But those meals were, for the most part, at old-fashioned restaurants that featured servers wheeling around carts with a variety of small plates for the choosing.
During that time, we ate our share of dim sum. I settled on one of them – Dim Sum Mania – for our dinner spot.īefore moving to the suburbs, we lived in Philadelphia’s Chinatown for eight years. There are two dim sum-themed Chinese restaurants across the street from Trader Joe’s. While that selection includes a couple pretty good cheesesteak shops that I’ve already written about, I wanted something different and also figured I’d give my wife a break. It’s got a nice little downtown with a pretty good selection of restaurants that we’ve been sampling since moving from the city to Delco a decade ago. Media is the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. I never need to be asked something like that a second time. (T.Tseng/Flickr)Įgg tart (dan tat, dan ta)- These are sweet, rich, custard-filled flaky pastry tartlets that originate from Macau.My wife said the magic words to me Sunday: “Would you like to go to Trader Joe’s tonight? You can pick a place for us to have dinner near there.” Rice noodle rolls (cheong fun, changfen)- These are large, thin, usually handmade steamed rice noodles rolled around a tender shrimp or meat center or a crispy non-meat filling, like fried dough. (Kate Hopkins/Flickr)Ĭhicken feet (tau zi fung zao, chizhi feng zhao)- These are whole chicken feet, with the claws removed, that have been deep-fried and then braised in a rich, slightly sweet fermented black bean sauce until tender and then served on a plate. (Ted Murphy/Flickr)īBQ pork buns (charsiu bao, chashao bao)- These are fluffy, bready white buns stuffed with sticky and sweet barbecue seasoned pork and served in a bamboo steamer. Though these are originally from Shanghai, their national popularity has secured their status as a dim sum staple. Soup dumplings (xiaolong bao) - Commonly referred to as ‘soup dumplings,’ these delicate items are filled with hot broth and pork and are served in a bamboo steamer. Shrimp dumpling (har gow, xia jiao)- One of the most popular dishes at dim sum, these are chunks of shrimp encased in a thin translucent dumpling wrapper and served in a bamboo steamer. Shumai (siu mai, shao mai)-These are thin, round wrappers in a cup shape and hold a filling - usually of pork, shrimp, or a combination of the two - and often a small amount of vegetables like bamboo shoots, black mushrooms, and water chestnuts. Here’s a list of some of the most popular dishes to get you started: Guests simply check off the dishes they want and wave the card in the air before handing it off to your server.ĭim sum dishes include an assortment of seafood, meat, and vegetable dishes that are prepared in various ways: steamed, fried, or baked. Nowadays, most modern dim sum restaurants rely on check-list like menu cards instead.
Waiters will unload your choices from their cart and mark your table’s menu card with what you’ve ordered. From your table, flag down the cart with the food you want as it goes by. Push carts roll out of kitchens filled with stacks of dumpling steamers and plates of fried food and weave through customer tables. Ordering a meal at traditional dim sum restaurants is a fun and unique experience - and requires a good eye. This is a common signal to waiters that you need a refill. Pot running low on water? Take the lid off and rest it on top or on the side of the teapot.
If you want to follow traditional etiquette, the person closest to the teapot should pour tea for guests first before pouring his or her own cup. How do you order dim sum? First, pick a tea, as it will be a central part of the meal - dim sum did originate in tea houses after all. But by and large, the culinary form remains the same as ever. Nowadays, dim sum can include dishes and traditions adopted from other parts of China. As they continued to travel, the practice continued to spread and gained popularity throughout the region, especially in Hong Kong. Silk Road travelers and traders would take breaks in tea houses for a dim sum meal. According to food magazine Lucky Peach, Cantonese dim sum culture began in tearooms in the latter half of the 19th century in the port city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, after opium dens were banned throughout the country. Nowadays, dim sum is eaten all over China and the world, but the dishes are believed to have originated in the southern China’s Guangdong region before eventually making their way to Hong Kong. Typically dim sum is consumed during brunch hours - late morning to lunchtime. Similar to the way that the Spanish eat tapas, the dishes are shared among family and friends. Dim sum is a traditional Chinese meal made up of small plates of dumplings and other snack dishes and is usually accompanied by tea.
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