Palytt Team · 2026-09-25

Dim sum ordering guide: what to order on your first visit

On your first dim sum visit, start with the classics: har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings), char siu bao (barbecue pork buns), cheung fun (rice noodle rolls) and egg tarts to finish. Plan on about three or four dishes per person, order a pot of tea for the table, and share everything. Order in rounds, adding more once you see how hungry everyone is.

What is dim sum?

Dim sum is a Cantonese tradition of small dishes eaten with tea, usually as a late breakfast or lunch. In Cantonese the meal is often called yum cha, which means "drink tea". Most dishes come in small bamboo steamers or on small plates, typically with three or four pieces each, so the table orders many dishes and everyone takes a piece of each.

Dim sum restaurants are often busiest on weekend mornings, and many serve dim sum only during the day.

What should you order at dim sum for the first time?

These are the dishes most dim sum restaurants are judged on, and they're easy to like:

• Har gow. Shrimp dumplings in a thin, translucent wrapper made from wheat starch, pleated at the top. A good har gow has a chewy, delicate skin and a juicy filling.
• Siu mai. Open-topped dumplings with a yellow wrapper, filled with pork and often shrimp, and topped with a dot of roe or diced carrot.
• Char siu bao. Soft, fluffy steamed buns filled with sweet and savory Cantonese barbecue pork. Many restaurants also serve a baked version with a glazed top.
• Cheung fun. Wide, silky rice noodle sheets rolled around shrimp, beef or barbecue pork, served with a sweet soy sauce.
• Lo mai gai. Sticky rice with chicken, mushrooms and Chinese sausage, wrapped in a lotus leaf and steamed. Unwrap it at the table; the leaf isn't eaten.
• Turnip cake (lo bak go). Pan-fried squares of shredded daikon radish and rice flour, often with bits of Chinese sausage and dried shrimp. Crispy outside, soft inside.
• Egg tarts (dan tat). Small tarts with a smooth, lightly sweet egg custard in a flaky or shortbread-style crust.

If you only order five dishes, make it har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, cheung fun and egg tarts.

What should you order once you've tried the basics?

After a visit or two, these dishes are worth adding:

• Chicken feet (fung zao). Fried, then braised in a black bean sauce until soft. They're mostly about texture and sauce, and regulars love them.
• Steamed spare ribs. Small pieces of pork rib steamed with black bean sauce and garlic.
• Taro dumplings (wu gok). Mashed taro around a pork filling, deep-fried until the outside forms a lacy, crunchy shell.
• Shrimp-stuffed vegetables. Eggplant, bell pepper or tofu stuffed with shrimp paste, fried and served in a light sauce.
• Xiao long bao. Soup dumplings are from Shanghai rather than Canton, but many dim sum restaurants serve them. Lift one onto your spoon, bite a small hole and sip the broth before eating the rest.
• Sesame balls (jin deui). Fried glutinous rice balls coated in sesame seeds and filled with sweet red bean or lotus seed paste.
• Chinese broccoli (gai lan). Blanched greens with oyster sauce. Worth ordering to balance all the dumplings.

How does ordering work: carts or an order sheet?

Dim sum restaurants use one of two systems, and some use both.

• Carts. Servers push carts of dishes between the tables and lift the lids to show what they have. Point at what you want, and they'll mark or stamp the card on your table. Don't take everything from the first cart; popular dishes come around often. If there's something you haven't seen, ask a server, who can often have it brought from the kitchen.
• Order sheets. A printed list of dishes with a box next to each one. Write how many plates you want, hand the sheet to a server, and dishes arrive as they're ready. Some restaurants use a tablet or a QR code menu instead.

Either way, the bill is usually tallied from your card or sheet by dish size, with small, medium, large and special dishes each priced differently.

How many dim sum dishes should you order per person?

A common guide is three to four dishes per person. Since most plates hold three or four pieces, that works out to roughly one piece of everything for a small group, with room to reorder favorites.

• Order in rounds. Start with about two dishes per person, then add more once the first round arrives.
• Double up for bigger groups. For six or more people, order two plates of the dishes everyone will want, like har gow and siu mai.
• Mix cooking methods. Balance steamed, fried and baked dishes, add a vegetable, and save room for something sweet. Sweet dishes don't have to wait until the end; order them when they come by.

The same shortlist-then-decide approach from our guide on how to decide what to order at a restaurant works well here: pick a few classics, then add one or two dishes the restaurant is known for.

What tea should you order at dim sum, and what's the etiquette?

Tea is part of the meal, not an add-on. Most restaurants ask what tea you want as soon as you sit down, and some charge a small tea fee per person.

• Common choices. Jasmine is floral and light, oolong such as tieguanyin is toasty, pu-erh is dark and earthy, and chrysanthemum is mild and slightly sweet. Jasmine is an easy first pick.
• Pour for others first. Fill your neighbors' cups before your own.
• Say thanks with your fingers. When someone pours for you, tapping two fingers on the table is a traditional Cantonese way to say thank you.
• Ask for a refill with the lid. Leave the teapot lid tilted open or resting on the rim, and a server will refill it with hot water.

How can Palytt help you order dim sum?

Every dim sum restaurant has har gow on the menu, but not every one is known for it. One kitchen's standout might be the turnip cake, another's the baked barbecue pork buns. Palytt, a free iPhone and iPad app, shows you that before the first cart arrives. Its order guide sorts a restaurant's dishes into get this, add on, popular here and maybe skip, each dish gets a 0–100 match score based on your taste profile, and friends' verdicts appear next to the dishes they've tried. Palytt covers fewer restaurants than the big review apps, so it's most useful at places where people have already posted dish recommendations.

FAQ

What should I order at dim sum for the first time?

Start with har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, cheung fun and egg tarts. Add turnip cake, lo mai gai or a plate of Chinese broccoli if your group is bigger.

How many dim sum dishes should I order per person?

About three to four dishes per person. Order around two per person first, then add more once the first round arrives.

What is the difference between har gow and siu mai?

Har gow are shrimp dumplings in a thin, translucent, pleated wrapper. Siu mai are open-topped dumplings with a yellow wrapper, usually filled with pork and shrimp.

What tea should I order with dim sum?

Jasmine is an easy first choice. Oolong and pu-erh are also traditional, and chrysanthemum is a mild option.