I'm on a semi-retired models quest to eat my way through Hong Kong or any other city I travel to
with the help of food bloggers
I want to learn more about the culture meet new people
and discover exciting new tastes in the places I'm in.
Today's episode is all about dim sum
Those soft, moist, delicate, bite-sized, perfect creations that match well with tea.
We're trying an old traditional take on it
"They took my last siu mai."
A more modern one
And then we're learning how to make them
Which is actually quite difficult, but worth the struggle
This morning I'm meeting up with Olivia
who's our foodie guide today at suzuki cafe in Sheung Wan
I'm here with Olivia today
she is a local food blogger on Instagram and
we are gonna experience dim sum
which I'm super super excited for
because I feel like
As foreigners when you think of a very local Chinese food, I think you think of dim sum
Definitely, rveryone wants to try dim sum when they come here
So I want to ask you when did you start food blogging?
I think I started it about
Two and a half years ago.
Yeah. Why did you start it?
so it was mainly out of like I usually post it on my facebook with a personal account and
All my friends were saying like, oh you're posting food again
I mean do you have any other stuff to post and then I was just like No, this is like all I have food
so
I was just thinking about it, so just start like a new platform
don't wanna get unfriend by my actual friend
to see too much food on my personal facebook, always on food, eat a lot
One I love trying new things
and
even now that I have like my own blogs, so I'm more like willing to try more new things
since it's a reason for it for my blog. Yeah
That's a good reason
That is like me with blogging, like you have to make it out an experience like more like try something.
It pushes you to a - you like to chose like a different world
Just to have more experience and food yeah
it's dimsum to the Chinese culture kind of like a Sunday brunch
Is it something you have on Sundays with family
or is it any time or how does that work?
Well, normally, originally dim sum is what you have alongside with tea, so they're actually serving tea house at first
Yeah, and then nowadays people like graduate and think it's a good it's a good lunch
It's a good also but brunch as you said as well
But sometimes they do it for dinner nowadays because people love it so much
anywhere, anytime with anybody
Dimsum I always go there with my colleagues as well during lunchtime.
Oh, really? so it's something you eat quite often.
O: Yeah. T: Me too O: Especially during lunch. Yeah
Me too, I love it
First we headed to an old-school Hong Kong gem that only the strong and brave can endure and
snd maybe the locals, especially the old ones for nostalgia reasons.
I present to you Lin Hueng Tea House
So we just joined this table
Walking in it's like madness here,
it's busy. There are woman pushing carts
and you just literally pick the dimsum from the cart
What tea do you want?
Sao Mei and water
So the first step is to wash
all the utensils
A lot of people do go up to the cart and just grap their own food
Yeah, like whatever you see you like you just grap it and give them your card and they will stamp it
We are on the look out for something
Yeah I love them.
I managed to grab a couple of things quite easily
but as here got even busier getting food was tougher
and naturally fight started to break out
Oh, sorry
Siumai and chicken feet please
I came first
And the culprit of this battle move over Helen of Troy, siumai is taking over
Yeah, I was there first and that woman just like, oh
I was like, that was mine
Here is literally being in the wild
you need to go up and find your food
fight for your food
and you're able to get it bring it back
I got something else instead
So we didn't get the beloved siumai
but we did got shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, cheung fun and chicken feet.
You can just eat the rice
Overall, I think it's an experience that you've got to have at least once when you come here
it's a little bit chaotic, a little bit animalistic, like fighting for your food, but
The dim sum is good I found and it's cheap.
It's fun to share tables with strangers
It's fast it's very very fast
It's part of the Hong Kong local experience. And yeah, a lot of people grow up with dim sum with the parents
This is part of a tradition. I recommend to people who first visiting Hong Kong to just try
because it's not normally what you see on the street you nowadays.
Not a lot of places left are like chains and commercialized.
There's not a lot of really
and especially with the cart cause it takes up a lot space
so a lot of the restaurant nowadays
I have never see those cart before
so not a lot of place do the dimsum cart
here is a few place that do it and good enough for try
Next we're heading across the harbor to TST to learn how to make dim sum
To fully appreciate something
I think it's important to understand how much work goes into it
and the chef at Hotel icon are going to show me just that
I'm Taylor
Nice to meet you.
I'm here at Hotel icon now with Chef Pau
where he's going to teach me how to make dim sum
and I'm really excited to learn
because it looks like a very difficult delicate process.
How long have you been a chef for?
25 Years
And why did you want to become a chef?
It is because I love to cook
Okay, he likes to cook not talk
so we got right to it
first up we need to make the rice noodle dough
To do this you need to mix glutinous rice flour with steaming hot water until you get the perfect texture
It's actually harder, way harder then it look
So thick
Okay, I think I am done
First we're making mushroom truffle dumplings.
Make your dough into a snake
Chop it and roll it out like a tiny pizza
It's really not as easy as it looks
But I kept trying and it got a little bit easier
Then did your wrap, add a bit of filling to the center
hold it and press it along the edges super gently
Steam it for about one minute
Oh it was good,
I can't even tell which one's mine
Oh, they're so delicate, oh my god
Some of the mushrooms are softer some are more firm
Is there truffle in there? I can taste a tiny hint of truffle
yes, there is truffle
Just a light amount. It's really good Wow
Cheers
It is like the best dimsum I ever had
It tastes like my favorite dish, is like a steamed grouper with
Spring onion and soy sauce and ginger with the nice like rice
Wrapping and it pulls it all together. So you get all the flavors in one bite
Which is really good, I am going for one more
Have one more
In your opinion. What makes the best dim sum?
Dimsum that made with heart
It is like poking your heart
small and delicate and made by heart
It is like a heart, small and delicate
Easy to break you have to be careful
Thank you for teaching me today
I had fun
We can do like that
With a new skills and a takeaway box, it was time for round 3
We headed to the social place where the dim sum is cute, instagram-worthy and hopefully delicious
It's very busy, we came right at peak time for lunch
so both dim sum places are super busy, super noisy
but I think that that's the best way to enjoy them
You just see tons of people, families, gathering together enjoying the wait hot steaming thing
I think dim sum in the Hong Kong culture is
It's a way to like gather a whole family together, have a sit-down meal
To just enjoy your food and just bond with your family
what we have ordered
We were waiting in line for a little while
and they gave us this paper menu
this is what everyone gets
so you can see the photo, they have english and cantonese
And then you could just make a little marking of the things you want, so as soon as you sit down
You're ready to just pop this off to the nearest waiter and then make your order
I really love this vegetable
ivy mosse
It sounds like a rock star name
Is it like Kate Moss cousins
Ivy Moss
I might name my kid that, Ivy Moss
You know the proper way of holding the chopsticks
I can't do it either but then my mom used to taught me.
You should teach me
When you hold it like this to stabilize it and then you control your upper
Like this but even I can't do it like that some of those opposed to do like this
So you pick it up with your with your top one and then you hold it with your bottom one
Like this, but I just normally do this
I know how to do it but I just take the lazy way out, cause it takes a lot of practice
I just do it like is sorry
I can do it like this for like firm things, but when it comes to softer things I can't.
It very difficult to just hold it. Let me try the proper way
It was really good
And you're looking good
the dough is properly steamed not over steamed because sometimes they might like overdo it
and the
custard inside
It is very molten, sweet, not too overpowering
with the right amount of
yolk and
you can still see some yolk inside
Yeah, pieces of yolk
so it looks good, it taste good
Little apple, so like squishy
And I am not sure sure this stem looks like a
apple stem?
the real apple stem?
It's lemongrass
Yeah inside there's apple puree
And it looks like brown like maybe some maple or
I think it might have some cinnamons
Yeah, cinnamon, sugar,
smells like a warm apple pie. Oh
but the dough is softer than a pie crust. Like a steaming hot apple pie
Okay I am going to take a bite.
I need this in a candle
Smells like a candle
I like it, it is very moist as well
We just need the thing, it is like beauty and the beast
The inside isn't oucing out and the bread looks thicker and drier
To be fair. We lefted it out to a little bit too long.
But so far
I would give it a try. Okay. I'll try it
It's nice
there is a subtle hint of rose
in the bun
Wow the inside of this has a lot of truffle
We really enjoyed our food year both the look and the taste
and then we even ordered dessert which was the perfect ending
Oh, its crispy and crunchy the outside I heard that
A crispy outside and soft melting inside
Sweet, not too sweet.
Yeah, not too sweet with a little hint of sour to like balance it out
What was your favorite?
I think my favorite would be the custard bun.
I don't normally eat many buns, but that one I don't mind having two.
That was good custard and good buns
We got to try a lot of dimsum, we got to learn how to make them
Thank you so much for joining on this episode, Olivia
Yeah, no worries. Thanks for having me
Finally, I want to say, out of all the ways that we ate them, whether old traditional style
Or the modern style.
Old modern the old traditional style in the way that you definitely want to experience
But as a foreigner, it's a bit intimidating to go in there.
People don't speak English, people kind of push you around
so I would recommend to go there with a
Local person that keeps had them explain what's going on?
Because otherwise, I would be completely lost never but what do you like that?
Looks like a wrestling match, people scream
but I enjoyed going there, but I enjoyed more because I am with you guys
Yeah, definitely what has to go with you guys and then as a tourist traveling here
say on my own I would prefer the modern one. It's everything in English.
It's just easier, cleaner.
But I enjoyed both equally because they're both fun experience in its own
and they were both tasty
For me personally,
maybe because I grow with dimsum I prefer good quality of dimsum, so the modern one
Yeah, doesn't matter where but I prefer the modern one
more hygenic, so I prefer like cleaner plates, cleaner utensils nicer service in general
Yeah, service is a big deal
I don't know, it's a Hong Kong style like you couldn't get away with that type of service in any other country, I think
True, because everyone is about efficiency
The traditional one get things done really quick, super quick
quick and cheap
So, it can be looked over. You get something quick and cheap, like everything else.. it doesn't matter I guess
but which is really interesting, and I am glad I got to do that as well
Iam glad that you enjoy it
Thank you so much, thank you
I will link Olivia's instagram below so you guys can go check her out
She shares really amazing food photos
Thank you! Enjoy the rest of your day.
Thanks for watching guys. Thank you
Byee