Mmmm....dim sum

[written on 1st July]

**Warning: post contains ramblings about meat dishes; non-meat eaters beware!**

You know when a restaurant is called what it serves, it's going to be good. Restaurant Owning, page one: "There's no need to spend hours coming up with a fancy name - call it after the cuisine, and they will come."

For those of you who have wondered - I realise there are not many, so will keep it brief - the Cantonese phrase dim sum literally translates to “touch the heart”, which has been adopted to encompass the wide range of dishes on offer; yum cha which means “tea drinking” is the term used to describe the dining session.

Apparently, the tradition originated along the ancient Silk Road, where teahouses were built for the travellers or the local farmers needing somewhere to get some refreshment (and what better refreshment than a lovely cuppa?) Once it was discovered that tea can also aid digestion, the teahouse owners started also serving snacks, and this has evolved into the current cuisine.

Anyways, there are endless advice forum postings on a website that's specifically for expats in Hong Kong (http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com) that start along the lines of "best restaurant in Hong Kong", "my parents are coming to stay, where should I...?" and "dim sum - any recommendations?" and practically all of them, if you can be bothered reading through each pretty lame thread, eventually mention a place called 'Dim Sum' in Happy Valley. (Avid readers will remember the mention of Happy Valley on Day 2, when we saw some 'apartments' that can, at best, be described as the absolute opposite of 'des res'.)

Turns out there is one good reason to choose to live in one of these hell holes - the sweetest barbecued pork & duck buns you will ever taste. Not to mention the other 80-plus dumpling-based dishes on the menu. Though to be honest, I would much rather live elsewhere and make the fairly long journey - involving two lines of MTR and then a tram or bus and a 7-10 minute walk - to partake in the 'yum cha', and you are duly rewarded for your efforts the second you walk through the door by a frosty blast of full-force air con. Lastly, the biggest plus of it being slightly off the beaten track, is that it's not completely ramalamadingdong (or not 'overly busy' for people not au fait with that word!)

The more I read about this place on the advice forums (and in the Rough Guide, which though printed three years ago, recommended it even then), the more I started thinking about the restaurant Clifford had taken us to, and remembering how tasty it was. As it became apparent when we got there, it's the same place - what a good little orientation guide he was.

So in true 'kind sister showing her visiting brother a good time in Hong Kong' style, that's where we went for a slightly late lunch today, one of the seventeen bank holidays they have here; this one is to celebrate the handover of Hong Kong back to China. To his immense delight, that meant that Pies could join us. And man, did we take advantage of the extensive menu - eight dishes was possibly excessive for three people - especially as I wasn't massively hungry and Simon had had noodles little more than an hour previously - but we couldn't help ourselves!

True to form, (form that's based on only one previous visit, granted) Dim Sum was super sweet. From the meaty spring rolls, to the somewhat bizarre tasting meatballs, to the lobster & shrimp steamed dumplings, to the meat & vegetable buns, naturally not forgetting the aforementioned pork & duck buns - it was all very, very good. And in hindsight tasted even better, considering the bill was around HK$300 (£20) for the three of us!

So hopefully your mouths are duly watering by now; you can rest assured that if you're planning a visit in the time that we're out here, we will introduce you to the joyous wonder that is Dim Sum, the restaurant.

PS I've assumed that most people know what dim sum looks like, and therefore limited the number of pictures!