Soup, to the Guangzhou people, is so much more than its literary meaning. It brings associations far beyond the light or the strong tastes or the tonic effects; it represents a lifestyle, or an attitude—to taste the time-honored flavor and be surprised by the aromatic afterglow.

Hong Kong—Yuanyang Milk Tea and Pineapple Bun with Butter

Hong Kong's "tea restaurants" have been popular for half a century. In Hong Kong's downtown area almost at every bus stop there is at least one tea restaurant, where guests can dash in at any time to have a leisurely, satisfying meal.

Normally, tea restaurants are not big, and the decorations are casual and simple. Though "plain" in appearance, many tea restaurants are always packed out. Customers of different social ranks and professions gather at tea restaurants, eating, excitedly chatting, and reading horse racing news—This is the "tea restaurant scene" unique to Hong Kong.

A combination of Chinese and Western food is what is remarkable about tea restaurants. Placed under the glass table tops, the menus list both Western food such as beefsteak, toast and sandwiches, and Chinese food, including suckling pig, roast goose, Hong Kong-style soup and wonton. The most popular are the two Hong Kong specialties—half-coffee-half-milk-tea called "Yuanyang Milk Tea" and Pineapple Bun with Butter. Before the customers, after ordering, finish a cup of tea their dishes and drinks are served. The prices in these places are always reasonable.

Tea restaurants are typically "made in Hong Kong." In this commercial metropolis where wealth accumulates, tea restaurants, though without a hint of luxury, have become the favorite of Hong Kong people and also a "selling point" of the city for the Hong Kong Tourism Board. In the selection of "Hong Kong's Top Ten Representative Creations," the tea restaurant is ranked first, making it the city's most characteristic creation in the Hong Kong people's eyes.

Each city has its unique taste. Tasting delicious food is not simply about satisfying your appetite with the tongue; it is also about feeling and experiencing with the heart, through which you will find that each kind of food actually embodies a city's culture and the local people's character.