Dim Sum

Dim sum (點心; Theng Xia) is a large range of small dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch.
In the tenth century, when the city of Canton began to experience an increase in commercial travel, many frequented teahouses for small-portion meals with tea called yum cha, or "drink tea" meals. Yum cha includes two related concepts. The first is "yat jung leung gin" (一盅兩件), which translates literally as "one cup, two pieces". This refers to the custom of serving teahouse customers two pieces of delicately made food items, savory or sweet, to complement their tea. The second is dim sum (點心) and translates literally to "touching heart", the term used to designate the small food items that accompanied the tea drinking. Teahouse owners gradually added various snacks called "dim sum" to their offerings. The practice of having tea with dim sum eventually evolved into the modern yum cha (brunch). Yuht dim sum culture developed rapidly during the latter half of the nineteenth century in Canton. Yuht dim sum was based originally on local foods. As dim sum continued to develop, chefs introduced influences and traditions from other regions of the Nation.