What is dim sum?
Dim sum is a Cantonese style of meal made up of many small dishes, such as dumplings, buns and rolls, usually served in bamboo steamers and eaten with tea.
Dim sum comes from southern China, especially Guangdong province and Hong Kong. It is traditionally eaten for breakfast or lunch as part of yum cha, meaning drink tea. Families and friends gather at restaurants, often on weekends, and share many dishes at the table.
Popular dim sum includes har gow, shrimp dumplings with thin translucent wrappers, siu mai, open-topped pork and shrimp dumplings, char siu bao, fluffy buns filled with barbecued pork, cheung fun, rice noodle rolls, and egg tarts. Many dishes are steamed, while others are fried or baked.
The dining experience
In traditional restaurants, servers push carts loaded with steamers around the dining room, and diners choose what they want. Many restaurants now use order sheets instead. The bill is often calculated by counting the empty plates and baskets on the table.
Did You Know?
The phrase dim sum is often translated as touch the heart, suggesting small dishes meant to delight rather than fill you up.