If you’ve never sat down to a proper dim sum meal, the first thing to know is that it isn’t really one dish. It’s a whole table of small plates eaten together, usually over a long lunch, with a pot of tea sitting in the middle of everything. In Cantonese the meal is called yum cha, which translates to “drinking tea.” The food grew up around the tea, not the other way around.
That changes how you approach the table. You’re not ordering a main course and waiting for it. You’re building a spread, sharing all of it, and pacing yourself across an hour or two. For most people in Dhaka, that style of eating is the unfamiliar part, not the food itself.
Here’s how to walk in knowing what you’re doing.
What dim sum actually is
Dim sum is a category, not a recipe. The term covers dozens of small dishes from Cantonese cooking in southern China: steamed dumplings, filled buns, rice noodle rolls, fried snacks, and a handful of sweets. Some are delicate and barely seasoned. Others are rich and filling. A good dim sum order has a mix.
Traditionally these dishes came around the dining room on push carts, and you picked what looked good as it passed. Most restaurants now work off a menu instead, which is easier when you don’t yet know the names. You tick what you want on an order slip or tell your server, and dishes arrive as the kitchen finishes them rather than all at once.
How the meal works
Order to share. Everything goes in the middle of the table and everyone takes from the same baskets. A single portion is usually three or four pieces, which is why dim sum suits a group better than a solo lunch.
Don’t order everything in one go. Start with four or five dishes for two people, or seven or eight for a group of four, then add more once you see how hungry you actually are. Steamer baskets stack, so the table fills up fast and food keeps coming hot.
The tea matters more than you’d expect. It cuts through the richer fried items and resets your palate between bites. When someone refills your cup, the custom is to tap two fingers gently on the table to say thanks without interrupting the conversation. Nobody will mind if you forget, but it’s a nice thing to know.
What to order your first time
If you want a starting point that covers the range, these are the dishes to look for:
- Har gow — steamed shrimp dumplings in a thin, almost see-through wrapper. This is the benchmark dish. A kitchen’s skill shows up here before anywhere else, so it’s a good test of where you’re eating.
- Siu mai — open-topped dumplings of pork and shrimp, usually with a small dot of crab roe on top. Sturdier and more savoury than har gow.
- Char siu bao — soft steamed buns filled with sweet barbecue pork. The easiest entry point if dumplings feel like a leap. Hard to dislike.
- Cheung fun — silky rolls of rice noodle wrapped around shrimp or beef, served in a light, slightly sweet soy sauce. Texture-forward and very Cantonese.
- Lo mai gai — sticky rice with chicken and mushroom steamed inside a lotus leaf. This is the heavy hitter. Order it if you want something that genuinely fills you up.
- Egg tarts — save these for the end. Flaky pastry, warm custard, not too sweet.
Two dumplings, one bun, one noodle dish, and something filling like the sticky rice will give a first table real variety. Adjust from there.
A few things worth knowing
Dim sum is a daytime meal by tradition. It runs from late morning through early afternoon in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Plenty of restaurants serve it later, but if you can go at lunch, you’re eating it the way it’s meant to be eaten.
Pace yourself on the fried items. The deep-fried dishes are some of the most tempting on the menu and also the heaviest. One or two is plenty next to the steamed dishes.
Use the chili oil and vinegar on the table, but taste first. Good dim sum is seasoned to be eaten as-is, and the dipping sauces are there to adjust, not to rescue.
And don’t rush. The whole point of yum cha is that it takes its time. The food arrives in waves, the tea keeps coming, and the meal stretches out across a conversation.
Where to try it in Dhaka
Dim sum done well depends on the kitchen, and that’s the part that’s hard to fake. The dumpling wrappers have to be thin without tearing, the fillings have to be fresh, and the timing on the steamers has to be right.
At Chows in Banani, the dim sum is prepared by Chinese chefs from the Cantonese region, and the kitchen sources specialty ingredients directly from China alongside fresh local produce. The menu changes with the seasons, so there’s usually something new to try beyond the standards. It’s a fitting place to eat dim sum the way it’s supposed to be served: slowly, in good company, with a pot of tea on the table.
Come hungry, order a few things, and don’t be afraid to ask your server what’s good that day. That’s how everyone learns the menu, first-timers included.
Chows is located at Plot 6, Road 19A, Block E, Banani, Dhaka. Open Sunday to Saturday, 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM. For reservations and private events, call +8801730-644444.