Ever Had a Dim Sum

I don’t know how often I’ve eaten dim sum, even in Thai or Korean restaurants. Lori Allen of AWAI Travel Division explains that dim sum is actually Cantonese and literally means "heart's delight." Well it's mine, especially when it's freezing cold. Beats steaming Spagetti Bolognaise any day.

Dim sum is a variety of Chinese snacks like steamed pork buns, dumplings, shrimpballs, noodles, and more which come in small portions and may include meat, noodles, vegetables, as well as desserts. In the States, Chinese dim sum is usually served in the morningbefore noon or at specialty dim sum restaurants all day. There are two types of restaurants that serve it:

** 1. Restaurants that offer dishes a la carte, which is fun
** 2. Restaurants with servers who walk the aisles pushing carts of steaming dim sum, stopping at every table to peddle their wares which is even more fun.

I had the pleasure while travelling by train from Shanghai to Zhoujou. Especially as it was a cold winter day. The very best dim sum is still in China, where each region has a different specialty. In Shanghai, for example, the soup dumpling - served steaming in bamboo baskets, each dumpling filled with a delicious savoury soup, is the most popular item on the dim sum menu. Crowds of people line up at the world-renowned Nanxiang Mantou Dian restaurant to slurp up the piping hot dumplings, where you can get 16 for a dollar. More details here: http://www.akinyi-princess.de