There is no menu. Instead, waiters push carts filled with the freshest cooked items from the kitchen, explaining what they are. When the waiter passes your table, you point to what you want and the waiter serves you. In traditional dim sum restaurants, the baskets are left on the table until you ask for the check, at which time they are cleared and the check is tallied. Dim sum are hearty appetizer-size portions of fish, meat, vegetables or even fruits.
Most baskets contain three or four portions and are meant to be shared around the table.
The types of dim dum served are limited only by the imagination of the chef and the individual taste of the consumer. Come early, because there is always a line, and plan to take your time as the dim sum is paraded out of the kitchen. Menu service also is available. Too heavy, too much or just too little time. Marilynn Boesky has written about, worked for and eaten at restaurants in San Diego and around the world for 10 years.