Alright, let me tell you about this dim sum list situation. It all started after this one Sunday brunch, total mess. Everyone yelling out orders, pointing at carts, complete chaos. We ended up with way too much of one thing, totally forgot someone’s favorite. I thought, okay, enough’s enough, I gotta get organized.
So, I actually sat down later that week. Pulled out a piece of paper, decided I was gonna make the ultimate list. Started simple. What are the must-haves? Okay:
- Siu Mai (Pork Dumplings)
- Har Gow (Shrimp Dumplings)
- Char Siu Bao (BBQ Pork Buns – steamed AND baked, gotta specify!)
Easy, right? Then I started thinking more. My wife, she always wants Lo Bak Go (Turnip Cake), gotta have that XO sauce with it too. My son? He only cares about Dan Tat (Egg Tarts), seriously, could eat half a dozen himself. Then the fried stuff came to mind – Wu Gok (Taro Dumplings), Ham Sui Gok (Fried Crescents)… the list just kept growing.
Getting complicated
I tried categorizing things. Put all the steamed stuff together, then the fried, the baked, the sweet. Cheung Fun (Rice Noodle Rolls) needed its own little section because, you know, shrimp, beef, BBQ pork, plain… decisions, decisions! It reminded me of this time years ago, my first time having dim sum with my wife’s family. I was so lost, just pointed randomly. Ended up ordering chicken feet by accident. Big laugh for everyone, not so much for me back then.
Anyway, back to the list. I typed it up eventually, made it look neat. Added little checkboxes. Felt pretty proud, like I’d cracked the code to perfect dim sum ordering. Took it to our usual spot the next weekend.
The Result
I confidently handed my list over. The waiter barely glanced at it, just gave a little nod. Okay… The food started arriving. And you know what? It was better, definitely. We didn’t miss the essentials. But people still spotted things on the carts rolling by. “Ooh, what’s that? Let’s get one!” So we still ended up ordering more stuff off-list.
Made me realize something. The list? It’s super helpful, yeah. Stops the major forgetting disasters. But trying to control dim sum too much kinda misses the point. It’s supposed to be a bit spontaneous, grabbing what looks good, sharing everything. That noisy, slightly chaotic vibe is part of the fun. So, I still use my list, but I hold it a bit looser now. It’s a guide, not a rulebook. Helps keep the peace, mostly.