Dim sum is one of the oldest culinary experiences in the world. Today, it’s enjoyed just about everywhere. But with a massive menu that might not be obvious at first glance, dim sum can be intimidating for a first-timer. Host Alex Melki calls in his friend Iggy, a self-proclaimed dim sum expert, to help him navigate a delicious exploration of this popular Chinese appetizer cuisine and offers up this non-exhaustive newbie guide to eating and enjoying it like a seasoned dim sum pro.
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00:00So this is beef stomach lining?
00:03Stomach lining, intestines, beef interiors.
00:06It's not some sort of meat that we built into looking like a chicken foot.
00:09Hey what's good, Narcity, Alex here, and I have been dying to try dim sum for a very
00:14long time.
00:15But it's not the kind of dining experience that you can just walk in and have without
00:18knowing the rules and instructions that come with it beforehand, or at least be aware that
00:23they exist.
00:24It is, for a first-time trier, a little bit of an intimidating experience.
00:28First, some context.
00:30As far back as 2,500 years ago, travelers would stop at teahouses all along the Silk
00:34Road, which was an ancient trade route that linked the Western world with the Middle East.
00:39And in these teahouses, you'd be served dim sum, the Cantonese word for appetizer, usually
00:44dumplings or other small snacks, along with some delicious hot tea.
00:49Fast forward to today, and dim sum is enjoyed all over the world.
00:52It's amazing.
00:53But, like I said, for a first-timer, it can be a little overwhelming, a little intense
00:57depending on the day that you go.
00:59So to make sure I have a proper dim sum first-time experience, I'm calling in some backup.
01:04This morning, I'm meeting up with my buddy Iggy, who knows this world inside and out,
01:08for a hefty dim sum brunch spread.
01:10He's so passionate about it, he wrote a rap just for the occasion.
01:14Before you leave your seat, try the chicken feet.
01:16If you don't find it okay, wash it down with ole.
01:19Our culinary culture is more than just pork bun.
01:22Now for the real test.
01:24This is called a durian.
01:25So yeah, that's it.
01:26So today's dim sum is one-tenth as good as that song was?
01:29It's basically a bunch of sides, and everything that you order, you're supposed to take just
01:34a little bit of it.
01:36It's meant to be shared, it's meant to be very family- and friend-oriented.
01:41Nobody really goes to dim sum on their own, in fact, some of the food items, you cannot
01:44order just one piece.
01:45Oh really, eh?
01:46It all comes in pieces of three or four.
01:48So typically, see, you already have all these chairs, but you gotta imagine, like, maybe
01:5230, 30, 40 people here, uh, waiting, and then look, on this side as well, this is like
01:58the second line.
01:59Oh my god, dude.
02:00Typically on weekends, this is how many people gotta wait in line to get a spot.
02:03Right away, I get the vibe Imperial is going for.
02:06This has been on my radar for a little bit, it just opened up in Montreal's West Island.
02:10It's an old-school spot modernized in such a way that it makes the entire experience
02:14feel elevated.
02:15I almost forget we're here to stuff our faces till we burst.
02:18The system here runs on itemization.
02:20Every item gets lumped into a price point, and each table is linked to a QR code.
02:24Uh, salt and pepper shrimps, nah, this is white people food, and that's not.
02:31How many, uh, how many times do you think you've done dim sum?
02:35Wow.
02:36Uh, let's say I'm 35, five times a year, so that's 150 times, yeah, ish.
02:43That's wild.
02:44Like, right now we're taking our sweet ass time, but food typically comes out so fast.
02:50You see something you like, you gotta order it now, like, otherwise you're waiting for
02:53the next round, the next circuit.
02:56Iggy makes the final call on what we absolutely need to try, and just a couple minutes later,
03:00our food starts rolling out.
03:17I'm gonna grab a har gow, like this.
03:19Har gow.
03:20Har gow, yeah.
03:21A little bit of mustard sauce there.
03:24Yes, yes sir.
03:31It's like a, it's like a horseradish.
03:34Yes.
03:35Ooh.
03:36The mustard, though.
03:37Yeah.
03:38You probably dumped too much mustard on it.
03:39That's good, though.
03:40I like that.
03:41Oh, we got more.
03:42Shrimp dumpling?
03:43Oh yeah, we got more food.
03:44What's next?
03:45Shumai.
03:46Shumai.
03:47Shumai, right here.
03:49So I guess they call it a dumpling, but it's really a beef ball with a little bit of wrap
03:54around it.
04:01That's like tender.
04:03So soft.
04:04So good.
04:06I can't believe more food just came.
04:08That's ridiculous.
04:10It's called a fried taro dumpling.
04:13It has a consistency of like a pate.
04:15So it's kind of like a meat pie, almost.
04:18Yeah.
04:19But.
04:20Like a bite-sized meat pie.
04:22Fried.
04:23It's called a shrimp rice paste roll.
04:26And we can dip this in some soya sauce.
04:29It all sticks to each other.
04:30Yeah.
04:31Ish.
04:34That is so good.
04:38It's like a little lemony.
04:41What's like the name for this type of dish?
04:47Cool.
04:48And it's basically wrapping some sort of protein inside of the.
04:52Inside of a rice sheet.
04:55You gotta call it.
04:58Yeah.
05:03Oh my god, of course it is.
05:05Oh is it?
05:06Yes.
05:07What does it mean?
05:09Sort of.
05:10So we got some cuttlefish here.
05:12In Chinese we call this yaoyu.
05:14I've never had cuttlefish.
05:16Just like that, eh?
05:17Yeah, just like that.
05:24With satay sauce.
05:25That's so good.
05:26You know what?
05:27I have had cuttlefish before.
05:29At a Chinese restaurant from around the corner from my place when I was growing up.
05:32But I didn't know what it was.
05:34So this is beef stomach lining?
05:36Stomach lining, intestines.
05:38Beef interiors.
05:40So basically just their organs.
05:42Their GI organs.
05:44Gastrointestinal organs.
05:46Jeez.
05:47So this I believe is their intestines.
05:50So we're talking intestines.
05:53This right here is the liver.
05:56Can I be honest with you?
05:58I feel like it has a.
06:01What's that?
06:02There's like a tinny taste to it.
06:04But I think that if I didn't know that it was the intestines,
06:07I feel like I wouldn't mind it as much.
06:09But it's like a mental block.
06:10But now you know.
06:11Now I know and it's hard to go back.
06:12It's kind of spongy.
06:15And I think it kind of.
06:17Because I've never had it before.
06:18It's like yeah, this is exactly what intestines are supposed to taste like.
06:21I shouldn't have told you what it was.
06:23I know.
06:24You should have just eaten it first.
06:25Maybe I tried it but.
06:26Yeah, definitely not like the first time I'm going to run to order when I do dim sum next time.
06:30It's good.
06:31Alright.
06:32That's wild though.
06:34You know what?
06:35It's weird.
06:36The flavor is kind of lingering in the back of my mouth and I kind of like the flavor.
06:39I think it's just the chewiness of it.
06:41I wasn't prepared for it.
06:42So this is your typical chicken feet.
06:45And people are wondering like where is chicken feet?
06:48It's exactly what it is.
06:49It's not an insinuation.
06:50It's not a nickname.
06:51It's not a nickname.
06:52It's not like.
06:54It's not some sort of meat that we built into looking like a chicken foot.
06:57I think there's this weird mental barrier of like don't think about it.
07:01Don't think about it.
07:02That once you get past that, this is delicious.
07:07Let's open this up.
07:08Yeah, let's do that.
07:09This is sticky rice in lotus leaf.
07:13Unravel it.
07:14It's like a lotus leaf like this.
07:16Sticky rice.
07:18It looks kind of messy.
07:19But inside the sticky rice, there's beef, there's pork, there's sausages.
07:24That smells so good.
07:27This little guy is called lap cheong.
07:30I think in English, it's just Chinese sausage.
07:37I know some of these flavors.
07:39But honestly, there's like a depth here that you just don't get in a lot of other cuisines.
07:44So this is congee.
07:45Heartwarming food.
07:46So this is not exactly a soup.
07:50I guess the best way to put it is a porridge.
07:52So this also has daedal, which is I think it translates to a thousand year egg or something like that.
07:58This is so good.
07:59It's funny because this reminds me so much of a soup my Greek grandmother makes.
08:05No way.
08:06I swear to God.
08:07So maybe Greeks and Chinese people have a lot more in common.
08:09You know what?
08:12Yo, this is delicious.
08:15So this is a tofu dessert.
08:17In Cantonese, it is called doufu fa.
08:20And it comes with a little side of ginger sauce or ginger syrup, rather.
08:25Honestly, you were hyping this up and I wasn't 100% sure.
08:28This is legit.
08:29And it's light.
08:31Alright, looks like we have a lot of leftovers.
08:32Time to pack this up.
08:39So what advice do you have for somebody who's like maybe never done this before or has always wanted to?
08:45Where do you start?
08:46What do they do?
08:48I would suggest, first of all, keep an open mind.
08:51All the foods that you're eating, that you're going to try, come with somebody who knows what they're doing.
08:57Otherwise, just go crazy at it on the menu.
08:59Look, you can even leave with all these doggy bags and you got enough for supper.
09:05And so, check it out.
09:06For Narcity, I'm Alex Melke.