I have come to realize, after spending more than a semester studying in Montreal, that the Champlain Abroad community resembles a family. The number of students studying abroad and distance we are from home allows us to learn more about each other than we would have had the opportunity to otherwise. Because we are such a tight-knit community, we love spending time together as a group. A gathering that allows us to partake in new cultural experiences as a group is a truly special event; naturally we were all excited when the Montreal faculty announced that they would be taking us out to have dim sum at Kam Fung, a small restaurant tucked in the corner of a local commercial complex.
Dim sum is a variety of southern Chinese food. The term really describes more of an experience than a type of food. All of the food is different and served in small portions periodically throughout the meal. Chinese tea is also an important component of the meal.
We all sat down at a huge table and were almost immediately served. Dim sum is served from carts on individual plates or in steamer baskets that servers push through the restaurant. Each cart has a different variety of food on it and they push it up to a table and state in several different languages what is on it. If the people at the table are interested in a specific item, they are served the plate, generally containing between three and five small servings of that particular food. The speed and volume at which this occurs makes dim sum outings interesting experiences.
We all sat down at a huge table and were almost immediately served. Dim sum is served from carts on individual plates or in steamer baskets that servers push through the restaurant. Each cart has a different variety of food on it and they push it up to a table and state in several different languages what is on it. If the people at the table are interested in a specific item, they are served the plate, generally containing between three and five small servings of that particular food. The speed and volume at which this occurs makes dim sum outings interesting experiences.
Dim sum certainly requires an adventurous spirit. It can be difficult to discern what each food item is made of until tasting it. Many of the various items were completely new to us. It was clear that everyone in our group was excited to try these new and diverse foods as we eagerly passed the plates of food to our friends after discovering how delicious they were. Dim sum is always a positive bonding experience and I'm sure that we all look forward to going again at some point during the semester.
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