Jiaozi (pot stickers) (鍋貼, gwoh tip / guo tie): Northern Chinese style of dumpling (steamed and then pan-fried jiaozi), usually with meat and cabbage filling. It is usually served with a small dish of chili oil. Har gow (shrimp dumplings) (蝦餃 ha1 gaau2): A delicate steamed dumpling with whole or chopped-up shrimp filling and thin wheat starch skin.Ĭhiu-chao style dumplings (潮州粉果 chiu-chau fan guo): A dumpling said to have originated from the Chaozhou prefecture of eastern Guangdong province, it contains peanuts, garlic, chives, pork, dried shrimp, Chinese mushrooms in a thick dumpling wrapper made from glutinous rice flour or Tang flour. Among the standard fare of dim sum are the following: Because of the small portions, people can try a wide variety of food.ĭim sum brunch restaurants have a wide variety of dishes, usually several dozen. It is customary to order family style, sharing dishes among all members of the dining party. The serving sizes are usually small and normally served as three or four pieces in one dish. Dessert dim sum is also available and many places offer the customary egg tart.ĭim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee porridge and other soups. While dim sum (literally meaning: touch the heart) was originally not a main meal, only a snack, and therefore only meant to touch the heart, it is now a staple of Chinese dining culture, especially in Hong Kong.Ī traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns such as cha siu baau, dumplings and rice noodle rolls (cheong fun), which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. However, in modern society it has become common place for restaurants to serve dim sum at dinner time, various dim sum items are even sold as take-out for students and office workers on the go.

More traditional dim sum restaurants typically serve dim sum until mid-afternoon. For many in southern China, yum cha is treated as a weekend family day. It is a tradition for the elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercises. In Hong Kong, and in most cities and towns in Guangdong province, many restaurants start serving dim sum as early as five in the morning. The unique culinary art of dim sum originated with the Cantonese in southern China, who over the centuries transformed yum cha from a relaxing respite to a loud and happy dining experience.

Dim sum traditional