In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Dim sum (yum cha, “drink tea”) is small steamed, fried and baked dishes eaten with tea, mainly at breakfast and lunch. Order tea first, then pick from trolleys or tick an order slip. The eight dishes to start with are har gow, siu mai, char siu bao, cheong fun, xiao long bao, turnip cake, egg tarts and chicken feet. For trolleys, go to Lin Heung in Sheung Wan or Maxim’s Palace in City Hall; for an order slip, Tim Ho Wan in Sham Shui Po (8:00 to 22:00); for a 3:00 start, Sun Hing in Kennedy Town. Or book a tour: the Gems food tour with dim sum and roast goosead (from HK$833, 4.9 stars from 81 reviews) takes you to dim sum, brisket soup and goose in three hours. See Hong Kong food tours for the others.
Two ways dim sum is served
- Trolley service. Staff push heated carts of steamers around the dining room, and you stop them for what you want. It is quicker for the first basket and fun for beginners.
- Order slip. A paper checklist and a pencil: tick what you want and hand it over. Each basket is steamed fresh, and it suits larger tables and picky eaters.
Bamboo steamers outside a dim sum shop. Photo: tracyhunter, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
Where to eat dim sum
Pick by how you want to be served: trolleys at Lin Heung and Maxim’s Palace, a teahouse at Luk Yu, an order slip at Tim Ho Wan, or an early start at Sun Hing.
Tim Ho Wan, Sham Shui Po
G/F and M/F, Ka Wui Building, 9-11 Fuk Wing Street · 8:00 to 22:00, every day (Tim Ho Wan) · order slip
The Sham Shui Po branch is on the Michelin Guide Hong Kong & Macau 2026 Bib Gourmand list (Time Out Hong Kong). Order the baked barbecue pork bun, a baked rather than steamed bun with a sweet crust over barbecued pork, then the steamed egg cakes, bean-curd skin rolls with pork and shrimp, and pan-fried carrot cake that the Hong Kong Tourism Board lists. The chain was founded in 2009 by Mak Kwai-pui, a former Lung King Heen chef, and the first shop in Mong Kok gained a Michelin star within a year of opening (Wikipedia). This is the branch that opens earliest: other Hong Kong branches, including Olympian City 2 in Mong Kok and Lee Garden Two in Causeway Bay, open at 9:30.
A baked barbecue pork bun at Tim Ho Wan, Sham Shui Po. Photo: See-ming Lee, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Tim Ho Wan on Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po. Photo: Mk2010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Lin Heung Tea House, Sheung Wan
Tung Ning Building, 249-253 Des Voeux Road Central · 6:00 to midnight (am730) · trolley service
Lin Heung wheels trolleys of bamboo steamers around the room and the servers call out what is on them, so you walk up and take what looks good. The Hong Kong Tourism Board lists shrimp dumplings, siu mei and steamed rice rolls with soy sauce as the dishes to try. The tea house dates to 1889 in Guangzhou and opened its Hong Kong branches in 1926 (Wikipedia). It left its old Wellington Street building in Central, which is being redeveloped, and moved to this Sheung Wan space in May 2026 (Hong Kong Tourism Board). It spreads over two floors of about 16,000 square feet, with the trolleys out in the daytime and Cantonese main dishes in the evening (am730). The tourism board also lists all-night branches in Tsim Sha Tsui and at the airport.
Maxim’s Palace, City Hall
2/F, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall, 5 Edinburgh Place · Monday to Saturday 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:30 to 22:30, Sunday and public holidays 9:00 to 15:00 and 17:30 to 22:30 (City Hall)
Maxim’s has served from a banquet hall in City Hall since 1980, with a view of Victoria Harbour. The tourism board says the carts come round at weekend dim sum, while weekdays are à la carte, and tells weekend visitors to arrive early and be ready to queue (Hong Kong Tourism Board).
Luk Yu Tea House, Central
24-26 Stanley Street
Luk Yu has served classic Cantonese food in a multi-level teahouse since the 1930s; it is named after the Tang dynasty poet Lu Yu, who wrote the Classic of Tea (Wikipedia). The tourism board lists deep-fried prawn toast, almond and pork lung soup and steamed chicken buns (Hong Kong Tourism Board); Wikipedia adds pig liver siu mai and sweet and sour pork with young ginger. The first floor is unofficially kept for long-standing regulars.
Sun Hing, Kennedy Town
Shop C, G/F, 8 Smithfield Road · 3:00 to 16:00 (Hong Kong Tourism Board)
Sun Hing makes its dim sum by hand each day and a server goes from table to table with each batch as it comes out of the steamer, so there is no menu to read. It opens at 3:00, which makes it the answer for a breakfast after a night out or before an early start.
Yum Cha, Central
2/F, Nan Fung Place, 173 Des Voeux Road Central
Yum Cha shapes its dumplings and buns into animals: the barbecue piggy buns, doggy sausage rolls and lava custard bun are its best-known orders, and the menu also has roast meats and sweet and sour pork (Hong Kong Tourism Board). The tourism board tags it family-friendly.
Lung King Heen, Central
4/F, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, 8 Finance Street (Four Seasons)
Lung King Heen was the first Chinese restaurant to win three Michelin stars, a title it held for 14 consecutive years, and it has two stars in the 2026 Michelin Guide (Wikipedia). It looks over Victoria Harbour. Signature dishes are the whole abalone puff with diced chicken and barbecued suckling pig (Hong Kong Tourism Board).
Eight dishes to order
| Dish | Cantonese | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Har gow | 蝦餃 (haa gaau) | Translucent steamed dumpling of prawn, with a pleated skin |
| Siu mai | 燒賣 (siu maai) | Open-topped steamed dumpling of minced pork and prawn |
| Char siu bao | 叉燒包 (caa siu baau) | Steamed or baked bun filled with barbecued pork |
| Cheong fun | 腸粉 (coeng fan) | Steamed rice-noodle roll, filled with prawn, beef or fried dough, with sweet soy |
| Xiao long bao | 小籠包 (siu lung baau) | Soup dumpling of pork and broth |
| Lo bak go | 蘿蔔糕 (lo baak gou) | Pan-fried radish cake with dried shrimp and sausage |
| Dan tat | 蛋撻 (daan taat) | Baked egg custard tart |
| Fung zao | 鳳爪 (fung zaau) | Chicken feet, braised in black bean sauce |
Etiquette
- Tea first. The waiter asks what tea you want as you sit. The tea is charged per person.
- Rinse the tableware. Many diners rinse cups and chopsticks with hot tea and pour the water into the bowl on the table.
- Say thanks with two taps. When someone pours your tea, tap two fingers on the table.
- Ask for more hot water by resting the teapot lid askew on top of the pot.
- Pay at the end from your tally or stamped card; check the bill for a service charge, which many restaurants add at 10% (Hong Kong tourism information).
Har gow. Photo: ZhengZhou, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tours and tastings
A guided walk gets dim sum in front of you without picking a restaurant. The 3-hour street and restaurant tourad (from HK$450, 4.9 stars from 1,153 reviews) includes dim sum, and the Gems food tourad is from HK$833.
Next: the where to eat guide, roast goose and siu mei, cha chaan teng and the 3-day itinerary.
Common questions
What is the difference between trolley service and an order sheet?
In a trolley teahouse, staff wheel heated carts of bamboo steamers through the room and you pick what you want as they pass. In most modern restaurants you tick quantities on a paper order slip and hand it to a server, and each basket is steamed to order.
What tea should I order with dim sum?
Pu-erh (bo lei) is the common choice with rich fried dishes, jasmine (heung pin) is lighter and floral, and oolong (wu lung) sits between them. Ask for what the table prefers; the waiter will ask what you want to drink as soon as you sit.
Where can I try Tim Ho Wan in Sham Shui Po?
At G/F and M/F, Ka Wui Building, 9-11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po, open 8:00 to 22:00 according to Tim Ho Wan's own website. The chain also has branches at Olympian City 2 in Mong Kok and at Lee Garden Two in Causeway Bay.
Where can I get dim sum early or late?
Sun Hing in Kennedy Town serves dim sum from 3:00 to 16:00 according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Tim Ho Wan in Sham Shui Po opens at 8:00 and closes at 22:00.
When should I go for dim sum?
Late morning to lunchtime is the traditional window, and many dim sum restaurants stop serving dim sum in the afternoon, so check the hours of the restaurant you pick.
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