Dim Sum Yum

Many people have asked me "What is dim sum?" It's like Chinese tapas where you get appetizer size portions of food but also have a long list of choices to pick from. Dim sum is traditional served until noon at restaurants in China and consists mainly of steamed and fried dishes. At most restaurants dim sum is placed on various carts and the customer is shown various items on the cart for purchase and simply takes what is desired from the cart. What's nice about dim sum is that you see everything before you buy it and consume it quickly thereafter. So if something doesn't look appetizing you don't buy it.

Above: Left: Steamed Shrimp Balls (one of my faves) Top: Char Siu Bao (sounds like Chow Say Bow) Steamed buns with bbq pork inside (TJ's favorite!) Bottom Right: Stuffed fried tofu

Above:Left: Stuffed Eggplant Right: Green bell pepper stuffed with shrimp in black bean sauce

Above: Taro root deep fried...yumm

I was introduced to dim sum when I was 6 or so by my parents on a trip to "The City" San Francisco. I never liked dim sum growing up, probably because I didn't like fish or shrimp. My little brother and I would ONLY eat the Char Siu Bao and my little brother wouldn't even eat the filling. It was just this year my parents insisted they take TJ and I to dim sum so TJ could experience it when I had a revelation! I LOVED EVERYTHING! I was quickly converted back on team dim sum and thoroughly enjoyed it. Recently TJ and I found one small Chinese restaurant on the West side of Indy that serves wonderful dim sum. This is definitely a treat for us! If you ever travel to San Francisco I HIGHLY recommend you go to dim sum in China Town and participate in the real dim sum experience...it's like you're in Hong Kong.