The story begins with exposition of the difficult lives of the first generation of male Chinese-American immigrants who were not allowed to bring their wives and families with them into the United States due to the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Ben is the son of one these immigrants and has just finished serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.

However, the pressures on Ben render him impotent, and in her confusion over his seeming lack of interest, Mei Oi succumbs to the attentions of Ah Song.

Their affair creates complications for their own marriage and for the reputations of their fathers in the close-knit "bachelor society" of Chinatown.

Variety wrote "Wayne Wang returns to Chinatown with Eat a Bowl of Tea and recaptures the relaxed humor and deep emotions of his earlier Dim Sum in the process.