Hei La Moon. (Dim Sum)

Tea anyone? (that's what we call it) but it's also referred to as dim sum . 
essentially it's the Chinese version of tapas. Each dish comes with 3-4 servings, enough to share for certain. You get to pick out tasty dishes from a push cart that's wheeled around in an often loud restaurant, but don't be fooled because I wouldn't want it any other way.

Basic etiquette/tips:

  • always  pour tea for others before yourself (tea is the first thing on the table, always)
  • thank the person who poured your tea, respectively
  • leave the last ______ (it's a sign of politeness)
  • sit near the kitchen! (you'll have first dibs on the freshest stuff) 
  • come prepared to eat.eateat! 

Yum cha  (dim sum in Chinese) has a standard "tea fee" for all guests who plan on drinking tea. So if you don't plan on it, make sure to let the waitstaff know so they don't over charge you. There are 4-5 different tea options other than the standard Jasmine, so if you're not a fan don't feel shy about ordering a different type! Another thing to keep track of is your actual  wait person. The people wearing vests are the "overseers" and although they may look like they're not very busy, you shouldn't bother them with requests like "can we have glasses of ice water?". 

I personally stick to the dishes that I know  I'm going to enjoy, but that doesn't stop me from trying new things. And it shouldn't stop you either!

here's a look at some of the popular foods you can order. 

cha siu bao: steamed bbq pork bun.
the texture of the outside is soft and chewy, while the filling is usually sweet!

(bao is the standard word for bun!)

siu mai: open faced dumpling usually filled with pork and/or shrimp topped with dyed egg or fish roe

personal favorite, I could eat a million of these 

har gow: shrimp dumpling
standard dumpling of choice

another personal favorite 

fung zao or "Pheonix Claws": fried steamed chicken feet (intermediate dish)

don't let the appearance fool you, these are dee-lish

cheong fan: rice noodles filled with shrimp, pork, or beef.

my favorite  dish to order (as you can see I ate most of them before realizing I didn't snap a picture, oops)

pai gwut: steamed spareribs (pork) they usually come in a black bean sauce. but  they come with bones so beware!

clams with black bean sauce. (super tasty!)

I didn't have a chance to take pictures of everything we ordered, mainly because I was just too damn hungry to stop and smell the roses.  

here's some more information on dim sum though! 

dim sum for dummies
boston's guide to dim sum (great pictures, especially of dessert dishes) 

with that said here's how Hei La Moon stacked up. (I changed my usual criterion)

  • selection: 9/10 - we got there kind of on the late side (2pm) but they had all the standard dishes there, and a wide variety too. The carts were always fully stocked, and there were two or three repeats, which is good because you don't have to wait for them to come ALL the way around.
  • taste/freshness:  10/10 - yep.
  • service:  8.5/10 - our waiter went MIA (which is typical, but not for this  long; usually) and we had to break one of the rules I stated and flag down someone wearing a vest for water. It also took a bit to get refills on our tea. Also, we were wrongfully charged for our "tea fee", but they quickly corrected the mistake.  The people who were pushing the carts we on point, per usual.
  • length of time to pay the bill : 16 minutes. There's always a fight to pay the bill when it comes to Asians (but that's a separate post all together lol)  this one went on for a while. My mom had told me in the car that she wanted to pay, but my aunt sneakily grabbed the check and ran to the counter to pay when my mom wasn't looking! 

keep it appetizing. 

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