Dim sum has such a wide variety of incarnations, it’s hard to know what is what.  I definitely didn’t know.  When I was a kid, my mother and I would always go to a little dim sum place that molded our pork or vegetable buns into animals: little white bunnies, complete with poppy seed eyes, arranged on a plate under a carrot moon.  For years afterwards, whenever anyone would ask me about dim sum, that’s what I’d say—it’s little dumplings molded like animals and artistically arranged on plates.

Turns out, I was wrong.  Or rather, I had an incomplete definition.  Dim sum has hundreds of different varieties—all it really describes is a kind of small portioned, appetizer-like food served with tea.  They are sort of Chinese hor d’oeurves or Chinese tapas. 

Here are some of the famous types of dim sum and a few of the rules for ordering the multitude of delicacies:

--“Yum cha” is a Cantonese term that means “drinking tea.” During the time of the Silk Road in China, teahouses were constructed for travelers to stop and sip.  Teahouse proprietors noted that tea helped digestion and a number of small snacks were added to the teahouse menu, thereby creating dim sum.

--Ordering dim sum.  Most dim sum restaurants have a series of heated carts that serve the delicacies.  Sometimes you pay a flat price or pay by the plate.  Waiters wheel around the carts, often placing dishes onto your table, unless you tell them firmly not to.  Other dim sum houses offer a traditional menu or a checklist, similar to sushi restaurants, where diners can mark the types of dim sum they want to order.

--Course order.  Dim sum is usually served from the lightest to the heaviest.  Steamed dumplings pave the way for fried options and noodles, all followed by dessert. 

--Jiao zi.  This was the kind of white dumpling that I recognized as a child.  The translucent white dumplings are made of either a rice flour or a wheat starch wrapping and stuffed with various savory ingredients.

--Potstickers.  These dumplings have made it into every Chinese restaurant known to man, but are not traditional dim sum.  They are stuffed with meat and cabbage then served either steamed or fried.

--Shaomai. This type of Jiao zi is a dumpling filled with prawns or pork or both. It is traditionally topped with crab roe and mushroom.

--Phoenix claws. Only for the daring, Phoenix claws are, not too shockingly, chicken feet.  A process of deep frying, boiling, marinating in a black bean sauce and then steaming creates the tender inside and crispy outside of the feet. They are then served with a vinegar dipping sauce.  

--Congee. A thick rice porridge often topped with duck eggs or pork, as well as other savory items.

--Turnip cake.  This one is made from mashed daikon radish, dried shrimp and pork sausage that are steamed, sliced and then fried in a pan.

--Malay Steamed Sponge Cake.This sweet Malaysian cake looks a little like cornbread, but is much lighter in texture and flavored with molasses.