Indonesia
Dim Sum for Everyone!
In bahasa, dim sum means ‘little meal’ or ‘touching the heart’. For the little girl in the book “Dim Sum for Everyone!”, dim sum means ‘delicious’. Jie-Jie always rejoice when anyone takes her to a dim sum restaurant swarmed by people in Chinatown. This place has everything she likes; dumpling, shrimp hakau, egg tart, fried mantou, chicken feet… yummy!
Dim sum is a famous menu from Kanton, southern China. It’s a small package of steamed of fried meal, served warm in a bamboo container. We don’t eat it with rice, that’s why Jie-Jie (as we do) never get enough with one portion of dim sum.
With dad, mom and her two little sisters, Jie-Jie sits before a round table. Like any other people in that place, they use chopstick to take dim sum from the trolley pushed around by the waitress. Everyone goes for their favorite menu, yet everyone is willing to share it for anyone to have a bite. Jie-Jie shares her turnip cakes with dad, mom and her sisters. The feast is good. When they are done, everyone sits back with full stomach and the round table is covered with bamboo containers.
This Grace Lin’s book offers more than some dim sum fiesta experience. It also provides a special page, containing information about dim sum. For example what dim sum really means, the ancient tradition of having dim sum for breakfast with warm tea in China, up to some description about kids of dim sum in both language, English and where it comes from, Chinese.
Just remember, Superkids. Never read this book when hungry!
HAFIDA INDRAWATI
PHOTOS: HAFIDA INDRAWATI
