What Is Dim Sum And How Do You Navigate A Typical Menu?

Dim sum is an iconic part of southern China’s food culture. The name means “touch the heart,” which refers to the fact the meal typically consists of several small dishes.

Many different dim sum plates include an array of dumplings, buns, and rolls. These dishes include siu mai or shumai and soup dumplings called xiao long bao.

Meat is typically found in many dishes, such as beef spare ribs with black bean sauce. However, there are some sweet treats as well, like sesame balls.

Dim sum is traditionally seen as a brunch type of meal, but some restaurants serve it at other hours. Many restaurants also serve a refillable teapot for the table.

If you go to a dim sum restaurant, there are two possible ways you’ll order: selecting your dishes from a cart or using a card to mark what dishes you want to order.

Each of the carts usually has a small selection of the entire menu, so you may want to see what the others have to offer instead of choosing dishes from one place.