Going out for dim sum is a staple of Chinese dining culture, especially in Hong Kong. Fortunately, this spring semester I have taken advantage of the staple spending countless hours catching up with friends over this meal. For those of you unfamiliar with the food, dim sumis a type of Chinese dish consisting of small food portions typically served in a small wooden basket or plate.
A Little History
Another phrase for going for dim sum in Chinese is yum cha which literally means “drinking tea.” The concept of dim sum originated when travelers on the Silk Road would go to teahouses for an afternoon tea as well as a place to rest. As people began to eat small dishes or snacks with their tea, dim sum became associated with going for tea. Today, you can still find dim sum being served at tea houses here in Hong Kong.
For many living in southern China and Hong Kong, going out for dim sum in the morning to early afternoon is a weekend family tradition; some restaurants even start serving dim sum as early as five in the morning! Read more about Hong Kong’s dim sum restaurants here.
Don’t worry — although most restaurants here in Hong Kong only serve dim sum until the mid-afternoon, you can find restaurants in the States serving dim sum dishes around the clock (like this one).
Fun fact: The combination of tea and food was once considered to be inappropriate, because people thought it would lead to excessive weight gain.
A Few Types
Dim sum consists of various types of steamed or fried buns containing ingredients such as beef, chicken and pork. (There are also some vegetarian options!) Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee porridge and other soups to accompany the dishes. The serving sizes are small, usually with three or four servings per dish.
Most importantly, it is customary to order dim sum for the entire table, not for each individual. Thus, not only does this let everyone at the table try a wide variety of food, but this sharing of the dishes adds a unique and fun social element to the dining experience! Most dim sum restaurants offer an order form (similar to those in Sushi restaurants) where the table can mark off which dim sum dishes they would like to order.
Fun fact:For all of the sweet-toothed readers out there (guilty), various types of sweet dim sum such as mango pudding, egg tarts and sweet steamed buns with egg and/or milk custard filling will keep you wanting more!
Here are a few of my favorite dim sum dishes, but you can find other popular types, such as Jiaozior potstickers, here:
1. Char Siu Bao
2. Siu Mai
3. Xiao Long Bao
What do you think? Have you tried dim sum yet? Indyweek.com once noted a couple of restaurants in Durham and Cary as having the best dim sum in the Triangle area. Also, there’s a restaurant in Morrisville serving dim sum all day. Hmm, mini-road trip anyone?
Sources:
Dim Sum #1 (photo): Chinayuanrestaurant.com, http://chinayuanrestaurant.com/dim-sum
Dim Sum #2 (photo): Nytimes.com, http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/ordering-dim-sum-in-hong-kong-a-primer-for-talking-the-talk/
Dim Sum #3 (photo): Blogspot.com, http://secretmisspiggy.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html