Why go
Har gau, siu mai and char siu bao give you contrasting dim sum dishes to recognise on a menu. Alongside the food, tea service and chopstick etiquette explain small actions around the table. These details make an everyday meal more understandable without requiring a formal banquet or an expensive restaurant.
The full story
Dim sum includes steamed shrimp dumplings known as har gau, siu mai pork dumplings and barbecued pork buns called char siu bao. Egg tarts add another familiar Hong Kong choice. Looking for several different preparations makes the meal easier to navigate than ordering by a single English category such as dumplings. Tea has its own table gestures. Tapping two or three fingers on the table can thank the person pouring it. A story links the gesture to subjects acknowledging an emperor travelling incognito, but it is a legend rather than an established explanation. Keep chopsticks out of an upright position in rice, which recalls incense offerings. Hong Kong milk tea takes its silk-stocking name from the cloth bag used to filter the tea leaves. Yuanyang combines milk tea with coffee. Together, these drinks offer another entry into the city’s food traditions beyond choosing dishes for a shared meal.