Dim Sum Brunch Special

Inflation in Hong Kong is becoming severe recently.  Food prices rocket and we have been suffering.  However weekend dim sum brunch is one of my strategies to enjoy good food at VERY LOW prices. Most restaurants in Hong Kong are offering special prices for bills being settled before 12.30pm. 

Here's a summary of my dim sum brunch yesterday.  The dishes were at half price or even lower comparing to peak hours.

Shrimp Dumplings HK$16.8 (US$2.15) 蝦餃皇

Breakfast Combo 早茶孖寶

Congee + dim sum of our choice HK$24.8 (US$3.18)

Breakfast Combo皮蛋瘦肉粥 / 义燒腸粉

millienium egg / pork congee and roast pork rice roll

Typical Hong Kong Cantonese breakfast

Deep Fried Dace Fish Balls 生炸鯪魚球

Only HK$9.8 (US$1.25) (Super Value!!)

Pan Fried Turnip Cake - HK$9.8 (US$1.25) 煎蘿蔔糕

Fried Rice with Chicken and Vegetables 生炒雞絲飯

Only HK$48 (US$6.15)

We just couldn't resist to order a dish of fried rice to wrap up our dim sum brunch.  It is really of Super Value!!  Nowadays even fast food shop will sell fried rice at HK$40-50. $48 at a dim sum restaurant is unbelievably cheap.  (It will cost around HK$80 at peak hours) However we didn't have to compromise on portion and quality.  It was a regular size, cook to order and very delicious dish of fried rice.

So our anti-inflation Saturday dim sum brunch sumed up at HK$39 (US$5) for each of the four of us, inclusive of tea and 10% service charge. 

Alhtough I notice a bit of price rise recently, such as the dace fish ball used to be $8.8 and dim sum combo used to be $23.8 and the fried rice used to be $38, but our dim sum brunch was still at a very attractive price.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Anti-Inflation Dim Sum Brunch

Gu's Bistro Dim Sum - Unfortunately Disappointing

Smoked chili tofu - the first (and best) dish of the meal.



Sweet rice porridge with dried fruit.

As part of Calvin's birthday weekend I planned a special dim sum brunch at Gu's Bistro. We were served about 12-14 items for $15 each - definitely a good deal. Unfortunately the selection was not what I was hoping for and was rather disappointing compared with Gu's regular menu. The items were very starch/noodle heavy and while we enjoyed many of the items, it was too much of the same thing and included no seafood and very few vegetables. Several of the items were very interesting, however, including textures not commonly eaten in the US. It wouldalso be helpful to have a printed menu of the selections since the servers were not too good at explaining each dish. Next time we'll definitely go back to the regular menu, which is wonderful and unique for Atlanta.

Dumplings in broth. Tasty.



Very interesting cold noodle.



Beef noodles with greens.

Canton House

Salt & Pepper Squid.

When we found our usual dim sum place closed for renovations, we took out of town guests to Canton House instead and were delightfully surprised at the variety and quality of the weekend dim sum. We tasted lots of dumplings and buns as well as excellent duck (not pictured). The salt & pepper squid, my stepdaughter's absolute favorite, was a huge hit even with our niece who had never tried squid before. On another note, my local cousin told me she returned here for dinner and was not very impressed. She advises sticking to the dim sum, which we will most definitely continue to do.

Chinese broccoli and clams.



Various dim sum desserts - the egg custard tarts are always a favorite of mine but here they also have custard filled buns - a favorite with the kids!



Signage on Buford Highway.

Classic Dim Sums

If you ask me what are the must-eat dim sums in Hong Kong, here are my top choices - Shrimp dumpling 蝦餃, pork dumpling 燒賣, BBQ bun义燒飽, rice roll 腸粉, sponge chicken 綿花雞, sponge pudding 馬拉糕. If you happen to visit Hong Kong and want to enjoy a classic dim sum meal, please make sure to have these on your table. Any dim sum restaurant should have them on their menu. If no, simply black list it.



The other day, I so happened to have picked these classic dim sums for lunch. Don’t assume that good things are expensive. I’ve mentioned several times in my blog – if you manage your time good enough – you can eat good food at very cheap prices. For my classic dim sum meal, I spend only HK$130 (US$16.6) for the two of us on a Saturday, inclusive of tea and 10% service charge. If I go early and settle my bill before 12:30, it could be even cheaper.



Nowadays in Hong Kong, you can easily spend $40-50 in any fast food or even takeaway shops. But I paid only $65 per person and enjoy a good meal in a good restaurant. Here are my photo collections.

Al Dente Shrimp Dumpling 蝦餃 - My Favourite!!

Sponge 綿花雞 Chicken (left); Pork Dumpling 燒賣 (right)

Rice Rolls 腸粉, can be steamed, stir fried or my pan fried dish below.

Served with sesame sauce and soy sauce, very yummy!

Steamed BBQ Pork Bun, cha xiao bao, 义燒飽

The yellow Sponge Cake 馬拉糕, is one of my most favourite desserts

Inclusive of tea and 10% service charge and six dishes of delicious dim sum, this lunch is only HK$130 (US$16.6).



Mega Red

6/F Hopewell Centre

183 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong

Tel: 852 - 2528 1680

Hong Kong Food Blog - Classic Dim Sums

How to Say Cha Shao Bao in Cantonese?

Cha Shao Bao, an extremely popular Cantonese dim sum in Hong Kong. How to say it in Cantonese? Want to shock the waiters at the restaurant? Let's learn to say it. To continue my restaurant Cantonese lessons, you are going to learn two terms today – cha shao bao and la jiu cheung!! To make it more sensible – Steam Roast Pork Bun and Chili Sauce.

Cha Shao Bao 义燒飽

Dim sums are made to order. Look at the steam from the bao I am eating!. Let’s learn how to say Chao Shao Bao义燒飽 in Cantonese and see my greedy eating show. Click on the video.

Anna Eating Cha Shao Bao

The other time one of my blog readers said he could not say chili sauce in Cantonese. Today I’m at a Chiu Chau restaurant and their chili sauce is quite unique – not extremely hot however very aromatic. It's excellent to go with my turnip pudding, and many other dim sums. So next time when you want to order a dish of chili sauce, say this:

Chili Sauce 辣椒醬 with Turnip Pudding

Hong Kong Food Blog - Cha Shao Bao - Learn Restaurant Cantonese

Warning: Do NOT Use These Cooking Oils

More Cantonese Dim Sum and Dessert

Just realise that I haven't posted dim sum photos for some time. Here are some of my recent collections.

Traditional Cantonese Breakfast

Congee and Rice Roll 皮蛋瘦肉粥

Among which, congee with salty sliced pork and millenium egg + steamed rice roll is the classic duo. But today we chose the stir fried rice rolls.

Stir Fried Rice Rolls 炒腸粉
Chinese Pancake 煎薄餅

Deep Fried Dumplings 咸水角

Assorted Dim Sums 各式點心

Why we feel happy eating dim sum is that we enjoy

seeing the whole table full of delicious dishes of our own choice.

And everybody busy picking their own favourites.
一齊來多多點心, 大家都好開心

Fluid Egg Yolk Bun

Inside the Egg Yolk Bun 奶黃飽

Better eat it hot, or the fluid staffing will liquidate

Chinese Donut 蛋散

A very traditional Cantonese Dessert

I was eating this when I was a kid.

This should be one of the oldest

Hong Kong traditional dessert.

Hong Kong Food Blog - Assorted Dim Sum

Dim Sum Tea Time Special

My brother took me to a late lunch in Shatin last week. We arrived at the restaurant just after 2pm, so were entitled to special dim sum prices. You cannot imagine how low the prices were. Below are two examples. My favourite dessert Steamed Egg Custard costed even less than that from convenience stores.

Steamed Egg Custard

HK$3.8 (US$0.49)

Stir Fried Flat Noodle with Eggs and Prawns

HK$28.8 (US$3.7)

less than half price comparing to peak hour

Some readers asked me about the tea time in Hong Kong. Broadly speaking from 2pm to 6pm. However there are variations among restaurants. Dim sum restaurants usually start at 2pm. Food at this period is generally the cheapest in a day. Master your time and you can enjoy great food at greatly reduced price.

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Tea Time Dim Sum Special

Rare Vegetarian Dim Sum Lunch

At the Hong Kong Park, Lock Cha Tea Shop is a place where you can enjoy a peaceful lunch at the heart of a city. Our office is nearby, and we found it a good place to enjoy good tea and good food, along with good services.

This is a place dedicated for tea appreciation, so we can do the art of tea ourselves but the tea here is more expensive than other dim sum restaurants. Each of us can order our own choice of tea and play around with our tea set. Only the tea costs HK$20 (US$2.6) per person.

My choice of tea - Pu Er 我的至愛普洱茶 I am doing art of tea for myself 茶藝自助

All the vegetarian dim dum are very nicely done
滿枱點心最開心

Standard dish contains two pieces,

we paid extra to make three in each dish
每碟兩件, 但可按比例加費至所需件數

Vegetarian Buns 我們三人一齊, 所以每碟都有三件

Vegetarian Dessert - Glutinuous Dumplings with Custard Stuffing
這個類似湯丸的甜品很好吃

Hong Kong Food Blog - Vegetarian Dim Sum Lunch

Lock Cha Tea Shop

Ground Floor, The KS Lo Gallery, Admiralty, Hong Kong Park

Tel: 852-2801 7177

10am - 10pm, light Chinese music at dinner time

Luxurious Dim Sum Lunch

I treat my colleagues today as they bought me birthday lunch last week. The restaurant nearby our offices are all expensive. But they have some value-added elements in each of the dim sum dishes. My weekend special price prawn dumpling could be HK$12.5, but today's is HK$45, however we have a thin layer of gold on top of each one. Let me highlight the expensive element of each of the dishes, just for fun.

Prawn Dumplings with Gold Topping

金箔水晶蝦餃 HK$45 (US$5.78)

Pork Dumplings with Scallops Topping

帶子燒賣HK$45 (US$5.78)
Spring Rolls 春卷
HK$38 (US$4.87)

Vegetable in Hot Pot 馬拉盞通菜

HK$88 (US$8.7)

Deep Fried Spare Ribs in Sweet & Sour Sauce

陳皮話梅香酥骨董 HK$88 (US$11.3)

Dessert

Steamed Buns with Fluid Egg Yoke &

Swallow's Nest Stuffing &

Truffles Topping 黑松露燕窩流沙包

HK$45 (US$5.78)

Jiang Shan Xiao 江山笑

Shop 2B, 1/F, Retail Podium Lippo Centre,

88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Tel: 852-2810 6921

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Cantonese Dim Sum

Dim Sum Sunday Special

Typical Hong Kong Cantonese life style is to enjoy dim sum lunch on weekends. We love to have the whole table full of dim dum. See below.

On regular days, dim sums are graded into small, medium, large and superior etc., and of course the prices go up accordingly.

But on Sunday, some of the items are on special price. Today, the restaurant I go usually charge HK$16 for small, HK$20 for medium and so on... However, below are the special price items I ordered. You must find these prices very attractive. And I must tell you, these are very delicious food that you must try if you visit Hong Kong.

We love to have dim sums all over the table

Quadruplet Roll 四寶札

Chicken, mushroom, fish maw and crab fillet

all roll up together - HK$12.8 (US$1.64)

Dace Fish Ball 鯪魚球
HK$10 (US$1.28)
Pork Dumpling 燒買
HK$12.8 (US$1.64)

Salt Fish & Pork Rice 咸魚肉片飯
HK$12.8 (US$1.64)

Dessert

Green Bean Syrup 綠豆沙

HK$8 (US$1)

Banyan Garden - 1/F Wesley Hotel, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Hong Kong Chinese Food - Dim Sum