Dim sum means "little heart"
or "touching the heart" and refers to food which comes in small portions
on equally small plates. In a dim sum restaurant, an infinite variety of Chinese
hors d'oeuvres are available. Dim sum lunches are extremely popular with Hong
Kong's Chinese population today.
Here's
how it works. The various delicacies are stacked on trolleys, and the trolleys
are wheeled from table to table by females. If they are true to Chinese tradition,
these ladies will sing traditional verses of praise about the food as they push
the trolleys through the aisles. Visitors rarely understand what the trolley
ladies are chanting, but don't be shy. It is proper etiquette to lift the top
off a steaming bamboo canister to see what's inside. Invariably, when serving
a table of Westerners, the servers will take the tops off all the canisters
anyway.
A couple of pointers: Make a reservation for 12:30pm, and try to reach the
restaurant a few minutes early. Do not be afraid to question waiters who hover
around the trolley girls if you need something. Ask them for suggestions. Do
not ask the waiters to clear your table as the dishes and canisters stack up.
With a dim sum lunch, the dishes are usually left on the table until it's time
to tally the bill; the waiter merely counts the number of dishes served.
A sampling of dim sum treats follows:
Har gau: steamed shrimp dumpling
Shiu mai: steamed minced pork and shrimp dumpling
Cha siu cheung: steamed rice-flour roll with barbecued pork filling
Jar fun gwor: deep-fried rice-flour triangle filled with pork, shrimp
and bamboo shoots
Pai gwat: steamed spareribs with red pepper sauce
Ho yip fun: steamed fried rice in lotus leaf wrapping
Gai chuk: steamed chicken roll with bean curd wrapping
Ng lau jar wan tun: deep-fried dumpling with sweet and sour sauce (dessert)
Dun sun: crisp and sticky sweet cake topped with almonds (dessert)
Enjoy
a Di Sum in Hong Kong
Eating
with Chopsticks
Chinese
Religion
Mandarin
Cheat Sheet
