Cantonese for "heart's delight," dim sum includes a variety of small, mouth-watering dishes such as steamed or fried dumplings, shrimp balls, steamed buns, pot stickers and Chinese pastries.

Dim sum - standard fare in tea houses - can be enjoyed any time of the day. Unlike most dining establishments, servers in a dim sum eatery do not take orders. Instead, they walk among the tables with carts or trays of kitchen-fresh food. Diners simply point to the item they want, which is served on small plates or in baskets.

As for Beijing style dim sum, they are created by the court or common households, or introduced from other regions of China. Halal dim sum are very popular in Beijing; the types can match with those of Han dim sum, and the difference mainly lies in the oil.Back in the old days, people are too poor to eat dim sum, those enter a dim sum shop are all high-brows. Why was dim sum so high up in the air? Firstly, the preparation was so complex that would cost two days; second, in the old times, every dim sum is manually made; thirdly, the ingredients such as fine flour, eggs, salad oil are rare in the market.

As to court dim sum, they require an even more complex process from ingredients choosing, food design, heat control to tray loading. The requirement for a dim sum chef are set with a high bar. Not only did them unequaled skills, but also cultural literacy as they need to endow their desserts with auspicious meanings.

Dim sum is best eaten family style, i.e. the food is ordered for the table rather than an individual person. Your best experiences will be when you go with a large group of people. That way, the costs are distributed and you can sample more varieties of food. This strategy is especially important for adventurous people or newbies, who might get a dish that no one likes.