Authentic Cantonese Food At Guangzhou's Best Restaurant 🇨🇳
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ก.พ. 2024
- Join us as we take a delicious journey through Guangzhou's best restaurant, showcasing mouthwatering authentic Cantonese cuisine. Get ready for an amazing food experience in the heart of China's vibrant city.
#china #travel #food
Hi Alan. As a Cantonese, in the past, tableware was cleaned by restaurant workers. As there was no standard, the cleaned utensils might still retain detergent residues, and over time, they could accumulate dust on the surface. Therefore, we used hot water to rinse off bacteria and residues from the tableware to ensure cleanliness. While modern washing techniques and hygiene standards have improved, and the most of tableware is now cleaned, disinfected, and plastic sealed by machines. Many individuals still adhere to the traditional practice of rinsing tableware with tea, habitually preserve and pass on this tradition, forming a distinctive dining table culture.
就餐前洗餐具，表明客人对餐具清洁程度的质疑，也就是互相没有信任。
啷碗係餐前必備步驟😀
Not accurate. It actually started in mid 90s when there was a time that Hepatitis A was major issue for public restaurants, which was initially spreaded out from Shanghai. Then the specialized cleaning company stepped in and took over. Then it became the detergent residue story.
@@jacksun2984跪太久了
@@yuqin405搞笑的。至晚85年在广州就已经是这样操作。
In fact, if chicken is treated like the West (removing bones), it will be considered a cheap piece of meat in China, which means it is just a cheap chicken rib and not fresh. Chinese people have a high pursuit of freshness. In ancient times, the food of wealthy people, such as a fish caught and slaughtered by the river, was then put into the pot and just cooked when it arrived at the dining table. In addition, the current practice of Westerners not wearing bones is not a European tradition. It is a behavior of capital for profit, which divides an animal into different parts and increases its price.The current Western practice of bone removal, segmentation, and sales should be a deliberate habit that has emerged in the past 100 years.
....plus chicken butchered/cut up chinese style cooked with intact bones just tastes better. and the exposed marrow is a great source of nutrition.
Not always. Kung Pao chicken has no bones, but Chinese people definitely love it, and it's not cheap (usually CNY 50-60 for a plate of sichuan-style Kung Pao chicken in restaurants in Beijing). The same goes for some other 鸡丁 dishes.
The bones in the chicken give it more flavor and the chef is showing to you that you received a while cooked fresh chicken. With western boneless chicken, how many separate chickens and different chicken parts did they glue together to manufacture that piece for you?
The best meats in China are usually cooked and/or served on the bone like whole steamed fish, whole chicken, pork ribs and all shellfish like prawns, lobsters, scallops and clams etc are always attached to their shells. The bones and shells give an extra layer of flavour to the meat and it's also a demonstration of the freshness of the food. For example, if you order a steamed fish, what will normally happen is that the chef takes a live fish out of the tank, scales and guts the fish, puts it in the steamer, and 8 mins later, it is served on your table in the form of a whole fish on the bone with some soy sauce dressing. In the old days (like 20yrs ago) some local restaurants would even have live chicken in the backyard and they slaughtered the chicken onsite after you placed an order
Recently had a family dinner in China with a whole leg of lamb, bones and all, that was brought to the table and hand carved as it continued to cook over coals. Meat doesn't get any better....
Shannon is gorgeous, exactly like a celebrity
She can spread for your hotdog. Five dollars only. New year discount
She could spread spread. Five dollars only. Your hotdog go wild
But the way she had to eat is not elegant as she wore and portray. It is like eat BBQ at the beach
I've been here for many years and still cannot get used to meat still on the bones, same with fish. This is how it is, especially in Guangdong province.
IT'S THE BARRETT!!! Love your work too :)
Lee, think spare ribs, chicken wings, T bone steak and lamb cutlets! Love your vids BTW.
Catching Barrett here!
Give these kids some culture Barrett, show them around.
哈哈，我经常在“抖音、YT”看到你的视频，我知道你已经游历过中国许多城市，可以说是“中国通”！
China is such a great place to explore.
Thank YOU Ivan for your generosity, grace and hospitality! ♥️❤️♥️
thanks for came to our province
Thank you so much ❤️❤️
@@alanshannon3884 n btw in Asia we not disconnected with animals, sry once it killed, we dont waste, head to tail to inside, n u can eat up to u with hand to debone or debone in mouth, we r not cultural fanatic, While in West thy try to name other thing pig to pork, cow to beef, n mostly steak or fillet, but forgot where is d source of meat without bone.
@@alanshannon3884Dunno why they afraid to eat chicken with hand, its just like wings But while dumplings supposed to be with chopstick but they do some surgery by breaking d dough skin n inside shrimp n use hand, funny :(
@@user-ib4qv1on8h was showing what was inside the dumpling
@@alanshannon3884 n yes we can find meat in head or cheek too, we don't blend d "ugly" part to sausage with intestine or nuggets.. 😳🤗 btw breast part n leg/drumstick not scary? They all parts of animals ^-^ in Indonesia we do it also, n all d meats r d same.
When in China I often (unashamedly) ask for a plastic glove when I see meat on a bone arriving....almost every restaurant has them. So much easier to just use the glove to hygienically eat some on the bone delicacies rather than do the "mouth shuffle" or chop stick jab.... pro tip : )
Thats a rational moves
As a Cantonese whole chicken on the bone is way tastier than the deboned segmented meats in the western supermarkets. Chicken is also super important in Cantonese culture.
Wow you both are really fancy. You both worked so hard and deserve to treat yourself well
Aww thank you, that is very kind of you ♥️
Washing everything before we eat is a Cantonese thing😂 it has become like a tradition
I like this cantonese tradition
Haven't you two returned to your country yet? Do you plan to live in China forever?@@alanshannon3884
I confirm that it is the top restaurant in Guangzhou. I am a native cantonese in Guangzhou.
We got the recommendation to come here from our friend Ivan
白天鹅宾馆才顶级
白天鵝之前喺頂級，19年換咗師傅之後就麻麻地，泮溪點心一直保持一流水平，主要個環境都唔錯，不過佢哋去得太遲乜都賣曬@@mulinliu3866
name / address please 👍🙏🏻
Pan Xi restaurant, without any branch in Guangzhou.
Detailed address: 151 Long Jin Xi Lu, Guangzhou China
Tips: arrive there no later than 8pm if you want to have Dim Sum for which this restaurant famous.
It's really nice to see your video when I'm getting ready to eat.
Enjoy!
I was just peeling my chicken off the bones in my mouth when I watched them frown over it. It's really funny
I always end up having to eat haha
Your reactions to the food are as authentic as the food itself. Absolutely loving it.
The reason why they did what they did when serving tea is because it heats up the cup and bowl, so that when you’re served the food, the heat isn’t absorbed by the plate which reduces the temperature. It’s more of a traditional way to serve it.
4:41 It's for cleansing the cup and the chopsticks. A Cantonese only tradition. People believe tea is a very hygiene.
It''s not a cantonese only thing, this is done all over China. I'm from Xinjiang and we do this too.
不管咱们身在祖国哪个位置，都有“见贤思齐”的理念，总会去吸收好的东西。@@Mike-bt3ki
Another Cantonese tried to claim a Chinese tradition as their own. There's no border control between provinces go check yourself.
@@Mike-bt3kiit’s a Cantonese tradition spreading across the whole country.
@@Mike-bt3ki 😳我在武汉上学，发现当地人好像不这么干
6:50 We call the “charred taste” 鑊氣, or “wok hay”. It’s a quintessential sign of having the perfect stir fry. It’s achieved by having extremely high heat (think actual fire in the wok) and frequent stirring/tossing. It’s what Cantonese food usually strive for.
Also you guys left the chicken with the big pieces of bone 🥲🥲🥲. Those are the most delicious dark meat haha. But like other comments said once you’re more experienced with chopsticks you won’t need your hands. But it would totally be okay if you used your hands when you need to like eating chicken wings at a pub. It’s not disrespectful haha. Cantonese people just tend to go to the next level with hygiene (like with the tea washing) so people might think eating with hands is not clean but it’s totally okay with using hands, no one will be offended 😊.
Love it!!
"wok hay" is the same as Maillard reaction, ie from using searing heat for cooking steaks@@alanshannon3884
Well if you need to eat with hands , wash you hand first , like the indian and Malay would do
Hope you both can stay a bit longer in China and make more videos for us in Scotland!😆
Awww amazing, where in Scotland do you stay?
1. The thick noodles are rice noddles called ‘河粉 hé fěn’ aka ‘ 粿条 guǒ tiáo’ originated in South China. Many Southeast Asian foods including Pho and Pad Thai are deeply influenced by this noodle.
2. Chinese dumplings can be cooked in many ways, such as steamed ; boiled; pan fried or deep fried. Japanese called pan fried dumplings Gyoza and Dim Sum is usually steamed dumpling.-
Chopstick alone not easy to handle the rice noodles , you should use both spoon and chopstick together to handle it , that would be efficient and able to eat gracefully
@@ct9245 One can actually roll up the noodle instead of clipping it if he's not familiar with chopsticks
It's so good to see you tried Cantonese food. I’m Cantonese but in Scotland now, and I really miss the food in Guangzhou😭. Thanks for sharing this video!
There must be lot of Cantonese restaurants in UK, why do you need to miss that?
@@TCFung0101 Are you sure a lot of?
Wash those cups and chopsticks are normal in Cantonese restaurant in Guangzhou and HongKong, because sometimes dinning ware are too oily or it seems doesn't clean. It usually did it yourself maybe they serve you because you're foreigner.
Each ppl has 2 pair of chopsticks, one for picking up the food and the other for you to eat, it aware chopsticks touch your mouth and the food at the same time, unlike some western dish, because we usually share dishes together.
Cantonese usually not put the food on the plate directly, they put the bowl on the plate and use the bowl to eat, the mainly use of the plate is use for put the bones or waste on it. That's the reason they didn't washed these plates for you 2.😅
Waiters r nice, otherwise u guys will be clueless, me too as Indonesian dunno.. :(
@@user-ib4qv1on8h and you start drinking the “ washing water “ 😅
@@ct9245 hhaa in indonesia yes, a bowl of water on table is for wash, not drink
I am impressed of Shannon know so much how the beef is being prepared.
Mmm what a delicious meal!!
Also Shannon looks lovely dressed up, matches the restaurant decor.
But the way they have to eat , were not elegant
Try holding the boney parts with the chopsticks and bite off the meat. 😂 Once you get use to it it's easy. They cook it the chicken whole, then cut it. Those famous celebrity chefs have always been telling us, the meat by the bones are the sweeter and juicier. Same is true for fish. But I think you can ask for them to debone the meat for you when they serve it. They usually will and its pretty quick and easy for the chefs.
Definitely need some more practice because we did really love the flavour of the chicken
I love Cantonese food! It is great to see that you two are visiting so many different places in China & Hong Kong!!
For eating the chicken on the bone the two instruments you use are the chopsticks and your mouth. Lift it with the chopsticks to your mouth, and nibble the meat off the bone like a meat popsicle. BTW most professional chefs would likely say that meat tastes best on the bone 😊
For the Soy Sauce Chicken, you would normally stick a part of the chicken in your mouth with the bone and nibble off the meat while sucking on the bone. It's very delicious!
At the traditional style , they still prefers to see the pink of blood at the bone level, as they are slow cooked method
Cantonese food is the best in the world 🌎
Eating that soy chicken with white rice is great also, the soy sauce gets mixed with the rice makes the chicken less "salty" and the rice more flavourfull .
That suppose the way in southen China , hence for 2 sharing , they should order a bigger portion of noodles to share , the as side dishes of chicken and dim sum
Omg Ivan is a legend sooo kind!! Meal looked amazing although chicken head gave me the fear everyone seems so kind in China
Nice one guys, the Soy Chicken (in asia it's very common to have the meat on the bone same as fish, the meat is better on the bone) In western countries we are used to fillet, chicken breast and thigh pieces cut off the bone. Just different cultural way of cooking. Enjoy, the beef hor fun noodles delicious
Yeah it definitely takes some getting used to eating meat and fish in this way, the flavours were still amazing though
@@alanshannon3884Chinese believe that bones and marrow give meat a lot of nutrients and flavor when cooking and eating
KFC has bone on their chicken right?@@alanshannon3884
Definitely agree that the meat on the bones is more tender. Those who eat meat without bones only are missing out on this.
Guys thats amazing you are trying new things, and going to new places. Your future will be amazing and open minded.
@Alan & Shannon great video as always guys well Done and very kind of Ivan 😊keep up the good work 🤞🏼😎
That place looks nice ! The dishes you ordered are good choices
love you, miss old days in my hometown in China
In Chinese dining culture, it is considered impolite to dip food (e.g., dumplings and steamed stuffed buns) into a dish with sauces (because of its unhygienicity), and if you want the sauce, you should take it yourself or be provided by the restaurant. The sauce is served in a small dish for dipping.
I was very jealous of Alan who got Shannon.
Yeah, she is cute.
mee too
She can spread for your hotdog. Five dollar . new year discount
Noticed vibe of Alan? They two are so similar to each other, a perfect match. We should find someone like ourselves as well!
so difficult@@wenyichen5515
Thanks for sharing.
It made me laugh when she wash the bowls and cups for you. It's so cantonees Welcome to my hometown GuangZhou and welcome to ShenZhen too when you got time.
I like Scottish accent. Very unique. My neighbour is Scottish but when he speaks Chinese, he sounds exactly like someone from Beijing. In his younger, he has lived in the Chinese capital for 30 years before, during and after WW2. 😊
PS: Do you guys speak Gaelic ?
Traditionally, to show you the head of the chicken is to reflect that the chicken is freshly killed and there is another sign which is "have head and have tail" and in Cantonese which bears the meaning of completeness.
Have new Chinese fans love TH-cam videos. Congrats 🎈🍾🇨🇳👍🏼👏🏻✊🏻👊🏻🥂🍺you channels getting bigger.
Great video!
You can use the bowl to hold the food and put the bone on the plate.
Long time ago, wash the bowl and cap for keeping the food and tea warm.
Well explained milommyy
The white chopsticks are for common use, and black ones are personal, so that to be more clean lol
We never knew this, thank you!
@@alanshannon3884Each of you has a bowl and a saucer. You should put the bowl on top of the saucer. Bowls are used to hold food, while dishes are used to hold discarded bones. You have three pairs of chopsticks. The white chopsticks are shared chopsticks, and the black chopsticks are private chopsticks. White chopsticks are used to move food from a dish to a personal bowl. Then put the food into your mouth with your own chopsticks.
The first time I have watched one of your videos. Very entertaining. You two have a great chemistry. Personally, I would have asked the waiter for some soy sauce, hot chili oil, and vinegar to dip the dim sum into. You should have just eaten the chicken with your hands. Though it seems gooey. So clever of you two to experiment with your own dipping sauce. Happy travels!
Amazing restaurant and food
P on
Using hot tea to wash, that was for sanitizing, only happens in Cantonese Area, Guangdong province, it's their habit, more like a eating culture, no particular reason, just to make sure it's cleaned and sanitized well before eating. : ) when you eat in Guangdong province in a restaurant, you must do it, and everyone else also do it. and I actually I like it, cuz you don't know wether the dishes were cleaned well or not thoroughly
Yes we loved it, made us feel extra posh haha
Have fun there, I really like guangdong dessert, you should also try, my fav is "Shuang Pi Nai" or "Jiang Zhi Zhuang Nai" (ginger milk yogurt) in Guangdong province, that was so good, google some good Cantonese dessert place while you are there! @@alanshannon3884
Normally the customers are the one to wash it but maybe the waitress help out Alan and Shannon as they might not know what to do.
That habit of washing the dishes & cutlery at the table before eating is brought by Chinese migrants to some southeast Asian countries too like Malaysia, Singapore & Thailand. Go to a Chinese restaurants in these countries you'll see this being practiced😁.
She looking so gorgeous.❤
Great videos. Love both your reactions and genuine enthusiasm. A good suggestion when noodles or rice dishes are ordered, it's ok to ask the restaurant for an empty individual bowl to scoop your noodles/rice into. It is difficult to pick up slippery noodles and rice from a flat plate unless you have a fork. It's also ok to "scoop" the rice directly from bowl into your mouth - lips touching rim of bowl. Also go for Dim Sum during breakfast before lunch. All the good stuff you missed should still be there :) Happy travels!
Usually in south east asia, the high class chinese restaurant would provide to each person with their small plate and small bowl to pick up the shared food larger plate , so each can hold the small bowl and ate elegantly
Shannon is the only reason Im watching these videos.
Wow, how well Shannon scrubbed up?! Alan is one hell of a lucky guy!
1) The rinsing of the chopsticks and cups was an old practice - to kill germs. It's just a convention nowadays.
2) The locals would have ordered what you ate, but they aren't really for foreigners, apart from the pork dish.
3) The beef dish is everyone's favourite in southern China including Hong Kong. It's called Stir-fried Ho-Fun with Beef or Stir-fried Broad Rice Noodles with Beef. It's always very oily because the noodles will otherwise stick to the wok.
3) Eating with your hands is a no-no in terms of restaurant etiquette. If the food is meant to be eaten with your hands, the waitress would have given you a finger-bowl, or more likely these days a pair of gloves. Alternatively, you could have asked for a knife and a fork.
4) The chicken was served whole, typically during festive season, to signify unity and to bring you good fortune.
Great video as always; thanks for posting.👍
the reason why the beef is so good is because of the marinade.... soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, pepper, wine, pinch of soda, corn starch and water... massage the beef slices until they soak up all the marinade then pour some oil to seal in the flavours....
the food looks amazing, soy sauce chicken and beef chow fun 😋😋😋😋😋😋😋
Sooo tasty😋
I wish you a happy trip
这么好看
Hi Shannon, you're supposed to use chopsticks to eat dumplings. Buns/baos can be eaten by holding them.
wow...Ivan, U DA MAN!!!!!!!!!!!
Legend!!
For a moment there, I thought you'd be doing the dishes ; ) Ivan - top guy !
🎉yummy
On the bone meat tends to be juicier and more flavourful 😋. Eating meat off bone with chopsticks is definitely learned skill of Chinese people 😊
It is authentic indeed.
Shannon dress so good!
Damn thats one great looking restaurant.
We will try that when we go to Guangzhou in July this year😊
欢迎🎉
Why is Shannon all dolled up and Alan looks like he’s ready to go to a football match
So good！
Thank you so much ❤️
They washed your cup and chopsticks for hygiene purposes as it’s a tradition in Canton. Don’t worry it’s a good service being done and very polite by servers. Customers normally do it themselves though.
I’m glad that you went to a proper Cantonese restaurant instead of street food or snack shops. Btw you suppose to share all the dishes as that’s a family culture. Which means you get to try many more dishes by doing so.
I’m not from the guangdong area but my parents also do the tea washing thing. Regardless of if the dishes and cups are clean or not(they probably are, or not any dirtier than any other place), it’s a show that you’re getting clean utensils and wares, on top of actually doing some sanitizing if needed and leaves you with a bonus of warm cups and plates
Do you parents even use their tradition at home most nights?
No we don't. We usually do it when we go to the restaurant.@@alanshannon3884
Nobody does it at home. China used to have poor hygiene in restaurants. So people in Guangdong (most of time with hot weather) does this tea washing thing in restaurants because hot water kills germs. It helps to make people feel safe...@@alanshannon3884
i love how the lady is all dressed up and the dude is wearing a metal shirt😂
So typical 😂😂😂 there is a trend on TikTok that the wife dresses stunning but husband just go with sweaters and shorts on dating.
Simply washing the tableware with hot water before meals is an essential step for Cantonese people
It looks so fancy for Dim Sum!
Thanks!
Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️
Another great video guys. The washing with tea is very Cantonese although you are meant to do it yourself. Hot tea has antibacterial properties.
The dim sum you had was har gau and prawn and chive dumplings. Both available in dim sum restaurants in the UK. But eat them while hot! I see other comments have told you off already for dipping them😮.
You will get used to meat on the bone. Think spare ribs and chicken wings.
Also love the loud Cantonese spoken in the background. A lovely shouty language.
Alan喜欢吃的是粤菜里非常著名的“豉油鸡”，是用甜酱油烹饪的！
You should visit the mountainside or rural villages. See how the locals live their lives
Shannon + Alan,
The 1st entree is a very popular Cantonese dish - beef with flat rice noodles, with lots of wok hei.
We Cantonese differentiate between rice noodle - "fun" and wheat noodle - "mien".
Other Asians have adopted the Chinese "fun", as Shannon mentioned the pad thai, and the Vietnanese "pho".
Notice how the "pho" sounds similar to the Cantonese "fun".
Stir fry beef flat noodles, one of my favorite
You two are the first ones I have ever seen eating dumplings with hands, haha.
Glad you enjoyed the meal =)
For Chinese people, this tender chicken can be easily eaten with chopsticks. However, for those unfamiliar with chopsticks, eating this type of food elegantly can indeed be a challenge 😁.
I think we need someone to take us for a lesson
Hmm imagine the boney part is the rice on a piece of sushi. You place the chopsticks parallel to the boney part like the rice and lift it up from there. Then just bite of the meat. Like trying to eat the fish off a piece of sushi and leaving the rice.
@@alanshannon3884 You should hold the chicken firmly with your chopsticks, and bite a piece off from the bone. If you put the whole trunk into your mouth, of course you'll be choked by the bones.
For the beef noodles, usually Chinese will mix them and eat together. Not eat beef first then eat noodles separately.
Shrimp dumplings and the shrimp spinach dumplings, they are dumplings, not buns. People use chopsticks to get dumplings. And usually you mix some vinegar and maybe soy sauce, dip the whole dumpling and eat it. No one would take apart the dumpling and use the filling to dip the sauce....😂
with shannon dressed formal, i was expecting alan to where suit and tie :)
Most Chinese would prefer the meat on the bone as the bone will release the full flavour of the meat during the cooking process. The head is a presentation thing which has no intention for consuming.
It's kinda strange for me to see eating dumplings with hands. Usually one would pick up with a chopstick, put on the small plate given, split it with a spoon and chopstick if it's big of a mouthful for you, then dip it in some light soy sauce (in SE Asia they also provide chilli paste) and ready to eat. Same for the chicken with bone. Can put the whole piece of chicken inside the mouth use your teeth and tongue to detach the meat from the bone, spit out the bone once finished. Or again use chopstick and spoon to scrape the meat off the bone, without the need to use the hands. I had thought usually they provide ginget slices with light soy in a saucer for dipping.
Hehe, I felt the same way. I think this is the first time I've seen that ever happen.
Glad you guys enjoyed. When we were young and all the kids sat at the same the table, we used to troll each other placing the chicken/lobster heads on each other's plates... the chicken head usually isn't eaten. As for not being used to chicken on the bone, it's easier for those who are used to using chopsticks and can articulate how well we can hold and angle the food while eating without using our hands to directly touch it. Probably easier to ask for a fork to help separate the meat from the bones next time.
Small suggestion, when you do 360-degree video shot, please slow down a bit as moving fast will make your viewers feel slightly dizzy. Love your videos!
Wow 🤩 even restaurants in China 🇨🇳 look better than palaces, amazing.
Did you try morning tea yet? You should! It's called Morning tea but actually you can have morning tea at any time, usually it's like brunch(breakfast+lunch), ppl drink tea and have morning tea for one or two hours, chatting. Must have a try in this province！！！
Typical morning tea includes Rice Roll, Pork Sui Mai,Steamed Spareribs, Pan-Fried Turnip Cake and so on..My favorite one is chicken feet but you may be afraid to try that lol ,but it's actually a lot different from what you tried in Chengdu
Happy New Year Alan & Shannon
Happy new year!
It's true that people didn't trust the cleanliness of the tableware in most restaurants, especially from 10-20+ years ago. Back then you could literally see that they're not properly cleaned. But now people just do it habitually. You don't really see this done outside of Guangdong/Hong Kong these days.
Have you ever had a bone in prime rib and noticed it was much more flavorful and savory? Us Chinese find the meat around the bones tastier even though it requires the extra work.
The ceremony at the beginning of the meal is for sanitization purposes. Yes, you’re at a Michelin recommended restaurant, but we like the added comfort of knowing hot tea was used to clean it. If you do it yourselves, it’s actually a nice, fun way to get situated at the table with family and friends.
Bonjour c'est trop bon j'ai envie manger comme vous 😂❤
The plate for your tea cup can be used for a food waste plate , put the chicken or whatever bone on it
You definitely picked the best in GZ. I loved that place since I was a kid.
Im sure they dont do the utencils wadhing in state banquet ?
Finally, we see Alan taking Shannon to a nice place. More please.
Ha ha ha.
🤣🤣🤣
Dumplings in north china usually in the soup, or steamed often found eating in spring festival. Japanese usually like fried dumplings with think skin can be eaten anytime. Sichuan province dumplings looked bit different and served with spicy oil (dry type no soup)as snack or regular food, Cantonese dumpling usually called crystal skin dumplings served in the morning time often as Brunch (called morning tea, only in Cantonese cultural zone). Different provinces eat things differently.
Baking soda is used to tenderize the meat. You can apply to any cut of beef but it is usually for tougher cut in the west.
Giving people a bowl and hot water/tea to clean their utensils was sort of old tradition when sanitary conditions was not the best. Normal restaurants don't do this for you. It is up to you if you want to reclean your utensils. They just put a bowl so you can dump the used hot water/tea.
Chinese like the bone in meat because they are more flavorful when the meat and bones are cooked together. Normally people don't eat the head or feet of the whole chicken. I think it is just there for presentation this was a whole chicken.
Usually the rinsing of the utensils is done by the patrons just to sanitize the utensils. Since the tea is made with boiling water, it can kill off any germs remaining. It can also leech out any oil remaining on the utensils. It's more of a ceremony nowadays, where we only do that in Chinese restaurants, but my family would still rinse our utensils in other places given the opportunity, or we would at least wipe down the utensils with tissue paper (although that likely won't kill off germs, but just for peace of mind)