Dim Sum Explained: What to Order and How to Eat It

Dim Sum Explained: What to Order and How to Eat It

Dim sum is not a type of food — it’s a type of meal. The name means “touch the heart” (点心) in Cantonese, and the concept is simple: small plates of various dishes served with tea, shared among the table. Here’s how to do it right.

The Teahouse Tradition

Dim sum originated in the teahouses along the Silk Road in Guangdong province. Travelers would stop for tea, and enterprising teahouse owners started serving small snacks to go with it. The tradition of yum cha (饮茶, “drink tea”) — going to a teahouse for dim sum — is still a daily ritual in Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

The meal works like this: you sit at a table, choose your tea (oolong, jasmine, or pu’er are standard), and then select dishes from carts that come around or from a paper menu where you check off what you want. Each dish comes in a small steamer basket or plate, usually 3-4 pieces.

The Essentials

Har gow (虾饺): Shrimp dumplings with translucent wrapper. Look for thin skin with at least 7 pleats. The shrimp inside should be whole, not minced.

Siu mai (烧卖): Open-topped pork and shrimp dumplings. The texture should be firm but yielding — over-steamed siu mai falls apart.

Char siu bao (叉烧包): Barbecue pork buns. Steamed version has fluffy white dough; baked version is golden and slightly sweet.

Cheung fun (肠粉): Rice noodle rolls, usually filled with shrimp or beef, served with sweet soy sauce. The texture should be silky, almost slippery.

Fung zao (凤爪): Chicken feet — deeply flavored, sticky, and surprisingly meaty. Don’t knock them until you’ve tried them.

Har gow cheung (虾肠): Rice rolls with fried dough and shrimp inside — a hybrid dish that combines two textures. Increasingly popular in modern dim sum houses.

How to Order

For two people: 4-5 dishes is enough. For four: 8-10 dishes. Stagger your order — start with steamed items, then fried, then desserts. Don’t order everything at once; dim sum is meant to arrive in waves. The tea should be refreshed throughout.

If you’re using a paper menu, mark the number of baskets you want next to each item (1 = one basket, usually 3-4 pieces). Don’t mark 1 next to everything unless you’re feeding a crowd.

Etiquette Tips

Pour tea for others before filling your own cup. When someone pours for you, tap two fingers on the table — it’s the dim sum thank you. If the teapot is empty, leave the lid slightly ajar to signal the server for a refill. Use the chopsticks provided — some places have serving chopsticks for shared dishes. And the most important rule: don’t send food back. If you don’t like something, just leave it.