common across the Greater Bay Area.
Beyond morning tea, Cantonese cuisine reveals its pursuit of refinement in everyday dishes. White-cut chicken highlights the natural flavor of the meat with crisp skin and tender flesh, paired simply with ginger-scallion sauce. Roast goose offers crackling skin and juicy meat, balanced by plum sauce. Slow-simmered soups, cooked for hours, are clear, mellow and attuned to the seasons.
Street food tells an equally important story. Bamboo-pole noodles are firm and elastic; shrimp wontons have thin skins and generous fillings; radish and beef offal are slow-braised until deeply infused, served with garlic-chili sauce for warmth and comfort.
While tradition is carefully guarded, innovation also finds its place. At Silver Delight, the wasabi salmon tart offers a contemporary note, with crisp pastry filled with salmon and a fruit-vegetable mixture, finished with house-made wasabi salad dressing.
Talking about diners, Song notes that the restaurant welcomes everyone from elderly locals to young families and travelers.
"Many locals grow up with morning tea," she says. "Whole families come together. Children can even fall asleep amid the noise — it's a familiar, comforting environment for them."
Original flavors
The respect for freshness and craftsmanship takes on a particularly poetic form in Shunde, a district in Foshan city, which has long been celebrated as the home of master chefs.
Shunde is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. Here, almost everything that swims, flies or grows can find its way to the table. The soul of Shunde cuisine lies in knife work and fidelity to its original flavors.
Liang Zigang, founder of the Xunwei Shunde Crystal Food Culture Museum, traces this philosophy back centuries.
"Eating raw fish in China boasts a history spanning thousands of years, with its tradition in Shunde predating even the region's own administrative history," he explains.
"Grass carp is the main fish used. Quality and knife work are crucial — the slices must be paper-thin, bones meticulously removed, and peanut oil used properly for seasoning."
The fish is sliced as thin as cicada wings and tossed with more than a dozen condiments in a ritual known as laoqi, literally "to toss upward", accompanied by auspicious phrases like "prosperity rising with the wind". Chilled, crisp and pure, it showcases freshness at its peak.
In the hands of a Shunde chef, a single fish can yield more than a dozen dishes — raw fish from the flesh, fried salt-and-pepper fish bones, chilled fish skin — truly embodying the idea of "one fish, many dishes", using every part to its fullest.
"Shunde people respect ingredients," Liang says. "We strive to realize their full value. We host banquets featuring 100 fish or 100 chickens. Ingredients that might be overlooked in other regions are transformed by us into delicacies."
This reverence for ingredients and original flavors finds another expression in Chaoshan cuisine, which is bold, rich and vibrant, yet carefully restrained.
Situated by the sea and rivers, the Chaoshan region in eastern Guangdong prizes freshness while aiming for flavors that are "fresh without fishiness, rich without heaviness".
Beef hotpot is its calling card, with cuts sliced to order, briefly swished in clear broth, then dipped in satay sauce, tender and deeply savory. Braised goose, springy eggs, silky rice noodle rolls and elastic fish balls all speak to a cuisine rooted in abundance and everyday warmth.
Multilayered delights
Beyond Guangzhou, Shunde and Chaoshan, other parts of Guangdong add their own character. Western and northern Guangdong emphasize freshness, wellness or mountain flavors, enriching the region's culinary spectrum and underscoring its inclusiveness.
This shared root extends naturally to Hong Kong and Macao. Hong Kong cuisine balances tradition and trends, retaining Cantonese foundations while absorbing global influences, while Macao blends Cantonese techniques with Portuguese flavors to create its distinctive cuisine.
In Hong Kong, most cha chaan teng (local-style restaurants) offer milk tea filtered repeatedly through cloth bags, smooth and robust, paired with flaky egg tarts. Street snacks range from customizable cart noodles to curry fish balls, egg waffles and pineapple buns with butter, while roasted meats continue the Cantonese legacy.
Macao's culinary identity is equally layered, with pork chop buns and Portuguese egg tarts as everyday icons, and dishes like Portuguese chicken and African chicken marrying spices with local ingredients. Cantonese traditions live on in beef brisket noodles and braised dishes, while almond cookies and pork jerky carry the city's edible memories.
Homan Tsui, executive chef of the Imperial Court at MGM Macau, has lived in Macao for over a decade. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring local markets, believing they hold the truest flavor codes.
Among his recommendations are spicy fish buns — humble snacks made from minced dace or Spanish mackerel mixed with garlic and chili, pan-fried until crisp on the outside and tender within, then tucked into soft bread.
Savory, gently spicy and deeply satisfying, they are a reminder that the soul of a city often lives in its simplest food.
From the craftsmanship of Guangzhou's morning tea to the purity of Shunde raw fish, from the richness of Chaoshan cooking to the multicultural blends of Hong Kong and Macao, the Greater Bay Area forms a living map of flavor.
Only by strolling through these streets and savoring each delicacy can one truly grasp the essence of the region — eventually returning to a teahouse table, where steam rises from bamboo baskets and a new day gently unfolds.
Li Wenfang contributed to this story.
Double-skin milk. [Photo/GUANGZHOU YUEXIU CONVERGED MEDIA CENTER]
