DIM SUM
Serving food in a bamboo basket is the form of Dim Sum. It is widely eaten in the world. The Cantonese dim sum culture began in 19th century in the port of Guangzhou. These delicate dishes were served in tea houses for traders.
I remember when I first went to 'yum cha', I could see staff walking with a cart loading with freshly made dim sums. You could go and pick the ones you like or flag down the cart and ask what dim sums were in the cart. The staff would then stamp on a card for record.
Now, it is difficult to see these traditional food carts. Customers simply get a menu and mark the food they want on a piece of paper. Some restaurants even give customers a QR code to pick their favourite dishes online to save manpower.
If you go to a teahouse in Hong Kong, you must try the following dishes.
1. 'Shui Mai' - yellow dumpling wrapped with pork, mushroom and prawn filling and decorated with roe on top
2. 'Cha Siu Bao' - also named barbecued pork bun, a steam bun with juicy barbecued pork filling
3. 'Cheung Fun' - steamed rice noodle rolls with fillings, like prawn, beef, etc.
Now, most of the dim sums are prepared in factory and then sent to restaurants. So, they taste the same. If you want to taste a real one, find the one that serve freshly cooked dim sum made by chef. Of course, they must be more expensive.