Dim Sum Pop Blog

Special Xmas offer - Buy 1 Dim Sum Badge Pack, get 2nd for less than half price

2010-11-14T02:24:22+00:00

In the run up to Xmas, I thought I'd post a festive special offer: buy one pack of the Dim Sum Badges and get a second pack for less than half price! If you fancy a pack yourself, but have a dim sum lover friend that you need to get a pressie for, then this is the perfect gift! Makes a good stocking filler too.

To take advantage of this offer, just purchase via the usual shop page, where a green box shows the payment options for this double deal. Be quick though as this is only for a limited time (much as I like Xmas, it doesn't happen all year round).

Last Xmas Posting Dates

Speaking of Xmas, if you're buying the Dim Sum Badges for a present, then please make sure you make your purchase on or before the following dates as we need to get them off before the Royal Mail's last recommended posting dates!

UK: 17th December
Europe: 10th December
World: 3rd December

Early Merry Xmas!

Dim Sum Badge Video

2010-10-06T20:57:10+00:00

Though "Making of.." videos seem to be all the rage, it's still a nice way to see products in a different light to photos. Here's a short piece on the Dim Sum Badge pack. Note, there isn't any sound. I mean, badges can't talk can they?

Dim Sum - A Survival Guide

2010-10-03T22:05:22+00:00

Since our Dim Sum Pop Guide for Dim Sum Virgins is just a "taster guide" for dim sum, we thought we'd bring your attention to a proper guide to Dim Sum. Dim Sum: A Survival Guide, is written by Liza Chu and is published by the Hong Kong based Blacksmith Books, who specialise on publishing China-related non-fiction.

Australian-Chinese writer Liza Chu has a part-time career as a Hong Kong dim sum guide. She has distilled her knowledge of Cantonese cuisine and Chinese dining etiquette into this practical guidebook to delicious dim sum. Each photographed dish is identified with Chinese characters and a pronunciation guide. Icons alert those with allergies or special diets, and there’s a special listing of dim sum dishes most popular with children. Master chefs explain their cooking methods, and even the art of tea drinking is covered in detail.

For anyone who is in Hong Kong at the time, Liza Chu will be signing copies of her dim sum guidebook at the AWA (American Women's Association) Bazaar on November 3rd. This event takes place every year at the Excelsior Hotel in Causeway Bay.

Here are some sample pages from the book:

For a little more information on Dim Sum: A Survival Guide, check out Blacksmith Books. If you'd like to buy the book, please consider supporting us by buying through our Amazon Affiliate link for Dim Sum: A Survival Guide.

The Dim Sum Pop Guide for Dim Sum Virgins

2010-09-28T20:14:35+00:00

For people who've never tried dim sum (surely there can't be many?!) or haven't had it much, here's a handy little fun guide we've created to help navigate through and introduce some dishes to try. It works like a flowchart that you can follow, and based on your preferences and actions, you can end up with a satisfied full stomach and perhaps a little more knowledge about these pieces of heart! It features the dishes in our Dim Sum Badge pack as well as a couple of extra ones.

Click on this image below to get a larger version. If you find this handy enough to take to a restaurant, you can also download and print the Dim Sum Pop Guide as an A4 format PDF file or as a hi-res jpeg image file (right-click to save) and fill in the quantity circles too.

Word of advice - note the last instruction carefully ("Fight convincely over bill") and consider practising beforehand. You're welcome.

Note: Yes, we know the selection of dishes is small and the flow chart criminally misses off alot of favourites. So although you can use this to order, please do so with a sense of fun and don't take it too seriously. Use the option "Ask waiter for recommendations?" wisely!

World’s Cheapest Michelin Starred Dim Sum

2010-08-28T02:17:39+00:00

Only in Hong Kong can you find Michelin Starred Dim Sum for less than HK$10 per dish. We first came across Tim Ho Wan towards the end of 2009 - several months after it first opened and after rave reviews had already circulated, particularly in Australia, for some reason. For a dim sum restaurant to get attention in a country full of them, is a particularly mean feat, but the food is fabulous and the prices low.

The restaurant, in a quieter side of Mongkok, Kowloon, is also very small, so its soaring popularity has also led to it becoming famous for long waiting queues. However, Tim Ho Wan is worth mentioning because if you're ever in Hong Kong, its a must-visit place for your list.I've already written about our visits to Tim Ho Wan elsewhere, so I'll include the link below, but I'll also say that since leaving Hong Kong, we found out that the company were on their way to opening another restaurant in Sham Shui Po (in May 2010), not too far away. The address is as follows as well as the branch in Mongkok for reference.

Tim Ho Wan Shamshuipo
G/F, 9-11 Fuk Wing Street
Shamshuipo, Kowloon

Tim Ho Wan Mongkok
2-20 Kwong Wa Street
Mongkok
Kowloon

Tasting the World's Cheapest Michelin Starred Dim Sum at Tim Ho Wan

Bruce Lee Digs Dim Sum

2010-08-21T11:27:05+00:00

Well, ok, we can't exactly ask the man but since he was Chinese and most likely spent his formative years in Hong Kong, it's a safe bet he consumed lots of dim sum and loved it. Of course, he would have loved these Dim Sum Badges. Check out the finger pointing...

Here is the legend again, about to tuck in. By the way, these badges are non-edible. Though they're pretty small and might be able to pass though your body, we wouldn't recommend trying it.

Do you dig dim sum?

Miniature Dim Sum Models at Hong Kong’s G.O.D. Museum

2010-08-19T11:27:00+00:00

No, not literally tiny portions - dim sum portions are small enough as they are - but some miniature models of classic dishes, If you love Hong Kong culture, the HK store Goods of Desire (G.O.D.) has its own museum full of retro Hong Kong stuff as well as newer items like these little miniature toys.

These toys come blind boxed and like lots of other ephemera toys in Asia, are popular with collectors.

The G.O.D. Museum is located in the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre near the Shek Kip Mei MTR station.

Align Yourself With The Dumpling!

2010-08-17T11:27:46+00:00

Grand plans are afoot as Dim Sum Pop finally launches and I can hardly think due to lack of sleep and recent marathons in front of the screen in preparation. The effort, particularly as I'm a perfectionist, is enough to resign myself to small steps, and so this website as a way to bring together people who love dim sum, will slowly take shape over time.

After a lifetime of eating dim sum myself (Chinese - born in the UK), I would have thought its about time. Having recently returned from more than a year in Hong Kong, where dim sum is everywhere every day, I still couldn't get enough chicken feet. And now, I'm back in the United Kingdom, where in all practicality, dim sum is restricted to the more modest once a week on a Sunday (if I can get out of bed early enough).

So what can you expect from this site? Well, to be honest, I'm still not sure. It would be cool to meet people on here who love dim sum. This must be the majority of the world, if we believe what they state about China's population. Problem is, although I'm Chinese myself, I can hardly speak or write any. I'll stick with English and see what happens.

With 'dim sum' translating in one way as being 'little pieces of heart' (or more literally as 'touching heart'), this is also a vague notion to do the same with the idea of Dim Sum Pop. The site won't necessarily be a place on learning how to cook the stuff. I'm particularly happy enough just to eat it! And if I can sell some merchandise while I'm at it (Dim Sum Badges) then why not. I'll be in no danger of retiring from my profit of millions just yet. Eat it, buy it, read it, consume it. I just hope simply to get people smiling and happy.

So if you're ok with that, align yourself with the dumpling!