Dim Sum at Sun Sui Wah

Posted by ben Published in Chinese, Dim Sum

Words that come from the heart stay warm three winters long.
~ Chinese Proverb

Panos slept over last night at our place and since we planned to go out for dim sum on this Saturday morning, we brought him along too. Panos has never been to a dim sum place before. We told him stories about eggs dunked in horse urine, chicken feet, beef tendon and all — he took it in good stride and told us he’ll try it all! :-)

We went to the Sun Sui Wah Restaurant in Richmond just across from the Lansdowne Mall. It’s a very busy restaurant, especially in the weekend. We went early just as it opened before the weekend crowds starts streaming in.

Dim Sum is a Chinese light meal or brunch, eaten sometime from morning-to-early afternoon with family or friends. Dim sum consists of a wide spectrum of choices, from sweet to salty. It has combinations of meat, vegetables, and seafood. It is usually served in a small basket or on a small dish, depending on the type of dim sum. Dim Sum is a Cantonese term, literally translated as “choose heart”, meaning “choose to one’s heart’s content”. It may also be derived from the words “yat dim sum yi“, meaning a “little token”.

Dim sum dishes can be ordered from a menu or sometimes the food is wheeled around on a mobile cart by servers. Traditionally, the cost of the meal is calculated based on the number and size of dishes left on the table.

Char Siew Pau

Dumplings

Chicken feet and Beef tripe

Some modern dim sum restaurants record the dishes on a bill at the table. Servers in some restaurants use different stamps so that sales statistics for each server can be recorded.

Guess what? Panos took a couple of bites of some of the stuff and he gave up! He ended up eating only the Char Siew Paus and Char Siew Baked Buns — guess it looks more like burgers to him. We teased him and asked him to order toasts, eggs and bacon from the server!

The service was excellent and the quality was very good. Why, they even change our plates for clean ones every now and then. It is one of the more expensive places for dim sum. Expensive but still highly recommended.

Anyway, he said he really wanted a Big Mac and so we walked over McDonalds just across the street to get a Big Mac for him. Norm and Marcus wanted fries too.