What Is Dim Sum? A Guide for First-Timers | Chef 21

October 16, 2026

Dim Sum Explained: Small Plates, Shared Tables and Tea

Dim sum is a Cantonese style of meal built from many small shared plates, traditionally eaten with tea during the morning and early afternoon. It is not a single dish, and it is not just dumplings: dumplings are one part of a menu that also includes buns, rice rolls, fried pastries, congee and sweets. This guide explains what dim sum means, what is on the table, how a meal works, how much to order and where to try it in Greenville, SC.

What Is Dim Sum?

The short definition

Search for a dim sum definition and you will usually find one line: small plates of food served with tea. That is accurate, and the meaning of dim sum comes down to format rather than ingredients. A dim sum meal is a run of small steamed, fried and baked plates, ordered in rounds and shared across the table. The tea is part of the format. The tradition is called yum cha, which translates literally to “drink tea,” and the food grew up as the thing you eat while you drink it.

Dim sum is a meal, not a dish

You cannot order “a dim sum” the way you order a burrito. You order several plates, and the meal is the combination of them. Once that is clear, most of the confusion about dim sum goes away, including why a menu reads like a long list of unrelated small plates.

When dim sum is eaten

Traditionally, dim sum is a late morning to early afternoon meal, and in Cantonese-speaking regions it is often a long weekend meal with family. Many restaurants in the US now serve it through lunch and dinner, so check the hours before you go. Tea Republic by Chef 21 is open daily for lunch and dinner service.

What Is Inside Dim Sum?

Most menus group dim sum into five categories. For a dish-by-dish breakdown with plain English descriptions, see our guide to popular dim sum dishes.

Steamed items

Translucent wrapped dumplings, open-topped dumplings, rice noodle rolls, filled buns and lotus leaf parcels.

Fried and crisp items

Spring rolls, taro puffs, fried wontons and pan-fried turnip cake.

Baked and roasted items

Baked barbecue pork buns, egg tarts and roasted meats served over rice.

Rice, noodle and congee dishes

Sticky rice parcels, chow fun and congee. These are the filling anchors of the meal.

Sweets

Egg tarts, mango pudding and sesame balls. Sweets often arrive alongside the savory plates rather than strictly at the end.

Why It Is Called Dim Sum

Dim sum is the common spelling of a Cantonese phrase usually translated as “touch the heart.” It is often rendered more loosely as a small bite that pleases, or a little something to delight the heart.

The name is tied to yum cha. In Cantonese teahouses in southern China, including Guangzhou and Hong Kong, guests drank tea and talked for hours, and the kitchen sent out small plates so they had something to eat. Over time, the food became as much of a draw as the tea. That is why the two terms are often used together: yum cha is the outing, and dim sum is what you eat during it.

How a Dim Sum Meal Works

Carts versus order sheets

Dim sum is served in two main ways, and the mechanics are different enough that it helps to know both before you sit down.

With cart service, servers push steam carts through the dining room and call out what they carry. You point at what you want and the plate goes on your table. The table gets a stamp card, and each plate you take is stamped by its size or price category. At the end of the meal, the server tallies the stamps to build the bill.

With order sheets, you get a paper checklist and a pen. You mark the quantity next to each dish and hand the sheet to a server, and plates come out of the kitchen as they are ready. Many US restaurants now work from a menu or order sheet because it keeps food hotter and makes the bill easy to follow. Tea Republic publishes its full dim sum menu online, so you can plan your order before you arrive.

Tea comes first

Tea is ordered before the food and refilled throughout the meal. It is customary to pour for the people next to you before pouring for yourself. When someone pours for you, tap two fingers on the table to say thank you. The gesture is silent, so nobody has to stop mid-conversation to acknowledge the pour. To ask for a refill, many diners leave the teapot lid slightly ajar.

Ordering in rounds

Order three or four plates at a time, then reassess. Ordering everything at once leaves steamed items cooling on the table while you work through the rest. The same pacing works for tabletop meals, and we cover it in our Korean BBQ for beginners guide.

How Much to Order Per Person

A workable guideline is two to three plates per person for a light lunch and three to five plates per person for a full meal. Add plates in rounds rather than all at once.

Steamed plates usually hold three or four pieces, which decides how a table of four should order. A basket of three dumplings does not divide evenly four ways, so double up on the dishes your table likes most. A first round of four plates followed by a second round of three or four fits most tables of four. If you want the meal to be filling, add congee, a rice dish or a noodle plate, since those anchor the table more than another round of small dumplings.

What to Order on Your First Visit

A first order of five plates covers steamed, fried, filled and sweet. At Tea Republic, that looks like this:

Crystal Shrimp
Dumplings, the classic translucent shrimp dumpling (har gow).
Shumai with Pork & Shrimp, an open-topped steamed dumpling (siu mai).
BBQ Pork Buns, a soft steamed bun filled with sweet barbecue pork (char siu bao).
Crispy Spring Rolls, for something fried and crisp.
Sesame Balls with Red Bean, to finish on something sweet.

The spread works because nothing on it is hard for a first-timer to eat, and each plate has a different texture. For every dish explained in plain English, read our guide to popular dim sum dishes.

Dim Sum and Dumplings Are Not the Same Thing

Dumplings are one category within dim sum. A table can have buns, rice rolls, sticky rice, fried pastries and congee and no dumplings at all, and it is still a dim sum meal.

Where to Try Dim Sum in Greenville, SC

Tea Republic by Chef 21 serves dim sum and tea at 500 E McBee Ave. #108, Greenville, SC 29601. The menu covers steamed, fried and sweet plates, from soup dumplings and crystal shrimp dumplings to Peking duck bao buns, and it lists a weekend-only congee.

The tea program is the part of dim sum most US restaurants skip. Tea Republic pours Jasmine Green Tea, Black Blend Tea and Wild Rose & Goji Berry Tea, plus craft iced teas. Reserve a table at Tea Republic or call 864-263-3018.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does dim sum mean?

Dim sum is a Cantonese phrase usually translated as “touch the heart.” In practice, it means a meal of small plates shared at the table, traditionally with tea.

Is dim sum Chinese or Cantonese?

Both. Dim sum is a Chinese dining tradition that comes from Cantonese cuisine in southern China, so it is most closely tied to Guangdong province and Hong Kong. Other regions of China have their own small-plate and snack traditions, but the style most restaurants serve under the name dim sum is Cantonese.

What time is dim sum usually served?

Traditionally from late morning through early afternoon. Many US restaurants now serve it through lunch and dinner. Tea Republic is open daily for lunch and dinner service, and current hours are on the Tea Republic page.

How many dim sum plates should you order per person?

Plan on two to three plates per person for a light lunch and three to five for a full meal. Order in rounds of three or four plates at a time so the food stays hot.

Do you need a reservation for dim sum?

Not always, but a reservation helps for groups and busy weekend hours. You can reserve a table at Tea Republic online or call 864-263-3018.