Dim Sum

Back from London (o.k. a month back but I have been busy with a few other unforseen things), and here to share my Dim Sum experience.

I had plans to have dim sum while in London as it has been so long since the last time I enjoyed it (while I was at Uni in Houston, Texas). For those who don’t know “dim sum” is a Cantonese word meaning “to touch your heart” and involve small, single servings of food. This food includes anything from savory dumplings which can be made from fish, meat or vegetables to sweets like egg tarts and filled sweet glutenous doughs.

There are quite a few dim sum restaurants to choose from in London. After reading reviews and looking at various areas of London, it seemed to me that some of the best restaurants were actually outside of the China Town area.

Because of time restraints and proximity to where we were staying, we chose a restaurant called Ping Pong which has a few different locations (we chose the St. Christopher’s restaurant).

When we arrived, I loved the clean, almost Japanese, look to the place. I also noticed that there were quite a few Asian people eating there (always a good sign!). They had a pencil and list of dim sum choices for each customer upon the table, as well as a menu with a description of each item on the list.

Although, as I had eaten dim sum before and so had some clear memories of favourites, the choice was a bit daunting. After discussions and some advising on my part (and our servers), we chose a wasabi bloody mary and a black volcanic salt rimmed margarita to drink.

My margarita was wonderful and the black volcanic salt, which I had always wanted to try, tasted like, well, salt (but a very pretty salt). Allan liked his bloody mary but said he would have liked more of a wasabi kick (maybe too much ice?).

Our favourite from our many (four each) choices of food was, char sui bun, spicy pork dumpling, seafood shu mai, and the crab spring roll. We chose to be served three different types of chili sauce (soy sauce is served on the table) along with our dim sum which was a good move for a bit of heat and extra flavour.

We were happy with Ping Pong for both excellent dim sum and an experience of fresh and different food from what is normally on offer. The restaurant had tasty food as well as servers that were willing to explain the menu choices and advise those new to the dim sum experience.

If you have yet to try dim sum, next time you are in a city that offers it, please go and try. You will be experiencing one of the most flavourful (and varied) tastes and a bit of Cantonese culture.

Advertisement