Who hasn't spent a lazy afternoon in their favorite Chinese restaurant, sipping tea and feasting on the innumerable assortment of delicacies that make up Chinese dim sum? Literally meaning "to touch your heart," dim sum consists of a variety of dumplings, steamed dishes and other goodies such as the famous egg custard tarts. They are similar to hors d'oeuvres, the hot and cold delicacies served at French restaurants.

Originally a Cantonese custom, dim sum is inextricably linked to the Chinese tradition of "yum cha" or drinking tea. Travelers journeying along the famous Silk Road needed a place to rest, so teahouses began springing up along the roadside. Rural farmers, exhausted after long hours working in the fields, would also head to the local teahouse for an afternoon of tea and relaxing conversation. Still, it took several centuries for the culinary art of dim sum to develop. It was originally considered inappropriate to combine tea with food - in fact a famous 3rd century Imperial physician claimed this would lead to excessive weight gain. However, as tea's ability to aid in digestion and cleanse the palate became known, tea house proprietors began adding a variety of snacks, and the tradition of dim sum was born.

Today, dim sum is served throughout China, particularly in Shanghai. In The Taste of China, Ken Hom shares his memories of enjoying regional variations in "small eats": jiaozi dumplings in Beijing, pearl balls and spicy wontons (known as huntuns) in the Szechuan province. But he agrees with the majority that the best dim sum can be found in Canton, with its wide assortment of sweet and savory dishes ranging from meatballs to sweet cakes. Still, it is probably true that the best dim sum chefs are found not in China but in Hong Kong, where restaurants begin serving dim sum as early as 6:30 in the morning and continue through mid-afternoon.

In the west, dim sum came about as a natural result of 19th Chinese immigrants - most of whom were from the Canton region - settling on the East and West coasts. Some gourmands believe that dim sum inspired the whole idea of "brunch" - combining breakfast and lunch into one large midmorning meal. It is true that the word brunch only came into existence in the late 1800's. (There's also some thought that the Denver sandwich - the quintessential cowboy snack - came about when a Chinese cook tried to adapt Eggs Foo Yung to suit western tastes).

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