For those of you that are unfamiliar with Dim Sum, it's similar to Tapas where you order a bunch of small dishes of food as a meal. Except, when you go to a Dim Sum restaurant, there are actually people pushing cart-full of different foods around and they come by your table and ask if you're interested in any of what they have. If you are, you order it and they mark it on your tab.
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Well, it's perfectly good times if you're one of those people that want to know what something looks like before you order it, or if you're picky, because you can see and pick out exactly what you want and then eat it immediately!
Also, don't forget to order some tea. After all, the tea part of it is actually a main part of Dim Sum. In mandarin, for example we call Dim Sum "飲茶" which literally translates to "Drinking Tea".
Here are some classic dim sum dishes:
Shumai (aka Siu Mai) 燒賣
Open faced dumplings often filled with pork and/or shrimp. This one is my favorite! So tasty. It is steamed.
Har Gow 蝦餃
Shrimp dumplings steamed in a flour wrapper so it is translucent. They're cute and delicious!
Xiao Long Bao 小籠包
Xiao Long Bao is also known as soup dumplings! They're soup dumplings with meat and broth inside.
Char Siu Bao 叉燒包
Char Siu Bao is also known as BBQ Pork Buns. They are buns filled with sweet BBQ pork. The inside can be super red or brown.
Cheung Fun 腸粉
Rice noodle rolls filled with beef, pork, shrimp, etc. My favorite is with shrimp!
Shrimp Rice Noodle Rolls Recipe
Lo Mai Gai 糯米雞
Sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves - usually with chicken and mushrooms inside They remind me of zongzi!
Turnip Cake 蘿蔔糕
This has several names because of linguistics / translations issues. In Chinese it's called Luo Bo Gao (蘿蔔糕) and Luo Bo is what we call Daikon Radish. They're savory 'cakes' made primarily from grated daikon radish. This is also one of my faorites!
Congee
Rice porridge usually served with century eggs and more toppings. This one feels like a traditional Chinese breakfast to me, and I like it sometimes when my tummy is upset.
Chinese Congee with Pork and Century Egg
So, have you been to Dim Sum? And what are your favorite dishes? Maybe Shumai? Maybe Radish cakes? Meatballs? Maybe even the chicken feet?? Dim sum YUMMY dishes! 😀
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The Mouse says
Thanks for the shoutout.
sunstreakedworld says
xiajiao of course 🙂
egg tarts, of course, are good too.
Tina says
Oh I forgot all about egg tarts! You mean these right: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6l-bHpd5tk/Tblsdf-TcaI/AAAAAAAAAO8/Dd3WeOzqEus/s1600/egg-tarts.jpg ? LOVE them!
sunstreakedworld says
Yes! They're so good!
Carine says
Wow everything looks so good!
I'm hungry now 🙂
Tina says
I know me too! I'm on East Cost time so it is about lunch time too! Too bad there's no dim sum places around my workplace :/
Carine says
Must
Refrain
To look
For noms
Now...
🙂
Carine says
refrain FROM looking
Okay, lunch time 😉
kme141 says
While there are a lot of things about living in NYC that irk me, the food by far compensates for the crowds, the grit, and the anonymity of city living. Thanks for sharing this post! You have inspired me to grab a group of friends and wend my way to Chinatown for a Dim Sum date. One of my best Dim Sum partners doesn't eat beef, so we usually have a variety of pork and shrimp dishes. However, my all time favorite has got to be the sesame and sweet red bean buns that we get for dessert!
Tina says
You know, I've never been to NYC before, but I know that when I do get the chance I will definitely be eating 99% of the time! Have fun at Dim Sum! There are plenty of non-beef dishes so you guys should be fine. Not sure if I'm thinking of the same thing when you said sesame and sweet red bean buns, but if you meant http://foodfrenzy.ocregister.com/files/2008/07/sesame-ball.jpg then YES, I love those too!
kme141 says
Those are exactly what I was talking about! 😉
Carine says
May I bother you for suggestions of Dim Sum places in NYC?
Thanks in advance 🙂
kme141 says
Grand Harmony Palace on Mott Street is really good. 😉
Carine says
Thank you!
Christina @ Salt Pepper Brilliant says
Looks delicious! I'm a Shumai girl all the way, haha. Stop by and say hi 🙂
Tina says
I am a fan of Shumai too! It's just not Dim Sum without it! 🙂
Christina @ Salt Pepper Brilliant says
I agree 😀