Dim Sum

“Touch the heart”

The phrase dim sum (點心) literally means “touch the heart” or “a little bit of heart” — referring to small, considered bites. The tradition emerged in Cantonese teahouses where travelers and merchants would stop for tea (yum cha, “drink tea”) and a few small dishes. Modern dim sum is best understood as the food side of yum cha: tea is the constant, the food rotates.

The cart system

Traditional dim sum restaurants serve from rolling carts that circulate the dining room, each carrying a few specific items. Diners flag down the cart they want, and the server stamps a card to track what’s been taken. Modern dim sum places increasingly use menus and made-to-order kitchens, especially in newer cities outside Hong Kong.

The classic lineup

Across hundreds of items, a few are nearly universal:

• Har gow — translucent shrimp dumplings.
• Siu mai (shumai) — open-topped pork-and-shrimp parcels.
• Char siu bao — fluffy buns filled with sweet barbecued pork.
• Cheung fun — wide steamed rice noodles rolled around shrimp or beef.
• Egg tarts — Portuguese-influenced custard tarts.
• Lotus leaf rice — sticky rice with chicken steamed in a lotus leaf.

Brunch-time only

Dim sum is overwhelmingly a morning to early-afternoon meal in Cantonese cities. Most dim sum kitchens close by mid-afternoon; evening service is rare and usually a watered-down version. The traditional rhythm pairs dim sum with weekend family gatherings, especially Sundays.