City Hall Maxim's Palace is a ballroom-like restaurant decorated with crystal chandeliers and white carved-wood screens─not the most obvious spot for breakfast, yet totally in character for dim sum. I arrived relatively early, hoping to beat the Sunday morning rush, only to find the enormous room already full of eager diners.
I was, after all, in Hong Kong, a city where eating ruffled siu mai dumplings, pork buns and meatballs early in the day is as much of a way of life as having an afternoon cup of tea is in Britain. As I waited (and waited) for a table, I could hear though the open doors the clinking of china and the chatter of families enjoying brunch.
Finally, I was seated at a linen-draped table. As I gazed out at the boats crossing Victoria Harbour, a waiter appeared with a silver pot of jasmine tea. More servers came, pushing steaming carts piled with baskets of plump har gow, shrimp dumplings in delicate wrappers; cheong fun─tender rice-noodle sheets─tucked around minced beef flavored with scallion and preserved orange peel; and fatty, sweet spare ribs. I grabbed a helping of everything that looked good, savoring a meal that seemed to capture the very essence of the city.
Maxim's is arguably the most famous dim sum spot in town, a 32-year-old restaurant in the middle of packed Central district that serves classic Hong Kong-style dishes to locals and visiting dignitaries. It's far from the only place to find traditional bites: Dim sum is served in upscale hotels and back-alley tea shops, in tourist traps overlooking the harbor and the basements of shopping malls. But in Hong Kong little stays the same for long, and in recent years chefs have begun taking fresh approaches to native-style dim sum, bringing a dash of extra excitement to a meal that wasn't exactly lacking in popularity in the first place.
Dim sum as we know it developed in Guangzhou, the cultural and commercial center of southern China, in the 18th and 19th centuries, said Maria Tam, an anthropologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Back then, businessmen would meet in teahouses in the late morning to yum cha (drink tea). The restaurants originally served up simple snacks, but as the city grew, they began competing for customers by improving the variety and quality of their dishes.
The practice also became popular in Hong Kong, where chefs followed Guangzhou's culinary lead. In the 1940s, when mainland China closed itself off from the rest of the world, chefs in British-controlled Hong Kong began developing their own dim sum styles. They emphasized smaller portions, lighter ingredients and more elegant presentations. They also incorporated Western techniques such as baking, developing now-classic dishes like baked pork buns and sweet egg tarts. Over time, chefs began to include dishes from other parts of the country. (Shanghainese soup dumplings, for instance, were popular with émigrés who had fled the communist revolution.) They added foods associated with holidays and festivals, like rice and meat wrapped in lotus leaves, part of the early summer dragon boat festival, said E.N. Anderson, author of 'The Food of China.' Along the way, dim sum evolved into a family affair, becoming popular for breakfast and brunch.
Though dishes like shrimp dumplings and egg tarts are what most Westerners think of as dim sum, many locals still enjoy the old Guangzhou style, which is served at a number of restaurants. The oldest and best of these is Lin Heung Tea House, which opened in 1923. The restaurant is packed every day with locals reading the newspaper, drinking astonishingly strong pu'er tea and eating dishes heavy with roasted, fatty meats.
'Dim sums used to be bigger, heartier dishes that people ate to keep them full for a hard day of work,' explained Amy Ma, a local food writer and former Wall Street Journal staffer, when she introduced me to the restaurant. Dishes like pork and shrimp dumplings topped with a hard-boiled quail egg are so popular that diners will crowd around as soon as carts enter the dining room.
'A handful of high-end restaurants have been incorporating top-shelf ingredients, including foie gras and morel mushrooms.'
Some chefs have begun reviving old techniques, creating updated versions of the kinds of dishes offered by Lin Heung and its peers. Chef Pui Gor of Tim Ho Wan, a cheap, hole-in-the-wall, dim-sum-only restaurant with a cult following, makes a contemporary version of a bean curd skin roll, filling it with light shrimp rather than the traditional fatty minced pork. He nods to the past with a dessert called 'chicken oil pancake,' which uses lard and evokes old menus that often used 'chicken' in the names of dishes (even meatless ones) because it was considered a delicacy.
A handful of high-end restaurants have also been incorporating top-shelf ingredients, including foie gras and morel mushrooms. One of the best examples is Lung King Heen, the Michelin-starred restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, where chef Chan Yan Tak has added duck liver and black truffles to pork dumplings, and invented new dim sums, like abalone baked in a cup of flaky puff pastry. The dish is so popular, he said, that he hasn't been able to take it off the menu since he opened six years ago.
Most of these restaurants have made another big change in how dim sum is eaten: They've done away with serving trolleys, mainly to give chefs more control over cooking and presentation. 'Already steamed dim sums that were put on a steamer to keep warm would end up overcooked,' Mr. Chan explained.
With the quieter atmosphere that has resulted, Hong Kong's businessmen have rediscovered the joy of making deals over dumplings. Dim sum has become popular for business lunches again, bringing the tradition back to where it started.
The Classic
City Hall Maxim's Palace
The glittering ballroom at Maxim's, with its view of Victoria Harbour, is a timeless place to experience trolley dim sum. This is the spot for familiar dishes like fried shrimp wontons, baked buns stuffed with sweet roast pork and steaming bowls of congee (rice porridge). Be prepared to wait for a table, and leave plenty of time for a leisurely meal so you can try a little of everything. City Hall Low Block, 2nd Floor, Central; 852-2521-1303
The Empire Builder
Mong Kok Lei Garden Restaurant
This restaurant boasts branches across Asia, but the original location, a cozy space with brick walls and thick carpet on the Kowloon side of the city, is still the best. It provides an elegant, traditional meal, despite the absence of trolleys. Try the turnip-filled pastry puffs, which is one of the best dim sums in the city, as well as the excellent Shanghai-style soup dumplings and smashed cucumber in garlic sauce (pictured). 121 Sai Yee St., Mongkok; leigarden.hk
The Old Faithful
Lin Heung Kui
This utilitarian eatery, crowded with glass-topped tables and low stools, is an extension of a Hong Kong favorite that has been around for nearly a century. The real treats are old-fashioned Guangzhou specialties like dan siu mai (a dumpling topped with a boiled quail egg) and ma lai gao, a lightly sweetened steamed cake made from a yeast starter that the restaurant has been cultivating for decades. 2-3/F, 46-50 Des Voeux Rd. W., Sheung Wan; 852-2156-9328
The Ugly Duckling
Fu Sing Shark Fin Restaurant
It's a favorite of local expats despite (or maybe because of) its kitschy light fixtures and gift-wrap-like wallpaper. Fu Sing offers Cantonese twists on old dishes, like taro-filled spring rolls with a clove-scented dipping sauce and soft cubes of tofu topped with minced melon and shrimp. (Deep-fried bean curd pictured.) 1/F Sunshine Plaza, No. 353 Lockhart Rd., Wan Chai; 852-2893-0881
The Posh Plate
Lung King Heen
The logic behind this restaurant's three Michelin stars is evident in everything from the delicate china and attentive wait staff to the jewel-like quality of each dumpling. For the best experience, ask for a table overlooking Victoria Harbour. Try one of everything on the short menu, focusing on innovations like steamed lobster and scallop dumplings (pictured), and finish with a sweet snack from the dessert list. 4/F, 8 Finance St., Central; fourseasons.com/hongkong
The Holdout
Luk Yu Tea House
Seventy-nine-year-old Luk Yu retains the elegance of an old Parisian brasserie, and its food is equally old-school. Skip the recognizable dishes, which can be poorly prepared, for traditional recipes like the hearty steamed chicken bun, crispy fried dumplings with sweet-and-sour sauce and sponge-like fish balls topped with chicken and crab roe. 24-26 Stanley St., Central; 852-2523-5464
The Divine Steal
Tim Ho Wan
Often referred to as the 'world's cheapest Michelin meal' for its one star awarded in 2009, this tiny dim sum specialist filled with laminated tables is so popular that guests often wait upward of two hours to order the flavorful turnip cakes and superb fried roast pork buns. Dishes are served on red-and-black plastic dinnerware and cost as little as $1.50. Luckily, the restaurant has opened two new branches, in Central and Sham Shui Po, where most of its signature dishes are also available. 2-20 Kwong Wa St., Mongkok; 852-2332-2896
BITE CLUBS: A sprinkling of great dim sum joints across the U.S.
Atlanta
Canton House
It's a bit out of the way in North Atlanta, but Canton House wins local devotees with its wide variety of dishes and solid service. 4825 Buford Highway, Chamblee; cantonhouserestaurant.com
Houston
Fung's Kitchen
A more upscale dim sum restaurant─no snap-to-separate chopsticks─with a selection fans say is fresh, hot and delicious. The roasted duck is especially beloved. 7320 Southwest Freeway #115; eatatfungs.com
New York
Jing Fong
Expect to use your fingers here─not to eat, but to point, since English is not the dominant language at this massive Chinatown establishment. 20 Elizabeth St.; jingfongny.com
San Francisco
Ton Kiang
This spot isn't the cheapest or most adventurous dim sum restaurant in the Bay Area. But it makes up for that by serving dim sum all day long. 5821 Geary Blvd.; tonkiang.net
GEORGIA FREEDMAN
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