What Is Dim Sum? A Delicious Dive into Chinese Small Plates

Sharing Dim Sum

Dim sum is one of China’s most beloved culinary traditions, a feast of bite-sized dishes served with hot tea, often enjoyed with family and friends. But for many new to Asian cuisine, one question comes up again and again: What is dim sum? And just as importantly, what is inside dim sum?

In this blog, we’ll break it all down for you - from its history to the delicious fillings hiding inside those steamy bamboo baskets.

What Is Dim Sum?

Dim sum (點心), which translates to “touch the heart” in Cantonese, refers to a wide variety of small, flavourful dishes traditionally served with tea. Originating from teahouses in southern China, particularly in Guangdong province, dim sum has grown into a worldwide dining experience — popular everywhere from Hong Kong and London to New York and beyond.

It’s more than just a meal, it’s a social dining ritual. Often served from carts or brought out in waves, diners order several dishes to share, sampling a mix of steamed, fried, baked, or boiled bites.

What Is Inside Dim Sum?

Dim sum includes dozens, even hundreds of different items, but here are some of the most common and loved types, along with what’s inside dim sum dishes:

🥟 Dumplings

• Har Gow: Translucent shrimp dumplings with bamboo shoots or water chestnuts

• Siu Mai: Open-faced dumplings filled with minced pork, prawns, and mushrooms

• Chive Dumplings: Crystal wrappers stuffed with Chinese chives and shrimp

🍚 Sticky Rice

• Lo Mai Gai: Glutinous rice steamed in lotus leaves, filled with chicken, mushrooms, sausage, and sometimes egg yolk

🥯 Buns

• Char Siu Bao: Soft buns filled with Cantonese-style BBQ pork

• Custard Buns: Sweet steamed buns with molten salted egg custard or creamy vanilla filling

🐓 Meat & Savoury Bites

• Chicken Feet (Fung Zao): Braised in a black bean garlic sauce

• Spare Ribs: Steamed pork ribs marinated with black beans, garlic, and chilli

• Turnip Cake (Lo Bak Go): Pan-fried cake made from shredded radish, rice flour, dried shrimp, and Chinese sausage

🍮 Desserts

• Egg Tarts: Mini pastry tarts with a silky egg custard centre

• Sesame Balls (Jin Dui): Fried glutinous rice balls filled with red bean paste or lotus seed paste

So, what is inside dim sum? A diverse mix of sweet, savoury, meaty, and veggie fillings - often seasoned with ginger, garlic, soy, sesame oil, and Chinese five spice.

How Is Dim Sum Served?

Dim sum is typically served in small steamers or on small plates, meant for sharing. Many restaurants still honour the tradition of pushcarts, allowing diners to choose dishes as they’re wheeled past the table.

Dim sum is also deeply linked to “yum cha” (飲茶), a Chinese tea-drinking culture where diners sip on hot tea like jasmine, chrysanthemum, or pu-erh throughout the meal.

Where Can You Try Dim Sum?

You’ll find dim sum in Chinese restaurants across the UK, from local dim sum spots to high-end Cantonese dining. It’s also increasingly available in frozen or chilled form for food service, restaurants, and retailers looking to stock authentic options.

At Lung Wah Chong, we stock a wide range of dim sum products perfect for restaurants, takeaways, or Asian grocery stores from har gow and siu mai to bao buns and ready-to-serve dumplings.

Final Thoughts

So, what is dim sum? It’s a delicious, social, and diverse style of dining packed with flavour and history. And if you’re still wondering what is inside dim sum, the answer is simple: everything from juicy prawns to BBQ pork, silky custards to sticky rice, all crafted to surprise and satisfy with every bite.

Whether you're enjoying it at a Sunday brunch or serving it to customers, dim sum truly is a feast that touches the heart.