Hong Kong Dim Sum Dinners

Going for Hong Kong Dim Sum Dinners - or for breakfast or lunch - is a local institution. These little snacks, both savoury and sweet, arrive at your table in steaming bamboo baskets. Try rice-flour rolls, steamed pork dumplings, fried taro cakes, lotus paste buns or any of the numerous other choices on offer, and wash it all down with Chinese tea.

Dim sum is the name for a Chinese cuisine which involves a wide range of light dishes served alongside Chinese tea. It is usually served in the mornings until noon time at Chinese restaurants and at specialty dim sum eateries where typical dishes are available throughout the day.

Dim Sum dishes come in small portions and may include meat, seafood, and vegetables, as well as desserts and fruit. The items are usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate.

Yum cha or Tea Drinking

Yum cha (literally "tea drinking") is the term used to describe the dining session, especially in contemporary Cantonese. Chinese families in particular typically like to gather at Chinese restaurants for dim sum on occasions such as Mother’s Day or Chinese New Years.

In Hong Kong, and most cities and towns in Guangdong province, many Chinese restaurants start serving as early as five in the morning. It is a tradition for the elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercises, often enjoying the morning newspapers.

The drinking of tea is as important in Hong Kong Dim Sum Dinners as the food. A popular tea which is said to aid in digestion is bolay (pu erh), which is a strong, fermented tea. Chrysanthemum, oolong and green tea can be served as well.

It is customary to pour tea for others during dim sum before filling one's own cup. A custom unique to the Cantonese is to thank the person pouring the tea by tapping the bent index and middle fingers together on the table, which symbolises 'bowing' to them.

This is said to be analogous to the ritual of bowing to someone in appreciation. The origin of this gesture is described anecdotally: an unidentified Emperor went to yum cha with his friends, outside the palace; not wanting to attract attention to himself, the Emperor was disguised. While at yum cha, the Emperor poured his companion some tea, which was a great honour. The companion, not wanting to give away the Emperor's identity in public by bowing, instead tapped his index and middle finger on the table as sign of appreciation.

Given the number of times tea is poured in a meal, the tapping is a timesaver in loud restaurants or lively company, as an individual being served might be speaking to someone else or have food in their mouth.

Hong Kong Dim Sum Dinners Dishes

Traditional dim sum 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. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee porridge and other soups. Dessert dim sum is also available and many places offer the customary egg tart.

Western Market

Once a wet market, this handsome Edwardian building was converted in 1991 into a gentrified retail centre. Inside you'll find silk merchants, collectible boutiques, a Chinese dessert house, an art gallery and a smart dim sum restaurant which is also serves as a dance hall. It is open daily until 19:00. The 'Sheung Wan Fong' piazza nearby has compass tiles which point out locals centres of the dried seafood trade.

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