As a graphic designer I am definitely a visual person, and I tend to enjoy items that aesthetically appeal to the eye–clothes, pictures, well-packaged accessories, and food! And I think that is why I particularly love dim sum. For those of you who have never eaten dim sum, the dishes are fantastic, but for me the element of how the meal works is even more impressive. Throughout your meal, servers walk around the restaurant with food on display for you to look at before you decide if you want it or not. They each have a different item they are serving, and if they pass by and you see something you like you call out to them and tell them how many orders you want. If what they announce to you doesn’t sound or look appealing, you simply smile at them and politely decline. Many dishes consist of items steamed in a steamer basket while others are deep fried, stir fried and/or baked. Luckily for me, I am eager to eat most of the dishes so more often than not, whoever passes by my table is stopped, the dish is quickly analyzed, and the server’s effort of walking around has not been wasted.
In the picture below, you will see shrimp wontons and deep-fried shrimp cake.
We also had some shrimp in rice flour noodles!
And if you are not keen to foreign foods, brace yourself because these next dishes don’t really exist in a traditional American diet: Tripe and marinated chicken feet. The chicken feet are deep fried, marinated and then steamed. Remember now that we should all be a little fearless with food, and they are both actually delicious dishes. The dish in the back right corner is chicken and vegetables wrapped in a thin layer of tofu.
The meal was finished off with a dessert called Dou Fu Fa (translated as “Tofu Flower”). It’s made of slices of very silky tofu that is sweetened with a sugary syrup and served warm.
With dim sum, being able to view and appreciate the dishes even if you don’t order them is a treat in itself. The experience is always exciting, and you never know what’s going to come out next! If you’ve never gone, I highly suggest it. This post does not do the dishes and element of dim sum justice, so be sure to be on the lookout for a follow-up post with more details in the future!
I hope everyone had a great weekend!
Life Tastes Like Food 