There are so many things to look forward to when traveling to new places. You can be excited with the new shopping finds that will fill up those suitcases, be wide-eyed with all the new sights that you will get to see, or be short of breath with new thrilling adventures. For me, aside from these amazing things, I look forward to sampling the local food and enjoy a satisfying gastronomic roller coaster ride.

No trip to Hong Kong would be complete without having dim sum. Dim sum features bite-sized morsels of meat, seafood and vegetables wrapped in a think coasting of pastry or dough and then either steamed, braised, fried, or broiled. Dim sum, which is uniquely Cantonese, dates back to the 10^th century and it literally means “to touch the heart.”Its meaning has a sentimental story behind it. It has been a part of the Chinese tradition for housewives to serve small, steamed dumplings to their husbands or even house guests for breakfast. The preparation of these dumplings takes time. It is also done with great care and love and this is the reason why the word dumpling or dim sum is translated as “from the heart.” But these days, dim sum is translated as “light snacks.”

Personally, dim sum for me is filling and quite satisfying. One of the things that I look forward to whenever I am in Hong Kong is having dim sum lunch because it is a different experience in itself. During weekends or holidays, you will find restaurants having extra long queues waiting for tables and your dim sum experience starts with standing in line and waiting to be seated. Some locals who would like to avoid waiting in line prefer to have their dim sum lunches during odd hours or in between main meal periods. Still, one must remember that the dim sum selections during these odd times are not as complete anymore given that cooks are resting during this time and only the bestsellers are produced in bigger quantities for the customers.

I actually don’t mind braving the dim sum “battle” during lunch hours. I just make it a point to have fast eyes whenever I enter a dim sum restaurant so that I can grab a vacant table. In many traditional Cantonese restaurants around the Hong Kong territory, waiters wheel around trolleys laden with the bamboo baskets in which dim sum are steamed. Remember that you should not be shy when it comes to summoning these waiters as they wheel their trolleys around the restaurant. It is a common practice to summon them and you will notice that everybody else will be doing the same anyway. When the waiters reach your table, they will start calling out their wares or you can simply ask them what dim sum goodies are being offered in the steaming bamboo baskets. No need to worry if you cannot speak Cantonese. You can simply lift the covers of the baskets to choose which dim sum items you would like to try. Other restaurants also prepare menus with pictures of the different dim sum selections that they offer with their respective Chinese and English names. All you have to do is point out your choices to the waiter.

Another thing that we should also remember is that dim sum is an important part of the yum cha or “drink tea” meals where tea is taken throughout the meal. Tea, the essence of a yum cha gathering, is traditionally taken with dim sum. You can take jasmine tea, which is the more popular to visitors, or the strong bo lay which is the type of tea that the Chinese prefer to drink. If you ask the locals in Hong Kong, they will claim that Bo-lay Cha is absolutely the best tea that you must have during yum cha. So have your dim sum lunch the traditional way and enjoy dim sum with your preferred choice of tea. If you run out of tea, there is a no-sweat way for asking the waiter to refill your tea pot. All you have to do is lift the lid of the teapot and let it hang loose by the cord that is used to tie the lid to the pot. The waiter will immediately take this as a sign that you as requesting for a refill.

Currently, there are already over 2, 000 dim sum varieties that have been concocted by the Cantonese. Restaurants in Hong Kong who specialize in dim sum prepare up to 100 kinds just in one day. This simply means that you can get to try a wide variety of those tea time snacks so it is quite possible not to eat the same kind of dim sum during your regular trips to Hong Kong. But I personally have my own favourites which I don’t mind ordering again and again whenever I have those delectable dim sum meals. I always order har gau/hakau or shrimp dumplings, siu mai or steamed pork dumpling, so fan gwo or steamed vegetarian dumpling, char siu bau or steamed barbecued pork bun, etc.

If you are interested to know more about the different kinds of dim sum and learn the Chinese/English names of your favourite kinds, you can visit  Discover Hong Kong to check out their very helpful Dim Sum Guide. All you have to do is print out copies of your dim sum guide and bring a printed copy with you so that you have something to show the waiter when you are craving for dim sum. Having this guide with you would mean you spend less time ordering and more time to savor your dim sum.

For sure, your dim sum experience in Hong Kong – with all the rush for vacant seats, the loud chattering of dining customers, and the clattering of those dim sum trolleys — would be memorable to anyone. The experience would be the perfect introduction to how much Hong Kong loves great food coupled with cheerful conversations.

Posted in Food, Hong Kong

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 6:54 pm and is filed under Food, Hong Kong. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.