← Guides · By Ray Lei · Published 2026-11-14

What should I order at dim sum the first time?

Q: Is dim sum vegetarian-friendly?

Traditional dim sum is heavily pork-and-seafood focused. Pure vegetarian dim sum options are limited at most restaurants but do exist: turnip cake (lo bak go) is often made without meat, some cheung fun versions are plain or vegetable-filled, and some restaurants offer tofu skin rolls with vegetable fillings. Buddhist-style (zhai) dim sum restaurants serve fully vegetarian menus. It is always worth asking staff which items are meatless.

Start with har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork and shrimp dumplings), and steamed char siu bao (BBQ pork buns). Add cheung fun (rice noodle rolls) and an egg tart to cover the range from savory to sweet. Order tea immediately — it anchors the meal and is traditionally the first thing requested.

Dim sum (點心, diǎn xīn) translates literally as "touch the heart" — a name for the tradition of small plates served with tea during the morning and midday meal that Cantonese speakers call yum cha (飲茶, "drink tea"). A table orders many dishes in small portions, everything arrives throughout the meal rather than in courses, and sharing is the point.

What makes dim sum distinctive — and potentially overwhelming the first time — is the sheer number of options and the rapid-fire way they arrive. At a traditional restaurant, servers push carts loaded with bamboo steamers and plates through the dining room; you flag them down and choose what you want. At more modern restaurants, you mark a checklist or use a tablet. Either way, the strategy is the same: order broadly, eat a little of everything, and let the spread teach you the flavors.

The dishes below are the ones to start with. Each one appears at virtually every dim sum restaurant and together they give you a full picture of what dim sum tastes like.

What to order the first time

Chinese	Romanization	English	What it is	Main ingredients	Allergen notes
蝦餃	Har gow	Shrimp dumpling	Steamed shrimp inside a thin, translucent rice-starch wrapper; delicate and lightly sweet	Shrimp, water chestnut, wheat starch wrapper	Shellfish; wheat starch (not gluten-free)
燒賣	Siu mai	Open-top dumpling	Open-topped steamed dumpling of pork and shrimp, often topped with orange roe or green pea	Pork, shrimp, shiitake mushroom, wheat wrapper	Shellfish; wheat; pork
叉燒包 (蒸)	Char siu bao (steamed)	Steamed BBQ pork bun	Soft white steamed bun filled with sweet Cantonese barbecued pork; bun splits at top	Wheat flour bun, char siu pork, oyster sauce	Wheat; pork; oyster sauce (shellfish derivative)
叉燒包 (焗)	Char siu bao (baked)	Baked BBQ pork bun	Golden-crusted bun with same sweet pork filling; richer and denser than steamed version	Wheat flour bun, char siu pork, egg glaze	Wheat; pork; egg; oyster sauce
腸粉	Cheung fun	Rice noodle roll	Silky steamed rice sheets wrapped around shrimp, beef, or char siu; served with sweet soy sauce	Rice flour sheet, shrimp or beef or pork, sweet soy	Shellfish if shrimp version; soy (gluten)
蘿蔔糕	Lo bak go	Turnip cake (radish cake)	Pan-fried cake of grated radish and rice flour with dried shrimp and Chinese sausage; crispy outside	Radish, rice flour, dried shrimp, Chinese sausage, dried scallop	Shellfish (dried shrimp and scallop); pork; gluten-free base but check sauces
蛋撻	Dan tat	Egg tart	Flaky pastry shell filled with smooth, lightly sweet egg custard; Cantonese version has crumbly crust	Wheat pastry, egg custard filling, sugar	Wheat; egg; dairy (butter in crust)
腐皮捲	Fuk pei gyun	Tofu skin roll	Steamed or fried roll of dried tofu skin wrapped around pork, shrimp, or mushroom filling	Tofu skin, pork or shrimp or vegetable filling, oyster sauce	Soy (tofu); wheat in sauce; shellfish if shrimp version
鳳爪	Fung zao	Steamed chicken feet	Deep-fried then steamed chicken feet in black bean sauce; gelatinous texture, savory and mild	Chicken feet, fermented black bean, garlic, soy	Soy; fermented black bean (soy derivative)
芋頭糕	Wu tou gou	Taro cake	Pan-fried cake of taro root and rice flour; savory, dense, and mildly earthy	Taro, rice flour, dried shrimp, pork	Shellfish; pork; gluten-free base
芝麻球	Jin deui	Sesame ball	Deep-fried glutinous rice ball coated in sesame seeds, filled with lotus paste or red bean	Glutinous rice flour, sesame seeds, lotus paste or red bean	Sesame; gluten-free (rice flour), but verify filling
馬拉糕	Ma lai gou	Steamed sponge cake	Light, fluffy Cantonese steamed cake with a caramel-like molasses flavor; often served warm	Wheat flour, eggs, brown sugar, butter or oil	Wheat; egg; dairy

How dim sum ordering works

Understanding the system takes the stress out of your first visit. Here are the two formats you will encounter:

The cart system

When you sit, a server brings a table card and asks which tea you would like. Order tea immediately — jasmine (茉莉花茶), pu-erh (普洱茶), and chrysanthemum (菊花茶) are common. The tea is the frame for the whole meal.
Servers push carts through the dining room. When a cart passes, make eye contact or wave to get their attention. The server will lift the lids or describe what they have.
If you want a dish, the server stamps or marks your table card. At the end, the card is counted up at the register.
Carts circulate continuously, so if you miss something, it will come around again — or ask a passing server if there is more of a specific item.

The checklist or tablet menu

Many newer or higher-end restaurants use a paper checklist or iPad. Mark quantities next to each item and hand the sheet to a server.
Dishes arrive as they are ready, not in a set course order. Steamed items typically arrive before fried, but this varies.
You can submit additional orders throughout the meal by flagging a server.

Practical notes

Order tea first. Pouring tea for others before yourself is a traditional courtesy. Tap two fingers on the table to silently thank someone who fills your cup — a gesture that originated from an old Cantonese story about an emperor traveling incognito.
Start with steamed dishes before fried. Steamed har gow and siu mai are lighter; fried dishes like sesame balls and turnip cake are richer. Pacing steamed before fried avoids getting too full too early.
Dim sum is designed for sharing. At a table of four, ordering one of each recommended dish above gives everyone two or three bites of each — the right amount.
Chicken feet (fung zao) are a texture dish, not a flavor dish. If you try them, focus on the flavor of the black bean sauce and the collagen-rich, sticky texture rather than the visual.
To scan an unfamiliar dim sum menu or identify an unlabeled dish, ChefBear handles both Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese menu text and can generate photos of dishes you haven't seen before.
For more help reading Chinese restaurant menus, the Chinese menu reading guide covers key characters and common patterns.

Frequently asked questions

What are the must-order dishes at dim sum?

For a first-time dim sum visit, the essential dishes are: har gow (shrimp dumplings in translucent wrappers), siu mai (open-topped pork and shrimp dumplings), char siu bao (steamed or baked BBQ pork buns), cheung fun (rice noodle rolls), and egg tarts. These five appear at virtually every dim sum restaurant and represent the full range of textures from delicate to hearty.

How does the dim sum cart system work?

At traditional dim sum restaurants, servers push wheeled carts carrying stacked bamboo steamers and plates through the dining room. When a cart passes your table, you can point at or ask about any dish. The server stamps your table card to record the order, and the card is totalled at the end. At modern restaurants, ordering is done from a paper checklist or tablet menu instead.

What is the difference between steamed and baked char siu bao?

Both are filled with the same sweet barbecued pork (char siu) filling. Steamed char siu bao has a soft, pillowy white dough that splits slightly at the top. Baked char siu bao has a golden, slightly sweet glazed crust. The steamed version is lighter; the baked version is richer and denser. Both are beginners' favorites.

Is dim sum served all day?

Most traditional dim sum service runs from early morning through early to mid-afternoon — roughly 7 or 8 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m. Many restaurants stop serving dim sum in the afternoon and switch to a dinner menu. It is worth calling ahead to confirm hours, especially on weekdays.

Is dim sum vegetarian-friendly?

Traditional dim sum is heavily pork-and-seafood focused. Vegetarian options are limited at most restaurants but exist: turnip cake is sometimes meat-free, plain cheung fun is available, and some tofu skin rolls use vegetable fillings. Buddhist-style dim sum restaurants serve fully vegetarian menus. Always ask staff which items are meatless.