Dim sum – take part in this mouthwatering culinary adventure. This article provides tips and suggestions when eating dim sum for the first time.!***!Dim sum is an age-old Cantonese culinary form. Rendered as "to touch the heart," dim sum is fast becoming a breakfast or lunch choice for many. An ever-present item in Chinese restaurants, dim sum are tiny helpings of special food items that are commonly served on carts or trays and handed over to you by a server. The merit of dim sum is that it can be enjoyed by everyone, between two people, to a group of many eaters. Dim sung allows a ‘small’ course from a miscellaneous variety of foods. Here are tips to help initiate first timers.

Selecting a Dim Sum Restaurant

For those new to eating dim sum, it is best to check friends and travelers for the best places to eat dim sum. It is common belief that no two dim sum restaurants are ever identical. Those who eat dim sum fairly regularly end to eat at many locations, reserving the best places for special food trips. The maxim that ‘the more crowded the restaurant, the better the food’, seems to be the law in dim sum. Some restaurants offer dim sum every day while many places only offer dim sum during specific morning to afternoon hours on weekends. Dim sum restaurants that serve it on specific hours are very busy during these times, so be ready for a wait. Although dim sum restaurants serve a basically similar sampling, each will have it’s own unique touch to the preparation and presentation. Further, each place may offer a unique dim sum dish prepared by its chef.

Dim Sum Waiter

Since restaurant servers hop from table to table pushing carts or carrying trays, a waiter is assigned for every table to attend to the tea or drink orders from the diners. On being seated, the waiter introduces himself and begins pouring tea or water for everyone. Also, customers at this point can begin to ask the waiter for pricing and assistance in packing up leftover dim sum.

Prices of Dim Sum samplings

For first timers, perhaps the most confusing part in eating dim sum is regarding pricing. Usually, the menus do not list the prices for the items, and neither do the carts carry a hint of the pricing. Dim sum restaurants may have a price list nearby the entrance to the place, categorizing prices by the size of the dish, but usually this list does not indicate which items belongs to which grouping.

Regulars are handed a tally the size of a brochure with boxes. The server ticks off the boxes to make a tally of what the customer has ordered. After the meal, the customer shows the card to the counter for billing and payment. It’s rather difficult to have an idea of your running bill; it becomes known only when the card is taken to the register. To have an idea of the prices, ask the server about the pricing for specific items. In addition, it is a good idea to ask the cashier if gratuity has been included as it is often already calculated into the total.!***!HUNGRY NOW FOR SINGAPOREAN FOOD? Check out these items for a mouth-watering feast: Fried Dim Sum, Shrimp Dumpling, Spring Roll. Also, try Black Pepper Crab, Sri Lankan Crabs for your seafood pig out! Bon appetit!!***!