Decoding Dim Sum

You enter the restaurant, and you find yourself at the back of a hoard of hungry people, in what seems like a loosely organized line. This is disheartening. However, you soon realize that the pack is diminishing very quickly, and soon it will be your turn to enjoy this delicious occasion. Once the tantalizing dumplings, buns, pastries, and desserts are in sight and smell, the small wait fades into a distant memory. For people who did not grow up fighting over the last har gow with a table full of extended family, dim sum can be intimidating. How do you order? What do you order? How does this all work? When it comes to dim sum, the more the merrier. That applies to both people and dishes. This is a hectic meal that you eat bite-by-bite between slurps of hot tea and gossip, chopsticks ready for the moment the food lands on the table. Penn Appétit has created a guide to help you navigate the massive yet bite-sized ordeal of Cantonese dim sum.

ORDERING

After sitting down at your table, you wait patiently for your menu, until you realize that your waiter is too busy and may have forgotten about you. Don’t worry. They will come to you eventually and plop a flimsy sheet of paper on your table. Not quite the menu you expected, huh? Before you order any food, order tea. Experiment with varieties — pu erh (an earthy black tea), chrysanthemum (a light and sweet herbal tea), oolong (a classy Chinese tea), and long jing (a fresh and grassy green tea) — and find your favorite! The Cantonese brunch tradition of tea and dim sum is referred to as Yum Cha, which literally translates to “drinking tea. If you’re undecided, the waiter might be able to help you out and bring an anonymous tea of their choice for you— it happens. So you have it here: Yum Cha is the meal, dim sum is the food you eat with the tea at the meal. There are two general ways to order dim sum, which depends entirely on the restaurant. The first is the traditional cart method. This is easy. Workers roll out carts of steaming hot dim sum, you pick out the heavenly bites of your choice, and the waiter/waitress stamps your dim sum card. Don’t lose this — it’s your final bill. The second method is the made-toorder approach. This can be slightly more difficult. You are given the dim sum card with the names of the dim sum, and you mark which items you want. Note: there are no pictures... This is why Penn Appétit came up with this easy guide for you! Below is a breakdown of most of the amazing choices you will find in dim sum. Since each dim sum is unique, the sections are organized in descending order of approachability and accessibility. Old timers of dim sum, you probably already have a list like this in your head.

FIRST TIME ORDERS

Dishes anyone with or without dim sum experience will surely love.

Har gow: a shrimp dumpling encased in a beautiful translucent and chewy skin, which has more bite to it than your average dumpling skin.

Char siu bao or char siu pastry: char siu is a delicious Cantonese barbecued pork that comes in a beautifully soft bun or buttery flaky pastry.

Cheung fun: beef, shrimp, or char siu pork wrapped in a rice noodle casing, doused in delicious soy sauce Bonus: get the zha liang, a type of cheung fun with fried doll in the middle for extra textural variation!

Shu mai: a pork and shrimp dumpling presented with an open top where you can peer into the filling. Can’t go wrong with this one!

Soup dumplings: despite being a Shanghainese specialty, most Cantonese dim sum restaurants will feature these pork dumplings filled with juicy pork filling and rich broth in every bite.

BACK & READY TO TRY SOMETHING NEW

Your relationship with dim sum is starting to get serious, and you’re willing to experiment.

Lo bak gao/ pan fried turnip cake: Unlike the other meatier options, this dish is based around a root vegetable. It is crispy on the inside, creamy and soft on the inside, with delightful pieces of cured ham sprinkled throughout.

Steamed ribs: the best pork has to offer. Umami, juicy, and tender bone-in pork spare rib.

Steamed rice with chicken in lotus leaf/ lo mai gai: Unwrapping this dish feels like unboxing a present. The lotus leaf wrap imparts a fresh and aromatic infusion onto the chicken and sticky rice.

Fried taro dumpling: these multilayered dumplings have a crispy outer crust, soft taro fillings, and then juicy and flavorful bites of pork at the center.

Pork and thousand year egg congee: a light and soupy rice dish that will fill you with warm fuzziness. The pork and marinated egg impart a savory and umami flavor to every spoonful of congee.

FOR THE MORE ADVENTUROUS OR EXPERIENCED

If you are ready to dine without inhibition, order these.

Chicken feet: a personal favorite. The meat is so wonderfully marinated and flavorful, every bite is so tender the bones practically fall out themselves.

Fried glutinous rice dumplings with pork/ ham sui gok: a special “dumpling”. The wrapper is fried mochi, and the filling is savory juicy pork. You’ll get it when you try it.

Beef tripe: Steamed tripe with ginger and scallions. A clean and simple flavor accompanied by a chewy texture.

Durian puffs: So yes, durian is notorious for its smell. But what most non-durian lovers don’t tell you is that the fruit is sweet and creamy. Liken this to a puff pastry with custard, but better.

SWEET DISHES

People typically don’t save them for the end of the meal. You see it, you order it, and you eat as they arrive on your table.

Egg tart/ dan tat: this is the classic egg custard in a puff pastry shell.

Lava custard bun: a soft white bun filled with an oozy lava like egg custard. Be careful, the contents are hot and delicious!

Sesame balls/ jian dui: If you enjoy mochi, you will love this fried ball of mochi, covered in sesame seeds and filled with red bean paste.

Pineapple buns: warm baked buns topped with a sugar topping that resembles the pattern of a pineapple, hence its name (no actual pineapple flavor). They are sometimes filled with custard, sometimes butter, sometimes nothing; but they are always good.