What is Dim Sum

THE 25 BEST DIM SUM DISHES LIST

+ The Ultimate Ordering Guide

The Ultimate Dim Sum

Guide
 Guangzhou, China
Date: August 9th, 2019 Author: Trevor James

I' m a dim sum addict. I dream of dim sum. So I'm

putting together this ultimate dim sum guide, listing
out exactly what it is, and listing out 25 must order
dim sum dishes too! Use this guide every time you
go for dim sum! It will help you order the best dishes
and have a truly local experience!

My aim is to help you order dim sum from the menu

like a pro, and to be able to enjoy the full range of
dim sum that most cantonese restaurants offer!
First, what is dim sum?

What is Dim Sum?

1. Dim Sum Translation

When I first tried dim sum, I was in love. But only
after a few years of eating dim sum in China I asked
myself, what does dim sum mean? Luckily, my wife
Ting is a verified dim sum expert, growing up in the
south of China in Guangzhou, the true home of dim
sum. So I asked her and found out it literally means
“to touch the heart”. Yes, dim sum is so delicious
that it will leave an impact on your heart and soul!
People also commonly associate it with “yum cha”,
to go “drink tea”.

So when you’re hanging out in Southern China, and

people say “let’s go drink tea”, it really means “let’s
go eat dim sum!”.

Traditionally eaten for breakfast or brunch, dim sum

has evolved into an all day affair in many Chinese
cities like Guangzhou. In my Guangzhou food guide,
we explore the famous Dim Dou Dak restaurant
where you can eat dim sum late into the night!

All of the classic dishes are here, Hargao shrimp

dumplings, siumai pork dumplings, chicken feet in black
bean sauce, and BBQ pork buns!

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

It’s really all about tea. Dim Sum is found
inside chalou 茶楼 teahouses. A place to spend time
with family and friends, sip tea, and enjoy delicious
food. Dim sum is also sometimes served from
pushcarts, allowing you to point and choose what
you want to eat, the easiest way!

Dim sum being pushed by cart at a chalou dim sum in

Guangzhou.

2. How to order Dim Sum

Ordering dim sum can be difficult if there is no
English menu. Lucky for you, most of the best dim
sum in the US has English menus. However, you’ll
still need to know what to order!

If you’re traveling to China, ordering off the dim sum

menu is a little more difficult. Usually you’ll get a
menu that looks like this:

If you’re traveling to China, ordering off the dim sum

menu is a little more difficult. Usually you’ll get a
menu that looks like this:

A typical dim sum menu at a local dim sum restaurant!

Seeing this, you might be too confused to order! But

with the help of this guide, you’ll be ordering in no
time. Scroll down for pictures and 25 must order
dim sum dishes.

Normally, you would write a number indicating your

order quantity (usually 1 is enough) at the bottom of
each dish listed vertically.

But that won’t help if you can’t read the menu!

Luckily, you can ask your server to help you while
showing her the photos from below. For your final
order, I recommend ordering 1-2 steamers per
person, with a minimum of 4 different steamers, so
if you’re a group of 4 people, ordering 6 different
steamers of dim sum should be more than enough.

FIRST, START WITH TEA.

Even before ordering, the first question that you’ll
be asked is what type of tea you would like to drink.
If you hear the word “Yum” (to drink), you should
respond with one of the teas below:

Common teas to order include:

1. Black tea 红茶 (Hung Cha – Hóngchá)

2. Pu’er tea 普洱茶 (Po Lei Cha – Pǔ’ěr
chá)
3. Chrysanthemum 菊花茶 (Gok Fa Cha
– Júhuā chá)
4. Jasmine 茉莉花茶 (Mot Lei Fa –
Mòlìhuā chá)
5. Oolong tea 乌⻰茶 (Wu Long Cha –
Wūlóngchá)

THE 25 BEST DIM

SUM DISHES LIST

1 HAR GOW – XIĀ JIǍO – 虾饺 –

SHRIMP DUMPLINGS
The KING of dim sum, the har gao, is the benchmark
of any dim sum restaurant in Southern China.
Stuffed plump with springy shrimp, pork fat, and
bamboo shoots, and wrapped with a delicate rice
flour wrapper, these are the ICONIC dish of any dim
sum meal. I order them every single time! You can
judge the quality of the restaurant simply by the
quality of their har gao. It should be juicy and
springy and full of juice yet the outside should be
dry and slightly sticky. I’m guilty of dipping them in
chili sauce, known as 辣椒酱 Làjiāo jiàng.

2 SIU MAI – SHĀOMAI – 烧卖 –

PORK DUMPLINGS
Another iconic dim sum dish and essential item for
any dim sum feast, the siu mai minced pork
dumplings are truly addictive and found in almost all
dim sum restaurants. Filled with minced pork,
bamboo shoots, water chestnut, and garnished with
crab roe or sometimes even caviar, these juicy
dumplings pop in your mouth with juice and you
won’t be able to stop eating! I’m also guilty of
dipping these in chili sauce.

3 FUNG ZAO – FÈNG ZHUǍ – 凤⽖

– BLACK BEAN SAUCE
CHICKEN FEET
Don’t be afraid! These are INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS!
You may be hesitant to order these, but trust me,
you have to give them at least one try! Entire
chicken feet are steamed in a savoury and slightly
sweet and spicy black bean sauce that is soaked
deep into the succulent skin, and taking small bites
of the fatty skin and the tendons inside is truly
satisfying.

4 CHAOZHOU FUN GUO –

CHÁOZHŌU FĚN GUǑ – 潮州粉
粿 – CHAOZHOU DUMPLINGS
Another famous dumpling to try is the Chaohou Fun
Guo, a plump and deliciously filled pouch of pork,
cilantro, peanuts, mushrooms, and celery. This huge
variety of flavours and textures is what makes the
fun guo unique! The contrast between the soft
dumpling skin and the crunchy and juicy fillings
make this another must order dish in dim sum!

5 NO MAI GAI – NUÒMǏ JĪ – 糯⽶

鸡 – STICKY RICE CHICKEN
LOTUS LEAF WRAP
The no mai gai is one of the most filling and
satisfying dishes to order at a dim sum restaurant.
Beautiful lotus leaves are wrapped around steamed
sticky rice filled with chicken, pork, and mushrooms,
with light seasonings. It’s heavy and very sticky and
so enjoyable! This is another mainstay of dim sum
and most dim sum restaurants will feature this item.

6 LO BAK GO – LUÓBO GĀO – 萝

⼘糕 – TURNIP CAKE
The lo bak go is a surprisingly delicious dim sum
dish, considering it’s mainly just radish and rice flour
batter. The real secret is the aroma from Chinese
ham mixed inside (tastes like bacon!) and the
sizzling slightly smoky aroma from the grill with a
slight crunch on the outside. While the lo bak gao
isn’t my absolute favourite, it’s surprisingly delicious
and I order it more often than not!

Similar dim sum:

1. Máhtàihgōu – ⻢蹄糕 – Matiga0 – Water
chestnut cake. More jelly like and sweet. Most
people either like this one or the turnip cake, so
it’s good to try both, although on different
occasions.

2. Wuhtàuhgōu – 芋頭糕 – Yutougao – Cantonese

taro cake. Less sweet than the above, and
quite starchy from the taro. Also very delicious!

7 XIAOLONGBAO – “XLB” – ⼩笼
包- STEAMED SOUP
DUMPLINGS
The world famous Xiaolongbao, famously at their
best in Shanghai are also offered in many dim sum
restaurants throughout Guangdong. The XLB are
stuffed PLUMP with pork and stock that is an
explosive risk to you and anyone around you. Be
careful. These are hot and explode upon impact.
Pick them up from the top and put them in your
spoon, then bite in gently to the side and slurp all
the juice out! You’ll be in heaven! After the hot
heavenly stock is out, you can bite in for the
finishing move and savour the flavour!

Variations:
1. Xiefen Xiaolongbao 蟹粉⼩笼包 – Xiaolongbao
dumplings with crab meat!

8 WODAN NIUROUFAN – 窝蛋⽜

⾁饭 – STEAMED RICE WITH
BEEF AND EGG
This is super famous in Southern China. Minced
beef loaded with light seasonings and cilantro is
served with a raw egg and steamed overtop of rice.
It’s super gooey and satisfying! In traditional dim
sum restaurants, this will be served in a metal bowl
and is often eaten as an entire meal if it’s a quick in
and out type place. Otherwise, it’s served as a
different variety cooked in claypots and known as
baozaifan, which is a world on it’s own of delicious
treasure cooked in a claypot over high flame!

9 CHEONG FUN – 肠粉 – RICE

NOODLE ROLLS
Cheong fun AKA rice noodle rolls are one of the best
foods to try. Rice flour water is splashed onto a hot
metal tray and steamed while adding on your
ingredients of choice like shrimp, bbq pork, bean
sprouts, or crunchy bean curd skin. Then it’s
covered in a light soy sauce and you pull it apart
with your chopsticks to It’s one of the most
satisfying foods to eat in China. I personally love the
shrimp cheong fun.

Variations:
1. Hā chéung 虾肠粉 Rice noodle rolls with
shrimp.

2. Ngàuyuhk chéung ⽜⾁肠粉 Rice noodle rolls

with beef.

3. Chāsīu chéung 叉烧肠粉 Rice noodle rolls with

char siu BBQ Pork.

4. Jaléung 炸兩 Rice noodle rolls with crispy fried

youtiao

10 SIN JUK GYUN – 鲜⽵卷 –

XIANSUNJUAN – STEAMED
STUFFED TOFU SKIN ROLLS
These are absolutely delicious! Tofu skin is wrapped
around chicken or pork, plump mushrooms, bamboo
shoots, radish, and taro. Sometimes shrimp are
added too. You can dip these beauties in oyster
sauce. They make a great addition to a full table of
dim sum.

11 CHA SIU BAO -叉烧包 – BBQ

PORK STUFFED BUNS
A true mainstay of cantonese cuisine, these plump
and slightly sweet BBQ pork buns are found in all
dim sum restaurants throughout Guangzhou and
throughout the general Guangdong province region
of China. You can’t go wrong with choosing these
BBQ pork buns on any yum cha outing. Good
chasiubao are super fluffy and stuffed plump with
bbq pork on the inside, and should be slightly sweet
and sticky. Delicious!

Variations:
1. Chashao canbao 叉烧残暴 – Unlike the
steamed fluffy char siu bao, these are more like
a regular baked golden white bun stuffed with
BBQ pork.

12 LÌHNYÙHNGBĀU – 莲蓉包 –
LIANRONGBAO – LOTUS SEED
BUN
Sweet lotus seed paste dim sum buns! There are so
many varieties of sweet dim sum to try, and the
lianrongbao are one of the best. You can order this
bun or the famous liushabao egg custard steamed
bun to round out your order with something sweet
to go with all your savoury dishes.

13 LÀUHSĀBĀAU – 流沙包 –
LIUSHABAO – MOLTEN EGG
CUSTARD BUNS
The liushabao is one of the iconic sweet dim sum
dishes to order in Guangzhou. It’s stuffed with
sweet and gooey salted egg yolk mixed with butter
and sugar, to become one of the gooiest and
delicious sweet buns you can order! It’s very
custardy and sweet and is a must order dim sum
dish to try at any chalou dim sum restaurant in
Guangzhou.