About Chinese Dim Sum

Many people have heard of the words Chinese Dim Sum, but do you know what it is? Dim sum is a Chinese word derived from Cantonese language which literally means "dot the heart". It is a meal usually eaten during breakfast, brunch or tea consists of a mix of an assortment of Chinese snacks and appetizers in small portions served in small steamer baskets or plates. Dim sum can be baked, deep-fried or steamed.

The classic dim sum meal usually consist of a variety of buns such as the cha siu bao (BBQ Pork Buns) or lotus bean paste buns, dumplings and rice noodle rolls or cheong fun. These dumplings and noodle rolls are stuffed with chicken, prawns, beef and pork. Two very popular dim sum dumplings are har gaw and siu mai. However, if you are vegetarian, you can get it with vegetarian stuffing too. Apart from that, you can also find various other dishes such as congee porridge, lotus-leaf wrapped sticky rice chicken feet or pork ribs in black bean sauce, steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, chow mein, soups and egg tarts.

Dim sum dining is also called "yam cha" in Cantonese which literally means "drinking tea". This is due to the fact that tea generally accompanies dim sum dishes. A couple of the most common teas that are served in a dim sum restaurant are oolong also called wu lung, Chrysanthemum, and green tea. One more tea which you may find which is normally known to help digestion is called pu-erh, which is a type of strong tea.

It is a Chinese custom to pour tea for other people before pouring your own cup of tea. The recipient can give his/her thanks to the person who pours the tea by tapping his/her index finger several times next to the cup if you are a single or using both the index and middle fingers if you're married. The tapping technique symbolizes bowing to them with thanks. It is done to save time in loud or lively dim sum houses as one might be chatting or eating when the server is serving their tea. To attract the waiter's attention, the gesture is to leave the lid off from the tea-pot.

It is a custom to get dim sum family style as they come in a small portion of 2 to 4 pieces in one plate. The ordering of family style dim sum allows all members who are eating the chance to get a variety of different food to taste. You may get a number of baskets for each kind of dim sum if one plate is not enough to go around.

In a dim sum restaurant, you can either order from a menu or in some restaurants, dim sum is offered by someone going around the restaurant in a trolley cart. The price of dim sum dishes may vary. There are those that calculate the total by the number and size or even at times by the color of the dishes that are left on the eaters table. There are also those that record the dishes served on a bill at the table. This is a neater method and prevents patrons from stealing or hiding the plates in an attempt to cheat. In some of these places, servers will use a unique stamp to make sure the numbers of sales made through him/her are recorded correctly.

The varieties of dim sum are endless. Some of my favorites are mango pudding, deep fried taro cake, fried beancurd rolls with shrimp, steamed scallop dumpling and stuffed eggplant. Make sure you try them!