Last but not least are a staple of Chinese Dim Sum fare, the very familiar pork dumpling, also lightly seasoned and mixed with diced scallions, wrapped in a rice flour dumpling dough and quickly steamed to mouthful bites of goodness.

These are nick-named “Water Dogs” because you know they’re done when they start to float and bob at the top when the water is roiling. Smaller than their brethren, the Peking Ravioli a.k.a. Potstickers (which can be steamed, or steamed then fried crispy) like all dumplings they go great with a bit of soy sauce and a touch of hot chili oil.

A word about Dim Sum which translates roughly to small dishes is very much like Spanish Tapas, small dishes and servings to share with others at your table family style.

While Mandarin speakers will call this Dim Sum, Cantonese tend to call this meal, “Gam Cha” which roughly translates to “drink tea” as the tradition is to get a large table and invite friends and family to join you throughout several hours of the day to stop by, grab a bite, drink some tea together and generally catch up. It’s brunch but really an excuse for a social hour that involves one of the most important tenets in Chinese life: Making sure you’ve had something to eat recently, and if not, immediately!

Try some today!