Miniature food has become very popular in the last ten years. Petite, beautiful, and bursting with flavour, what’s not to love about sushi, tapas and mini-quiche?

One of the more recent trends in small food is a Chinese dish called dim sum. These bite-sized parcels of simple fillings in pastry are steamed (then sometimes fried) and served in pretty bamboo baskets.

Traditionally, dim sum would have been eaten by travellers, along with their tea, on the roadside. The bundles can be filled with anything really, but the most popular ingredients are spiced beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian variations. Your dim sum dishes will arrive with various sauces, such as dipping vinegar or chilli relish.

Dumplings are the most ubiquitous dim sum dish. The fillings are wrapped in a delicate, semi-transparent, ‘skin’ made from rice flour or wheat starch. Har gao are shrimp dumplings, also rather whimsically known as shrimp bonnets due to their pleats.

Pot stickers are made with ground meat or vegetables wrapped in dough and then fried. Char siu bao are fluffy buns filled with barbecue pork.

Won tons also have a meat or vegetable centre covered in a thin layer of dough, but they are more commonly boiled and served in a broth or soup. Sui mai are won tons that are open at the top.

Spring rolls, with their crunchy golden shells and soft fillings, also qualify.

Now the next time you order dim sum you’ll have some idea of what will emerge from the kitchen. But, delicious as it may be, good dim sum is quite difficult to come by in South Africa. We’ve found a few spots in the major cities that serve these hot little balls of steamed heaven.

Johannesburg

Best of Asia
Dim sum is not always served on the menu. Call ahead and check whether it will be available.

Gwefey
Order: steamed dumplings, won ton soup, spring rolls and bao.

Kong Roast
Order: Gao, bao, potato dumplings, gyoza (pot stickers) and sui mai.

Lai Lai Gardens
Order: Steamed buns, dumplings and wontons.

Orient
Order: Steamed buns, dumplings, won tons and char siu bao.

Shun Deck
Order: Dumplings, won tons, pot stickers and bao.

So Yum
Order: Spring rolls, steamed buns, sui mai or gao dumplings, won tons and pot stickers.

Pretoria

Guia
Order: Pot stickers and dumplings.

Jasmine Palace
Order: Dumplings, won tons and spring rolls.

Shen Zhou Chinese Dumpling Restaurant
Order: Dumplings and pot stickers.

Wing Hin
Order: Kwun tong-style dumplings, pot stickers, sui mai and steamed rolls.

Durban

China Plate
Order: Dumplings and pot stickers.

Ton Hoi
Order: Steamed or deep-fried dumplings.

Yang Chinese 
Order: Sui mai and won tons in soup.

Cape Town

Beluga
Order: Char siu bao and Japanese shokuji.

Erawan
Order: Dumplings (steamed or fried), spring rolls, wontons or prawn toast.

Haiku
Order: Har gao, sui mai, char siu bao, fried won tons, pot stickers, shokuji and spring rolls.

I Love My Laundry
Order: dumplings with kimchi filling (cabbage, radish and turnip combination), julienne vegetable, bacon and onion breakfast option or duck and black cherry.

Kitima
Order: Dumplings, steamed char siu bao, won tons.

Leaf
Order: Har gao, fried won ton, dumplings and sesame balls.

O’Ways Tea Café
Order: Dumplings, pot stickers and har gao.

Saigon
Order: Steamed dumplings and pot stickers.

Sake House Restaurant & Sushi Bar
Order: Har gao, dumplings and pot stickers.

Sevruga
Order: Har gao, sui mai, pot stickers, char siu bao, shokuji and deep-fried won tons.

South China Dim Sum Bar
Order: Pot stickers, steamed buns, wontons, and summer rolls.

Tao Yuan Asian Restaurant
Order: Har gao, pot stickers and steamed dumplings

Wakame and Wafu
Order: Dumplings, won tons, pot stickers, and steamed buns.

Xiang Yuan
Order: Dumplings, har gao, sui mai, char siu bao, pot stickers and won tons.

Have we forgotten your favourite? Send an email to info@eatout.co.za.

If you’d like to try your hand at making dim sum, buy your supplies at one of these exotica stores across the country.

By Kelly Pluke