Stick In The Mud

My theory about serving tiny plates of tiny food is that it’s a bit like pouring sand into a jar of pebbles – the sand fills in every last gap because the grains are so small. Yum cha is perhaps the most extreme example... those small, innocent dumplings in harmless little bamboo steamers collectively result in a certain need for a wheelbarrow to be carted out in (perhaps the steamers of pork buns, tarts, noodles, polar bear balls and all sorts of other things play a contributing role as well, but I mostly blame the dumplings. There always needs to be a scapegoat). Tapas can produce a similar (but usually marginally lesser) level of gluttony – I’m sure this is why small plate eating is so in vogue – while it’s also about the enjoyment of sharing food with your friends and the ability to graze across a range of tastes, perhaps the commercial imperative of how much gets eaten plays a part as well.

Could you resist all those enticing little morsels? Yum cha photo by Edwina Pickles for The Age

Whoever came up with that diet tip of “eat everything off a tea plate and you’ll eat so much less food” has obviously never been to yum cha. Or, for that matter, to afternoon tea...

But you can do away with the little plates entirely, and still have the same effect. And this is where little bites on a stick come in...

It could be baked Alaska...

Baked Alaska on a stick via Cupcakes and Cutlery

It could be cheese (it could always be cheese)...

Cheese (with crispy bacon) on a stick from The Kitchn

There are plenty of pops on sticks, but pop tarts? Homemade pop tarts? Yum...

Pop tarts on a stick from Family Kitchen

Just because it's a drink doesn't mean it can't go on a stick...

Hot chocolate on a stick from Giver's Log

Even salad's more fun on a stick!

Salad on a stick from parents.com

Almost everything acquires just a little more novelty when served on a stick! And that's before you get to things that are supposed to be served on a stick. Easter's not too far away, which means it's nearly the season for battered sausages and fairy floss (or, for the less gluttonous or adventurous, sweetcorn). Just as long as it's not a stormy petrel on a stick.

In Japan, there's a whole group of food-on-sticks in the form of dango. If yum cha is trouble, just imagine dumplings that come on a stick...

Dango via The Anime Blog

Closer to home, and a whole lot more appealing than a sausage on a stick, Primrose Bakeshop sells cupcakes on a stick at Paddington Markets. Get ready for a new sort of stick-y penguin!