oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) (02/22/84)
Here is a list of Dim Sum terms that I have collected from various sources (books, friends & restaurant menus). Dim Sum are Chinese breakfast or lunch items that are a cross between pastries and appetizers (except they are the whole meal). Often Chinese restaurants will serve Dim Sum on weekends, starting early in the morning, and finishing in the early afternoon. I am fortunate enough to live very close to two excellent Dim Sum specialty restaurants that serve nothing but Dim Sum all week and are open all day till about 5 or 6 (not that I could go there every day -- but the *option* is always there). Most of these words can be spelled in an unending variety of surprising ways. The most useful terms to know are (described below): Har, Char Siu, Guy (Gai), Ngau (Guk), Wu, Bao (Bow), Cheung Fun, Gok and Gow. Popular items include : Har Gow, Har Cheung Fun, Fun Gok, Wor Tip, Guy Bow, Char Siu Bow, Siu Mai, Jar Har Fat and, of course, Spring Rolls. Dim Sum are generally served 3 or 4 to a plate. I find I can eat about 6 to 10 Dim Sum, depending on how hungry I am, so count on 2 to 3 items per person. It's nice to be initiated by someone in the know, but if you don't have anyone available, be brave. There are often English translation menus available, but they may not be as descriptive as you'd like. Often Dim Sum are not ordered from a menu at all, but are brought around on little carts. You pick whatever looks interesting and the cart moves on. (Ask what it's called so you'll remember next time.) (For anybody who ever hits Toronto, I can especially recommend the Kowloon and the Hong Kong Bakery, both on Dundas Street, just east of University. These two serve Dim Sum throughout the week. Other restaurants in Chinatown generally serve it on weekends only.) DIM SUM TERMS ------------- Bang pancakes, cookies &c Bow (Bao) thick, fluffy wheat bun (usually steamed) Char Siu BBQ pork Cheung Fun steamed rice-pastry roll doused in soy sauce & sesame oil Dow Sa sweet bean paste Ga Lei curried beef Guy (Gai) chicken (usually) Gee (Jee) pork Go cake or pudding, steamed, baked or fried Gok turnover or dumpling, usually deep-fried Gow light dumpling, usually steamed rice pastry Har shrimp Jaw claw Lat Cheung Chinese sausage Lin Yung sweet lotus bean starch & egg yolk Lo Bak Chinese radish Ma Tai waterchestnut Mui Jeung plum sauce Ngau (Yuk) beef Siu BBQ (often) Tong soup (usually) Wu taro (or yam) Yuk (Guk) meat Bow (Bao) thick, fluffy wheat bun (usually steamed) --------------------------------------------------------- Chan Bow bun filled with BBQ pork, onion & oyster sauce Char Siu Bow BBQ pork bun Dow Sa Bow sweet bean paste bun Fo Tui Bow ham bun (baked) Ga Lei Bow curried beef bun (baked) Gai Bow chicken bun Lat Cheung Bow Chinese sausage bun Lin Yung Bow sweet lotus bean starch & egg yolk bun Mui Jeung Gai B plum sauced chicken bun Cheung Fun steamed rice-pastry roll doused in soy sauce & sesame oil ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Char Siu CF BBQ pork roll Har Cheung Fun shrimp roll Ngau (Yuk) CF beef roll Gok turnover or dumpling, usually deep-fried -------------------------------------------------------- Fun Gok shrimp, pork &c in moon-shaped rice-pastry Gee Yuk Gok pork & water chestnuts in egg pastry Ham Sui Gok pork & vegetables in sweet rice pastry Jow Har Gok shrimp turnovers in glutinous rice pastry Wu Gok chopped pork, shrimp & vegetables in taro pastry Gow light dumpling, usually steamed rice pastry ----------------------------------------------------------- Gone Tong Gow thick broth with pork & shrimp inside a large gow Har Gow diced shrimp & bamboo shoots Yu Chee Gow shark fin, diced pork, shrimp, chicken, bamboo shoots Go cake or pudding, steamed, baked or fried -------------------------------------------------------- Bak Tong Go steamed sweet rice pudding cake Chin Jung Go delicate pastry, fruit and egg cake Gai Dun Go light sponge cake Gow Chung Go nine-layer sweet tapioca pudding Lo Bak Go fried pudding with Chinese radish, rice, flour & pork Ma Lai Go dark sponge cake Ma Tai Go fried sweet cake with waterchestnut Wu Tao Go steamed taro pudding cake OTHER ITEMS ----------- Chun Yao Bang fried onion pancakes Chun Guen spring rolls Dun Tat sweet egg-custard tart Fun Gwor chicken, pork, shrimp in transparent rice pastry Fung Jaw steamed chicken claws in black bean sauce Jar Har Fat minced shrimp & pork powdered with vermicelli, fried Jean Dui sesame seed dumplings filled with bean paste Joak thick rice porridge soup Han Yun Dow Foo sweet almond pudding with fruit topping Ngau Bak Yip steamed beef tripe in black bean & garlic sauce Ngau Jap steamed beef stomach in black bean sauce Ngau Yuk Siu Mai steamed beef ball sauced with green peas Nor Mai Fuan fried sticky rice with Chinese sausage, vegetables & BBQ pork Nor Mai Gai sticky rice ball stuffed with chicken, pork & sausage wrapped in lotus leaves and steamed Pai Guck steamed spare ribs Su Jai Bang fried potato dumplings filled with BBQ pork & water chestnuts Sin Chet Kuen minced meat & vegetables wrapped in bean curd skin Siu Mai minced pork, bamboo shoots & water chestnuts in steamed egg pastry Siu Pai Guck BBQ spare ribs Up Cheung braised duckweb seasoned with oyster sauce Wor Tip fried dumpling filled with sauced meat & lined with pork Yuan Dun Foo bean curd with pork & shrimp or other meat Oscar Nierstrasz @ utcsrgv!oscar (on the edge of Chinatown)