The Brunch at Tai Thong Imperial City Restaurant

In this particular entry of my blog, I shall be talking about food again. This time around, it is about dim sum. My family and I, the four of us - minus my brother who is still undergoing his internship at Dongseo University, Korea - had this wonderful brunch at Tai Thong Restaurant on 24th June 2006. The restaurant was having a month-long promotion of their dim sum menu, so we decided to give it a try. Afterall, we have not been eating dim sum for quite sometimes. Before I proceed to the menu, how about some introduction of dim sum - for example, its history and its menu and also the customs eating dim sum? It would be good to know a little. Well, here it goes.


Dim sum (點心) is a Chinese light meal or brunch served with Chinese tea. It is eaten sometimes from morning-to-early afternoon with family or friends. Dim sum consists of a wide spectrum of choices, from sweet to salty. It has combinations of meat, vegetables, seafood, and fruit. It is usually served in a small basket or on a small dish, depending on the type of dim sum. Dim Sum is a Cantonese term, literally translated as dot heart or order heart, meaning order to one's heart's content. It is also translated as touch the heart, dotted heart, or snack; or it may be derived from yat dim sum yi, meaning a "little token". Though the English word "dim sum" refers to the Cantonese variety, the idea of a wide variety of small dishes for lunch also holds for other regions of China. Equivalent terms, such as dian xin in Mandarin, exist in other varieties of Chinese, as a generic term for any of a variety of snacks or small food items. The terms "northern dian xin" or "Shanghai dian xin" have thus come into use. These dian xin are, however, not necessarily Cantonese dim sums, although the two still share the same written script in traditional and simplified characters.

The unique culinary art of dim sum originated in China hundreds of years ago. It is said to have started along the Silk Road where farmers, laborers and travelers often stopped at roadside teahouses to have afternoon tea, regain sustenance and relax, an olden days version of the local neighborhood bar. At first, it was considered inappropriate to combine tea with food - in fact in the third century AD, Hua To, a highly respected Imperial physician, advised that eating food while drinking tea would cause excessive weight gain. However, as tea's ability to aid in digestion and cleanse the palate became known, tea house proprietors began adding a variety of snacks, and the tradition of dim sum was born and teahouses began springing up turning the quiet and unexciting teahouses into a loud and lively eating experience, which is also how the term "yum cha" (to drink tea) became synonymous with consuming dim sum. Teahouse owners began adding more variety of snacks, and the tradition of dim sum evolved. Since the 10th century, about 1000 different varieties of dim sum have been created, with up to 100 kinds offered on any given day in the larger restaurants.

Think of dim sum as a buffet on wheels, but more refined with a larger selection of tasty delicacies. Dim sum consists of many small dishes that could be considered appetizers, such as dumplings, buns, fried or steamed meats and seafood, vegetarian dishes, cakes and desserts, but when eaten in quantity, can make a satisfying yet not overly filling meal. Small portions of rice, noodles, congee and deli meats are also served. They are kept warm on portable trolleys with built-in gas burners, fried slightly to reheat while you wait, or served at room temperature, and pushed around the room to each table by a woman who will serve it to you. She will announce (usually in Cantonese or Mandarin, but perhaps also in English for non-Chinese customers) what is on her trolley as she passes by your table, or stop and lift the lids on the bamboo or metal steamers stacked up on her cart for you to see the contents. If you don't know what a dish is, ask and she may describe it with a few words of English, or you can point to something that looks appetizing. To get an idea of the dishes you'd like to try, take a look at the index following this guide and learn the pronunciations before you go, then listen for them as the cart comes by your table. As a side note, in dim sum restaurants located where the turnover of dishes is not high, you may not be able to order from carts pushed around the dining room. Instead, you will have to specifically order from a slip of paper and it will be made for you from the kitchen. This is just to avoid waste and ensure that your food is delivered to you as freshly as possible. Be advised that during peak dim sum hours, the waiting time for a table can be quite long - my family and I were quite quite lucky to be at the Tai Thong Restaurant a little earlier and managed to get ourselves a table.

One of the first things you will be asked upon being seated is what type of tea you prefer. Most establishments will have up to 10 different teas available since tea is a focal point of the meal, and it is a matter of personal taste. Tea is served by putting loose tea leafs into a pot, adding near boiling water and letting it steep for several minutes before pouring. Many people like to have a pot of hot water in addition to the teapot for diluting as it gets stronger, in addition to the refills the wait staff should pour for you.

Another custom you will notice, is the gentle finger tap in front of your teacup when someone refills it for you. A custom unique to the Cantonese is to thank the person pouring the tea by tapping the bent index and middle fingers together on the table. This is said to resemble the ritual of bowing to someone. Given the number of times tea is poured in a meal, it is a timesaver in loud restaurants, as an individual being served might be speaking to someone else or have food in their mouth. In general, whoever is closest to the teapot does the pouring, and everyone else should be served first, unless he or she has a bad case of the hiccups and needs a sip right away. One version of this custom's origin says that it started during the Ching Dynasty some 350 years ago, when the emperor liked to dress like a commoner and go out on the kingdom to mingle among his people. Servants were told to keep a low profile to prevent from revealing his identity. One day when eating in a restaurant, after pouring himself a cup of tea, the emperor filled a servant's cup as well. To the servant, it was a tremendous honor and out of habit, was going to kneel and thank his master, but he couldn't because it would give away the emperor's presence. So instead of getting down on his knees, the servant tapped the table with his fingers to acknowledge the favor. So when someone fills your teacup, make sure you gently tap twice with your index or middle finger on the table to thank the server. However, in a second variation of this legend, the disguised emperor wanted to thank somebody for pouring him tea. Since the emperor does not bow to anyone unlike the others, the disguised emperor tapped his fingers on the table in thankful receipt of the tea.

Why don't Chinese teacups have handles on them? The reason is that if the teacup is too hot to handle with your fingers, then it is definitely too hot to drink, so it is a warning mechanism to wait until it has cooled sufficiently so you don't burn your mouth drinking tea. When your teapot is getting low or the tea has gotten cold, lift the lid and tilt it diagonally into the opening of the pot, or balance it on top of the pot between the handle and the opening. This is an indication to the wait staff to send someone over with a thermos of boiling water to refill your pot. This is also a good indicator how good the service is. The best service is when the teapot filler goes around to each table taking a feel of how full your pot is and automatically refills it before you ever run out during the entire meal. Below par service is when your teapot lid is constantly open, meaning the waiters aren't paying attention to you.

As the carts pass by your table, don't be shy to stop the dim sum lady and ask what's hiding under the lids of the steamer baskets if she doesn't announce them, or you can just point to any dish on the cart and it's yours. Dim sum dishes come in various sizes (small, medium, large and specialty dishes) and are priced accordingly. For example, four shrimp dumplings or steamed spare ribs in black bean sauce are considered a small dish, three strips of shrimp cheung fun (rice roll) a medium dish, and a plate of fried sticky rice would be a large dish. Usually there is a small menu on the table listing the prices of each type of dim sum, along with special dishes that you may have to ask for specifically. If there is something you have a craving for but it has not yet passed by your table, get the attention of a waiter, tell him the dish you want, and he will locate the cart and direct it your way. It is also customary to save the sweet dishes and desserts for the end, as it is the best way to finish a meal. Dim sum restaurants have a wide variety of dishes, usually several dozen. Among the standard fare of dim sum that we had are as pictured below.




















You may notice some odd behavior of a diner at a table who rinses the cutleries with the tea. This is supposed to be the proper way of warming a teacup prior to serving the tea, but it also gives a bit of psychological satisfaction that the cup has been cleaned prior to use, although we all know that it needs to be through a dishwasher with scalding water and detergent for that to happen. Not only do they rinse teacups, they might even take a handful of chopsticks and dip the ends in the tea, or pour tea into all the bowls and plates, rinse well and repeat. Some who want to be less obvious might just wipe the edges of a cup or bowl, or the tops of dishes with a tissue from their pocket packs or a napkin, if available.

Last but not least, the grand finale of a dim sum meal, as with most Chinese meals in restaurants, is the proverbial grabbing of the check, usually between two people who are vying for face and the glory that comes with proving you can afford to treat the group to such a lavish meal. Ever wonder how the restaurant effectively knows the food we ordered? Here how it goes. In some of the older restaurants, the number of actual plates and steamer baskets are piled up on your table and the waiter will add them up in the end for your total bill, however, the restaurants are at risk to lose money from customers who might be a little less than honest and hide some of their empty dishes under the table or even place them on an adjacent table of a party who just left. In most dim sum restaurants today, when you are seated, a card is placed on your table. Not only is this tidier and prevents patrons from cheating by concealing or stealing the plates, it is also useful for the waiters or waitresses to mark every dish that you order, in effect, tallying your bill for the meal.