Drinking morning tea in San Francisco

Drinking morning tea in San Francisco (Alberta Times) My cousin came from Auckland and brought me many photos of us in the United States in May this year. One of the pictures shows us in San Francisco...

(Alberta Times)

My cousin came from Auckland and brought me many photos of our trip to the United States in May this year. One of them is a photo of us having morning tea at the Peninsula Hong Kong Cantonese Seafood Restaurant in San Francisco. Looking at the photo, my thoughts suddenly flew back to San Francisco and those days filled with family love. San Francisco is located in the middle of California, USA, on the Pacific Ocean. It is a small peninsula. This peninsula mountain city is surrounded by water on three sides and is full of charming bays. On a cold and foggy day, under the guidance of my cousin, we went to the Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant in San Francisco Peninsula Park to have morning tea and share family happiness. The hotel's exterior decoration is in Chinese garden style, and the tables, chairs, cups and butterflies in the hotel are all typical "Cantonese style", making people feel warm and friendly in a foreign country. The white tablecloths and bright flower arrangements on the dining table give people a very peaceful and warm feeling. The ethereal and bright crystal chandeliers and faint candlelight set off a low-key and luxurious dining atmosphere. The warm-colored lights cast graceful shadows on the carpet, and even the light looks warm and tender. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the front of the hall offer an endless view of the sea, with the graceful figure of the Golden Gate Bridge visible in the shadows. The east window shows the forest of rafters on the pier and the green trees on the island. The scenery is very pleasant and comfortable. After we sat down, the waiter poured each of us a cup of tea. Although the tea was not very good, it was still superior to the "tea" provided by ordinary Chinese restaurants. Some waiters who spoke Cantonese pushed refreshment trolleys back and forth between the tables. After a while, plates, cages, and bowls of shrimp dumplings, rice rolls, siomai, wind claws, fried squid feet, egg tarts, durian cakes, pineapple buns, steamed short ribs, soy crabs, rice noodles, etc. arrived on the floor, filling the table with a dazzling array of items. The surrounding "sound waves" of Cantonese mixed with the Mandarin with southern and northern accents came one after another, making people feel like they were back in China. In the crowded dining room, we also found a few tables of foreign families, happily using Chinese chopsticks to pick up snacks. In such a lively and noisy environment, they could only put their heads together and talk to each other's ears. Drinking morning tea is a habit of Cantonese people. It is real morning tea. It can be eaten from 5:30 to 10:30 in the morning. Breakfast, drinking tea, reading newspapers, meeting friends and discussing business are all included in morning tea. A large number of Chinese immigrants in San Francisco come from Guangdong and Hong Kong. Therefore, this morning tea culture was also moved to the United States. Many Chinese like to drink morning tea, just like any special food, with a sense of nostalgia, nostalgia and appreciation, because after all, they have been immersed in the soil and water of that place, and there is such a blood-like culture accumulated in their bones. Drinking morning tea leisurely in San Francisco, admiring the incomparable sea view and the surrounding beautiful scenery in such a beautiful place, tasting exquisite breakfast, and chatting with family and friends about the vast sea and sky, such a happy holiday life is so wonderful! At this time, I suddenly thought of my hometown and my relatives and friends in China, and I felt a little warm-hearted and wet-eyed.