[trip style = food + urban]
If you want to devour ALL the dim sum, Hong Kong is the place to let your taste buds do the exploring. Home to mom-and-pop shops, and a swath of sophisticated restaurants where families go to celebrate or tycoons dine to impress, the food-obsessed city is your best bet for tasting the traditional Cantonese meal.
Having dined on dim sum from street to three-star Michelin-chic, I thought I'd found my all-stars. Then I sat down for a two-star Michelin feast and preferred it in every way.
The fact that I'm writing about dim sum being my most beautiful meaI in Hong Kong is a next-level achievement for this once-picky eater. In addition to tasting menus featuring rabbit-stuffed ravioli, or lamb prepared in an oven dug into the Sahara Desert, the myriad of dishes in a dim sum feast remind me how far I've come from crackers and cheese. While I don't indulge in golden frog legs with spicy salt on a regular basis, my travels have taught that experiencing a place through its traditional food gives you a seat at its cultural table, both literally and figuratively. With this, here's a first-hand account of my seat at Yan Toh Heen, one of Hong Kong's most beloved Cantonese restaurants, called the "best for dim sum virgins" by CNN.
From design, to food, to the rarely-seen kitchen, I give you: My most beautiful meal in Hong Kong.
How to Order Dim Sum
1. If you're a newbie, order the chef's tasting menu—typically a "highlight reel"—so it's a smart bet.
2. Plan ahead: Signatures such as Peking Duck or Barbecued Suckling Pig, often require advanced notice.
3. Many dim sum restaurants serve their dishes from a trolley that passes by each table. When there's a menu it is often presented in categories {steamed, fried, noodle, specialty dishes, dessert} for easy ordering.
4. Don't keep a dish to yourself, dim sum is a sharing meal.
5. Always start with tea. High-end dim sum restaurants have tea sommeliers to pair your sips with your selections.
Other Dispatches in this Series
6 Hong Kong Hints {that will make you want to book a ticket ASAP}
Flying Well :: Cathay Pacific's Revolutionary A350
Style Inspiration :: The Pier Business + First Class Lounges in Hong Kong
First Look :: Cathay Pacific's GORGEOUS New Lounge at YVR
Hong Kong :: Instagram Diary
Cathay Pacific Vancouver to Hong Kong
[photos by @tripstyler, except jade gates and interior shot provided by the InterContinental Hong Kong, where I stayed and dined as a guest. As with all Trip Styler dispatches involving partners, I ONLY talk about best-in-class travel experiences. This is one of them.]