This weekend my Chinese host invited me for dim sum, my favourite Chinese cuisine. I love the variety of steamed dishes served alongside cups of tea. I consider dim sum the Chinese version of Spanish tapas… eating enough to quantify a full meal! I remember my first experience visiting a dim sum restaurant over 20 years ago with my Uncle during a trip to New York. I wasn’t too impressed with the old fashioned restaurant when I first walked in but I was very quickly won over when the trolleys started passing by my table with an abundance of delicious treats!
What Is Dim Sum?
In the Chinese language dim sum means ‘touch the heart’ and it certainly does! A variety of small, bite-sized foods are served typically from carts that pass around the restaurant from which you can serve yourself. There are so many mouthwatering dishes to choose from! My two favourites are Shāo mài, a steamed dumpling filled with pork and shrimp and Xiā jiăo, steamed shrimp dumplings (as you can guess I love shrimp). The dim sum are always served with tea ‘yum cha’, typically black tea as it aids the stomach to remove any greasy from the dim sums, hence aiding digestion. Yum cha translates to drinking tea so when dim sum is mentioned so is yum cha! I love dim sum and I love tea so it’s a perfect combination for me!
When you arrive in a traditional restaurant, the waiter will give you a card and take a note of how many guests are at the table. After selecting your tea the waiters will pass by with carts of dim sum for you to choose from. You can select as many dishes as you desire each time they pass by until you have finished. The waiter will note on your card what items you have selected so you can pay accordingly at the end. In some restaurants there are no carts and you will be given a menu card to select from. You tick the boxes and give the card back to the server. The food will then be brought to your table one or two items at a time.
Here are a few tips to enjoy dim sum like a local, no matter where you are. After all it’s always nice to follow the original traditions if you can!
Table Setting:
Chopsticks - always used for eating
Plate - for discards and any larger items too big for the bowl
Bowl - for soup, noodles, rice and placing dim sum
Spoon - for soup and placing dim sum
Napkin - for dabbing ones mouth
1. Don’t forget your chopstick etiquette. Although dim sum is for sharing you should always use serving chopsticks or the top ends of your own when serving yourself. To indicate to staff that you are finished, place your chopsticks to the right side of your plate or on the chopstick rests to the right. Remember correct chopstick etiquette dictates that you should never stand them upright at any point while dining.
2. Don’t eat the dim sum directly from the communal dish or steamer, transfer the dim sum to your own bowl or plate first. The communal dish is for transferring only.
3. Take small bites of each piece rather than eating them whole. This allows them to cool down and you can enjoy the flavours more. You can use the soup spoon in one hand to hold pieces of meat or bone and eat them from the spoon with your chopsticks. Any discards such as bones should be removed with chopsticks and placed back on your own plate.
4. Don’t ever take the last piece… offer to the other guests. This is just polite behaviour in any dining situation.
5. Thank your server by tapping your index finger and middle finger on the table twice… it represents a bow. Traditionally you should do this whenever someone serves you tea.
6. Serve others tea before you serve yourself (always the oldest person first then in order of age if at all possible) as this is considered highly respectful in Chinese culture. If you would like more tea, remove the teapot lid or turn it over and the server will know this silent signal to top up the water.
7. Don’t feel offended if your Chinese host uses a toothpick at the table. This is normal and not considered rude, so feel free to do the same. Just cover your mouth with your other hand.
8. If you are have a Chinese host remember not to finishing everything on your plate! Otherwise they will keep serving you more… and more… and more!
Chī hǎo hē hǎo! - Enjoy your meal!
Julia Esteve Boyd
The Etiquette Consultant