The Dim Sum Experience

Dim Sum literally means point (dim) to the heart (sum), or "touch the heart," and after eating these tasty tidbits, you'll agree that it's an appropriate name! Dim sum teahouses first appeared in Guangzhou, where I was born. There, you can find crowds of people dim sum-ing at all hours. Today, throughout China, family, friends, and business associates often gather in restaurants and teahouses to eat dim sum as a light breakfast, snack, or lunch. This original "small plate" cuisine is so delectable that it is also fast becoming an addictive habit in North America as well as other parts of the world.

To truly experience a dim sum feast, go with someone familiar with the wide selection of meat, seafood or vegetable morsels, savory dumplings, steamed breads and sweet-filled pastries. In China, some restaurants and teahouses serve over 150 varieties! And just as many, or more, flavors of tea are offered alongside. Menus aren't always available: to order, simply get the attention of servers as they circulate the dining area with food carts. You'll find each cart stacked high with tiny steamers, hot food bins and pastry trays holding an array of freshly created treats. Just point to a dish that appeals to you and it's yours. Choose as many dishes as you wish, but be careful not to order too many similar items. Dozens of new delicacies are guaranteed to emerge hot from the kitchen and surely you will want to try a dish from each passing cart. At the end of the meal, your bill is calculated by the number of empty dishes on the table or by the number of stamps on your bill.

The creation of dim sum is an art that requires patience, practice and skill. Though innovative chefs constantly invent new types of dim sum, traditional recipes must first be mastered. Besides the variety of homey treats like stuffed peppers, spare ribs, spicy meatballs and deep fried prawns, or exotic ones like bean curd sheets or seaweed rolls, dumplings feature prominently in dim sum menus. Hand-made dough of rice or wheat flour is rolled into flat pancakes, then topped with a savory combination of spices, herbs, seafood, meat or vegetables, or with dessert fillings like fruits, custard or sweet bean paste. After carefully folding and pleating the filled pancakes shut, the chef shapes them into balls, half-moon crescents, or baskets. Finally, steaming, braising, deep-frying, or baking transforms these stuffed dumplings into mouth-watering morsels that burst with flavor at each bite.

So try some Dim Sum ... let your heart be touched!

Appetizers
Steamed Siu Mai
Steamed BBQ Pork Buns

Soup
Quick and Easy Wonton Soup

Entrees
Chinese Rice "Tamales"
Taro Dumplings

Dessert
Sweet and Crispy Rice Dumplings

Bamboo Shoots

Dried Black Mushrooms

Dumpling Tips