Dim Sum

Dim sum (點心, literally 'touch the heart') is a Cantonese culinary institution in which dozens of small preparations — dumplings, buns, rice-noodle rolls, turnip cakes, taro puffs, custard tarts — are served in rapid succession alongside continuously replenished tea. The act of eating dim sum is inseparable from yum cha (飲茶, 'drink tea'), the broader social ritual of gathering at a teahouse, typically on weekend mornings or at midday. Historically, yum cha teahouses along the ancient Silk Road offered travellers small bites to accompany their tea; the practice crystallised into its modern form in Guangdong Province during the Qing dynasty. In traditional dim sum houses, bamboo steamers are stacked on trolleys pushed by servers who announce each dish as they circulate the dining room; diners signal their selections by lifting a lid or raising a hand. Contemporary restaurants often use paper order forms or tablet menus instead of trolleys, but the underlying aesthetic — abundance of variety, communal sharing, the rhythm of steamer lids clanging — remains intact. The canon of dim sum preparations is vast: har gow (shrimp dumplings with translucent wheat-starch wrappers), siu mai (open-topped pork-and-shrimp dumplings), char siu bao (barbecue pork buns, steamed or baked), cheung fun (silky rice-noodle rolls filled with shrimp, beef, or char siu), lo mai gai (glutinous rice with chicken steamed in lotus leaf), turnip cake (lo bak go), and egg tarts. The dimmer, saltier world of deep-fried dim sum — wu gok (taro dumplings), ham sui gok (fried glutinous rice crescents), spring rolls — balances the steamed repertoire. Quality benchmarks prized by connoisseurs include the sheerness and elasticity of the har gow skin, the juiciness of the siu mai filling, and the wobble of a freshly set egg tart custard.

“The restaurant doesn't take reservations for weekend dim sum, so regulars arrive before 9 a.m. to claim a large round table and settle in for a two-hour yum cha.”

• techniquesSteaming
• CuisineCantonese
• ConceptYum Cha

1. 1.The Food of China — E.N. Anderson
2. 2.Phoenix Claws and Jade Trees — Kian Lam Kho
3. 3.All Under Heaven — Carolyn Phillips
4. 4.The Dim Sum Field Guide — Carolyn Philips

Confidence: high