Welcome to Dim Sum Central! I’m Wes Radez, and I’m so happy that you’re here.
This is a site with recipes, dining tips and reviews to help you enjoy dim sum at the restaurant and at home.
My love of dim sum began when I was a curious child peering into steamers amidst the happy cacophony of New York dim sum halls. During college, I started taking friends along for Sunday morning trips to Chinatown. In recent years, I finally learned how to cook dim sum for myself.
Dim Sum Central is my effort to share my passion for dim sum and pass along the cultural inheritance I’m so lucky to have. You are welcome here — let’s do this together.
Here’s How to Use Dim Sum Central
Dim Sum Central is organized into sections for dim sum diners and dim sum chefs.
The dining section contains everything you need to enjoy a delicious dim sum meal at a restaurant. Start with my simple introduction to dim sum and scout a destination from reviews of the best dim sum restaurants in the United States. Finally, keep my dim sum menu guide in front of you while you order and pair your selections with the perfect tea.
The cooking section contains the most comprehensive set of authentic dim sum recipes online. The 38 recipes are classified into sections for Steamed Dishes, Fried & Baked Dishes, Noodles & Special Dishes and Dessert Dishes. For each dim sum recipe, you’ll find background information about the dish, cooking tips, a shopping list and a step-by-step tutorial for preparing the dish at home.
Here’s How to Get Started
Before you leave today, I recommend signing up for the Dim Sum Central newsletter. You’ll get my Dim Sum Menu Guide and then receive recipes, dining tips and restaurant reviews throughout the year. You’ll get suggestions for easy dim sum dishes to prepare at home, ways to celebrate Chinese holidays and other foodie resources to help you bring dim sum into your daily life.
What You’ll Find At Dim Sum Central
Dim Sum Central has more than 60 recipes, restaurant reviews and articles dedicated to helping you enjoy dim sum. I hope that Dim Sum Central becomes your destination for simple, straightforward dim sum resources that you can easily use at home and at the restaurant.
To give you a sense of what you’ll find at Dim Sum Central, here are some of the most popular articles on the site:
- Dim Sum Guide: The Best Teas for Dim Sum
- Recipe: How to Make Taro Root Dumplings
- Restaurant Guide: The Best Dim Sum Restaurants in Boston
- Dim Sum Article: Behind the Scenes at Sam Hai Yat, Hong Kong
As you are browsing the site, I hope you’ll use your visit as the first step in your own dim sum journey. Enjoy your first meal, invite friends to a new dining experience and then try cooking dim sum at home for yourself.
Thanks very much for visiting today.
Wes Radez
Debbie Hanson
Please get on social media, Facebook & pinterest please! I must be GF (gluten-free) & Paleo, do you adapt your recipes at all, or can suggest alternatives please?
Dim Sum Central
Hi Debbie, thanks for your note! I’ve been wanting to get onto social media for sure! Picking out GF and Paleo-friendly recipes sounds like a wonderful blog post. I’ll look into it!
Betty
I made the Hom Sui Gok from your recipe. They tasted good, looked okay (kinda ugly) but was heavy. When I was making the dough it would keep coming apart. Is it not enough working the dough, not enough water? My Grandkids like them and I would like to be proficient at making them.
Wes Radez
Hi Betty, If the dough is coming apart on you, yes, I would try adding a bit more water. ~Wes
ljstein!@neo.rr.com
Hi Wes,
Finally…someone who shares my passion for Dim Sum! Question: can you substitute corn starch for taro flour?
Dim Sum Central
Thanks for your note and welcome! For which recipe would you like to substitute cornstarch for taro flour? ~Wes
Wes Radez
That’s tough to say…generally I see taro flour as a substitute for regular baking flour, not necessarily as a thickener. If you need a substitute for corn starch, I might start with potato starch. ~Wes
Bonnie Frost
Is there such a thing as vegetarian Dim Sum?
Dim Sum Central
There are definitely vegetarian dim sum dishes, yes!
er
Please add best dim sum restaurants orange county, ca to your options – we have a vast number of dim sum options and would love to see your recommendations. we get stuck going to the same places. what would be your top 3 in the oc?
Dim Sum Central
Thank you for that suggestion! I hope to add the OC during this upcoming summer! ~Wes
Rick Mynatt
There’s a little known spot here in NC down in Charlotte off of Central Ave. called Dim Sum Chinese Restaurant it has some of the best dim sum I’ve ever had including steamed shrimp balls/ with vegetables.
Dim Sum Central
Thank you for sharing your discovery, Rick! ~Wes
Estee
Any good restaurants in North Carolina that serve this kind of ? In search of some good food here 🙂 please help!
Dim Sum Central
I should add a section for Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham. Thanks for the suggestion! ~Wes
violet
I just stumbled upon this site and looking forward to trying some of these out. I love dim sum and glad you have such a passion for it!
Wes Radez
Welcome to the site, Violet! I’m glad you’ve found it! ~Wes
Liz
What a fantastic website! Thank you for all the tips and information. I grew up in Hong Kong, but never fully appreciated the food until I left and now miss it!
Wes Radez
Glad you found the site, Liz, and welcome! ~Wes
MarkinTex
Headed out this weekend to take my wife and daughter to one of Houston’s dim sum parlors. I know normally you recommend tea with dim sum, but if I wanted a beer, can you recommend a brand that goes well with dim sum that a dim sum parlor is likely to have?
Wes Radez
Hi Mark, Here in the States, the most common Chinese beer you’ll come across is Tsing Tao. That’ll work fine. Another you may find is Tiger beer from Singapore, which is also good. Cheers! ~Wes
James Chan
Hi Wes: How many dim sum varieties are there in total? Have you ever counted them? James Chan, Philadelphia, PA
Wes Radez
James, that’s a big question! I’d say there are probably 30-40 core staples, each with a set of variations. To that foundation, there are new dishes added everyday by chefs around the world. ~Wes
Hannah Tese-Sullivan
Where are the Chaoshan (or Teochew) Fun gor dumplings? Shrimp, pork, ground peanuts, cilantro and jicama in a glutinous crystal wrapper has to be on the list! My all time favorite along with char siu bao of course…
Wes Radez
Great suggestion for my next round of additions, Hannah! Thanks. ~Wes
Anna Vizard
Hello, I am going to Dim Sum with my son and daughter-in-law, who is from China. I love her so much, thank goodness her English is excellent, because my Mandarin is well, rough is good word, limited and rough. I do not want to embarrass her in any way, is there any social courtesies for enjoying Dim Sum that I need to know? I am going next Sunday, May 5th so time is of the essence. XieXie/Thank you/Dojeh Sincerely, Anna
Wes Radez
Hi Anna, sorry for the late reply. These days, you should be able to get by fairly easily with English, though you’ve given me an excellent idea for an enhancement to my dim sum guide! ~Wes
perry
I have been eating dim sum for more than 30 years but unfortunately there are no restaurants near me. Do you know of a reputable site where I can purchase frozen dim sum online and have it shipped to me? Thank you
Wes Radez
Sorry, I don’t! I would just direct you to your local Asian market. ~Wes
Marvin Jacobs
Good afternoon. Please advise best Dim Sum in Los Angeles..
Wes Radez
No problem, Marvin! Here’s our guide to The Best Dim Sum Restaurants in Los Angeles. Cheers! ~Wes
Joe
I have a question regarding sticky rice dumpling recipe, you ask for half a cup sugar, can we avoid the sugaR? IS IT JUST FOR SWEET TEST?
Wes Radez
I’m sorry, Joe, you’ll really want to add the sugar! ~Wes
Shakun Arora
Hi Wes , I am from India and would love to know everything about dim sum ??we eat alot of Chinese food here too…I am excited about finding you and hope to here from you soon…Stay safe and healthy ? Shakun
Wes Radez
Thanks for stopping by, Shakun. Always terrific to make connections with dim sum lovers around the world! ~Wes
Emily Winerock
Any suggestions on how to convince a dim sum restaurant to open in Pittsburgh? We have a strong food scene in general, and a number of good Sichuan, Taiwanese, and fusion restaurants — we even have excellent xiao long bao — but no dim sum at all. I’m confident that any decent dim sum restaurant would do well here, but how do we get one to open up? (p.s. This site is so fantastic — thank you for creating it! And if you want to expand to Canada, there is some great dim sum in Toronto, Rol San, Crown Princess, etc.)
Wes Radez
Dim sum restaurants seem to pop up wherever there is a sizable Cantonese community! ~Wes
S. Virk
Hello,
So happy to find this site. I was wondering if you could help with two dim sum/dessert recipes.
Ma lai go (Malaysian sponge cake), My kids love these steamed sponge cake rolls that have a thin layer of custard in them. Would you happen to know how to make them?
Also some street vendors sell hong kong style cake puffs filled with custard. Do you know how to make these?
thank you
Wes Radez
These are great suggestions, thank you! I’ll look at adding them to my next site update. ~Wes
Mark Fabian
Hi Wes,
I love your site as much as I love and enjoy finding dim sum restaurants around the country when I travel.
I also enjoy preparing Dim Sum at home for my partner and also dinner guests. Your website has the best of the best Dim Sum recipes, and also tutorials.
The only thing missing is the ability to print the recipes with ease. I find myself having to cut and paste when wanting to include a hard copy of the Recipe in my files or to share with friends.
Do you have any plans to take all the website offerings and convert them to printable recipe style?
Many thanks.
Wes Radez
Really glad that you found the site, Mark! I’m thinking about adding printable recipes, hopefully soon!
~Wes
Lynn Staab
Hi Wes!!! Looking for a dim sum restaurant near Petco Park in San Diego?? Any suggestions? Thank you so much , Lynn
Wes Radez
Sorry, not that I know of! ~Wes