A long-running and delicious social tradition

Guyuelou restaurant featuring a cup of tea and dozens of local dim sum offerings gives a glimpse into the morning tea culture in Taizhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

Golden crab gravy oozes from the tops of buns stuffed with crab meat, while other dim sum treats are bursting with pork, soup or shocking green bits of a local plant called bur clover.

A visit to Guyuelou restaurant offers a glimpse into the long-preserved morning tea culture in Taizhou, Jiangsu province.

One of the most popular restaurants among the locals, it's tucked away in the Old Street scenic spot, in a line of shops offering the favorite snacks of the area.

Guyuelou's public dining room is filled with customers early in the morning. Almost all of the big, round tables are taken. Guests are lining up at the counter, where giant bamboo steamers are piled high, with white steam escaping from the gaps between the steamers.

Most customers are here to enjoy the morning tea ritual, which features a cup of tea and dozens of local dim sum offerings.

The diner receives at least 2,000 visitors a day, and it is busiest at breakfast time.

"Most of our customers are locals who live nearby but the number of tourists surges during high days and holidays," says Hu Yanyang, who runs Guyuelou.

Dried bean-curd threads, fish soup noodle and crab buns are called the "three treasures of the morning tea" and are the most popular orders.

The ritual is: Drink tea first, then eat a seasonal cold dish, dried beancurd threads, dim sum, and finish with fish soup noodle.

The tea collection comprises Longjing, Biluochun, Baicha, Pu'er and Tieguanyin.