Why I LOVE Dim Sum (and You Should Too!)

What is Dim Sum?

Dim sum is a Chinese cuisine, taken from the teahouse culture in Hong Kong and Guangdong Province; in which consist of small plates of Chinese food paired with a hot cup of tea, and accompanied with family and friends.

This cuisine dates back to hundred years ago, when travelers and farmers would frequent local teahouses (cha lau) to rest and socialization, accompanied by a warm cup of tea. Today’s tradition of dim sum grew from those roots, from the teahouse serving snack size dishes with a patron’s tea. The first, early 20th century incarnations of dim sum dishes were larger, starchier dumplings intended for the blue-collar appetites of day laborers who needed a quick, hearty meal during the day.

My DIM SUM Experience

Growing up, my fondest memories of my childhood is having dim sum after church with a bunch of our family friends and their families. We would always have two separate tables, a kids table, and an adult table where all the parents would sit. Dim sum has always been a time I associated as a communal and collective experience, sharing good wholesome food and hot tea with family and friends.

Even as I got older, I fondly remember a lot of memories of going to dim sum with my family, mostly with my mom. The precious moments we have ordering our favourite dishes, “har gao” (shrimp dumplings), ngau paak yip (beef tripe), dja leung (fried donut noodle rolls), etc. I remember vividly my mom telling me, “when I grow old, just bring me to dim sum, and I will be happy.” #simplejoys (and Ma I will most definitely fulfill that promise)

Dim sum is literally translated in Chinese to mean “touch the heart” and the associated Cantonese phrase yum cha means “to drink tea.” Taken together, dim sum is a meal of small dishes served with tea comprised of a collection of savory and sweet tastes from a variety of steamed and fried buns, dumplings and rolls. Regardless of culture and cuisine, I believe we can all agree despite our differences, that in any culture food is always the thing that connects and unites our communities together. When you have people gathered, you find food, that is just a given. Food brings people together. In the same way, dim sum plays that roles for me even being away from home. The numerous times of having dim sum with friends, and extending the invitation to others into my culture has been a joy and shared experience that has made me feel closer to home and to my friends; in many ways it really warms and “touches my heart”.

Although, arguably the best dim sum restaurants are obviously still found in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Dim sum is so popular that it is now served around the world and the cuisine remains one of southern China’s most famous culinary exports. This is the thing I deeply appreciate about dim sum culture, is wherever I travel in the world, I can always find a bit of home. 

What are you waiting for? Let's go and eat some dim sum!

P.S. Here is a beginner's guide to the different dim sum dishes.