Everyone loves Chinese food, whether it’s tangy orange chicken or your favorite chow mein noodles straight from the take out box. But, how often do you really get to enjoy traditional chinese food right in Phoenix? If you’re looking to devour the most incredible dumplings of your life and have an eye opening cultural experience, try dim sum. Traced back to the verb meaning, “to eat a little something,” dim sum is a Cantonese style cuisine of traditional chinese small plates. Typically served on early weekend afternoons, there are spots to enjoy dim sum all over the valley.

One location my family and I have been going to for years is Mekong Palace, in Mesa. Have in mind that dim sum style of eating is very traditional, and you might be one of the only English speaking guests there. Once you are seated, the servers walk around with carts stacked with delicious dumplings and sharable plates. This style of ordering will set dim sum apart from your normal chinese, as you get to select your dishes one by one as they are displayed right by your table. If you do choose to take a small portion of something, they will stamp a sheet of paper indicating the price of that dish. Once you are finished with your meal, you then bring the paper covered in stamps to the cashier, so they know how many portions you’ve eaten.

My favorite dish, typically served at every dim sum location you visit, are shrimp dumplings known as “har gow.” Small clear dumplings stuffed with tender and delicious shrimp, these always seem to go down fast and my family, and are a well known Chinese favorite. Another classic dim sum speciality are steamed pork buns (char siu bao). These are pillowy, white buns filled with a sweet barbecued pork. Additionally, there are siu mai dumplings, ranging from pork, shrimp or a combination of both, usually with vegetables. Delicately folded and stuffed, the wrapping of the dumpling resembles a flower. These are just three of the countless options you can order at various dim sum restaurants.
Other locations for dim sum include Great Wall Cuisine in Phoenix, and C-Fu Gourmet in Chandler.

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