

But that is not the case with Cantonese dim sum, which has developed into a separate branch of cuisine. In fact, the cookbooks of most Chinese food cultures tend to lump their own variations on the dim sum theme with other local snacks. There are over one thousand dim sum dishes originating from Guangdong province alone, a total that no other area in China comes even close to matching. Cantonese dim sum has a very broad range of flavors, textures, cooking styles and ingredients, and can be classified into regular items, seasonal offerings, weekly specials, banquet dishes, holiday dishes, house signature dishes, travel-friendly, as well as breakfast or lunch foods and late night snacks. As dim sum continued to develop, chefs introduced influences and traditions from other regions of China. Cantonese dim sum was based originally on local foods. Cantonese dim sum culture developed rapidly during the latter half of the nineteenth century in Guangzhou. The practice of having tea with dim sum eventually evolved into the modern yum cha (brunch). Teahouse owners gradually added various snacks called "dim sum" to their offerings. The second is dim sum ( 點心) and translates literally to "touching heart", the term used to designate the small food items that accompanied the tea drinking. This refers to the custom of serving teahouse customers two pieces of delicately made food items, savory or sweet, to complement their tea. The first is " yat jung leung gin" ( 一盅兩件), which translates literally as "one cup, two pieces". In the tenth century, when the city of Guangzhou (Canton) began to experience an increase in commercial travel, many frequented teahouses for small-portion meals with tea called yum cha, or "drink tea" meals.


Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuisines. Those are my favorite.Dim sum ( traditional Chinese: 點心 simplified Chinese: 点心 pinyin: diǎnxīn Cantonese Yale: dím sām) is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. I always have to have the shrimp dumplings. It is really a fun way to dine because you actually get to see and smell the food directly in front of you.Ī dim sum lunch is incredibly filling. The steamed dim sum comes in rolling carts and you just point to what you want and they add it to your check. I love dim sum cooking, but there is only one dim sum restaurant in Miami called Tropical Chinese restaurant. The place is small but it boasts the best seafood dim sum around. There is a great restaurant in New York City called Ping’s Seafood off of Mott’s street that opens for business from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm which are the traditional dim sum brunch hours. They served the most delicious food and they were cheap too. There was a great dim sum restaurant in Boston called Gitlo’s dim sum bakery but unfortunately it is no longer in business. You know in the third century a doctor claimed that mixing tea and dim sum together would lead to excessive weight gain.Ĭhinese restaurants now offer tea because it has been found to assist in digestion of the dim sum. SurfNturf-I love dim sum restaurants too. I love a dim sum lunch but I don't go too often because it is fattening. I love the beef balls, the Char Siu which are the roast pork buns and the rice noodle rolls. Suntan12-I always try to order from the dim sum menu. And if you really like the person you can always hang out afterward and drink tea. Tasty, fun and you don't have to wait for food. Dim Sum is an awesome lunch date activity.
