Dim Sum Restaurants in Hong Kong

[Guest fountainhall]

There is no better city to sample the delights of dim sum than Hong Kong. Many of its more than 10,000 restaurants serve it, but most offer only a small number of dishes as a sort of starter to more substantial dishes. Of the others, a number of more modern boutique style restaurants have sprung up. Whilst these will serve a fine lunch of dim sum, they will be quite pricey. You really need to find one of the older, much larger specialist restaurants to enjoy the true dim sum experience.

 

In some of these larger restaurants, you cannot make reservations. So if you want to avoid queuing, make sure you are there by around 12:15 pm. The waiter who leads you to your table will leave a marker card, and very often there will be no dim sum menu – only one for the more substantial beef, fish, chicken, rice, noddle dishes etc. you might want to conclude your lunch. Soon you will see usually elderly ladies sashying amongst the tables with trolleys containing 3 or 4 different dishes. They will call out the names, but even if you do not know the difference between your cha siu bau (barbecued pork buns) and your ha gau (steamed shrimp in flour wrap), just go up and take a look. Indicate how many you wish of each dish and she will bring the bamboo baskets to your table. She will also mark your card with a chop/stamp. Dishes will be priced at about 3 different prices. So when you are finished, you take the card to the cashier or the waiter, the chops are totted up and you pay accordingly.

 

Food is almost a religion in Hong Kong and lunch with colleagues and friends is a social occasion. As you dine, watch the animated (and often loud) conversations of your fellow diners and look at what they are ordering to see if something appeals to you. There is a huge variety of dim sum available, so be adventurous and try something different each time in addition to your favourites.

 

The speciality restaurants to consider will include –

 

Central District – Maxim’s Palace Restaurant in the City Hall complex (on the other side of the highway from the Mandarin Oriental hotel)

 

Admiralty – Metropole Restaurant, 4th Floor, United Centre (conveniently located above an MTR station)

 

Tsim Sha Tsui (harbour area on Kowloon) – Super Star Seafood Restaurant, 83-97 Nathan Road (one of a chain of Super Star restaurants)

 

There are also two other chain restaurants – Peking Garden and Jade Garden – which have very good dim sum selections. If you go to the former, make sure you try their spring onion tarts. So delicious! You can also ask your hotel concierge to recommend a restaurant close to where you will be near lunchtime.

 

Here are some other recommendations a bit further from the centre –

 

http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/none/hong-kong-dim-sum-quest-476978

 

Evening Dim Sum

 

Dim Sum is usually eaten for lunch, and many restaurants do not serve it at dinner. There is, however, one superb small restaurant where you can enjoy excellent dim sum in the evenings. Called, not surprisingly, DIM SUM, it is a small older Chinese-style restaurant tucked up behind the Happy Valley racecourse in Sing Woo Road. You can go there for lunch, but they do not take lunch reservations and you may have to wait for a long time outside on the street (as there is no waiting area inside). Far better to book dinner a couple of days or more ahead. Ask for one of the 4-seat banquettes to give you a little more privacy.

 

The joy of DIM SUM is not only its character and the usual dim sum dishes, but in its innovative dim sum cuisine. One I always order is asparagus spears wrapped in finely sliced pork with a touch of chilli and garlic. The other beauty of the restaurant is that it is very moderately priced. I have taken an endless stream of friends, family and clients there. All have loved it.

 

http://www.fodors.com/world/asia/china/hong-kong/review-36830.html

 

http://www.tabletguides.com/Travel-Guides/Reviews/Hong-Kong-Island-Hong-Kong-Happy-Valley/Restaurants/Dim-Sum/31821

[TotallyOz]

Thank you! On my next trip there, I will use this article as a great reference. You are a truly an amazing wealth of info!

[Guest fountainhall]

After living there more than 20 years, I regard Hong Kong as my home - even though I have no 'home' there any more. So I'm always happy to offer ideas and advice.

[Guest snapshot]

Cool... I haven't spent as much time in Hong Kong as you but isn't this usually called "yum cha"?

 

To me, dim Sum is more what you call the style of dish. Yum cha is what you call the type of meal. As in... "hey, let's go to yum cha for lunch" and "I love eating dim sums because they are tasty".

 

I could be wrong, but that's the terminology I've grown up with.