Dim Sum

My mom and I went for dim sum today at the Noodle Express on Rupert (just off King Street). Dim sum (also referred to as yum cha!) is served in the late morning to early afternoons and basically involves ordering small dishes of bite-sized foods and drinking tea. The push-cart style is more fun because the food actually comes to you but at most places you'll just make your picks on a sheet which is actually more practical because you don't have to be on the lookout for your favorites (and there's no peer pressure to order more once you're full). 

I'm a dumpling girl so they are always my first choice (seafood and shrimp dumplings pictured below) but my favorite today were the "Golden Dumpling Buns" (top right in 2nd pic) - little steamed buns with a sweet, custard-y filling. 

Also pictured above are the "Bean Curd Rolls" (top middle) and the "Taro Root Cake" which were both awesome. In Cantonese the word "dim" means "dot" or "order" in English and "sum" means "heart" - so you could say that the literal translation of the phrase is "order from the heart". Great advice, I always do!

DG