In metro Phoenix, the dim sum pickings are slim for a city of this size, and the local dim sum scene doesn’t yet offer what you might find in other big cities - amenities like ultra-cheap dim sum takeout shops, or restaurants with more modern formats, including placemat pictograph menus that have started to replace the iconic dim sum carts.ĭim sum in metro Phoenix leans more traditional, but that’s not necessarily a knock. It’s most closely identified with Hong Kong, the dim sum capital of the world, where the format that we recognize today first took shape in the 1950s.

The “Chinese brunch” tradition of dim sum originated in southern China, in Guangdong (formerly Canton) province. You probably already know that dim sum refers to a type of meal, one most often enjoyed on the weekends, featuring a roster of bite-sized dishes that are enjoyed with tea.

If you, like my friend, have reached adulthood without partaking in the culinary free-for-all that is a dim sum service, it’s time to acquaint (or maybe re-acquaint) yourself with the small but lively dim sum scene in metro Phoenix. She’s in love, she says, with everything about this loud and happy scene: the bottomless cups of hot tea the shrimp dumplings bulging from their dewy wrappers even the wobbly, slippery hunks of fried tofu that she can’t quite pick up with her plastic chopsticks.

Her eyes are glued to the silver serving cart that’s rolling by our table, trailing puffs of shrimp-scented steam into the air. “It’s like a buffet that comes to you!” We’ve just been seated for dim sum service at Mesa’s Mekong Palace Restaurant, and my friend, a dim sum newbie, can hardly contain her excitement.

Dim sum buffet casino arizona