They still make dim sum by hand

For the past 60 years Chui Hoi has risen in the early hours of the morning to prepare bite-size steamed morsels for his small but popular dim sum restaurant in Hong Kong. 

Sun Hing in the western district of Kennedy Town opens at 3am seven days a week, with a loyal clientele from students to the elderly filling its 60 seats.

At 85 years old, Chui is committed to making his dim sum by hand – parcels of meat, seafood and sweet fillings served in stacks of bamboo baskets – saying freshness is key to their success.

But many in the industry fear the traditional art of making dim sum is dying as restaurants choose factory-made versions to save money and meet demand. “Fresh handmade foods are beautiful after they are steamed, but many are made in factories now,” says Chui.

Younger chefs are less interested in the hard graft it takes to prepare dim sum, he adds. It’s usually eaten in the morning, so cooks must get up in the night to prepare.

“Young people think being in this industry means no freedom, because you have to get up early and the hours are long,” Chui says.

At Maxim’s Palace in the harbourfront City Hall building, a favourite with locals and tourists, chandeliers sparkle over dim sum diners in the buzzing banquet hall.

But, like Chui, Maxim’s supervising chef Tang Leung-hung says there is a dearth of young talent to produce its handmade fare. “The problem with the industry is the manpower. Young people aren’t willing to join us,” he says.

“Many of them have turned to hotels’ Western restaurants and sushi restaurants for jobs instead of Chinese ones.” They’re seen as more fashionable and offering better working hours.

Dim sum – which means “touching the heart” – is a Cantonese cuisine often served with pots of tea. Typical dishes include parcels of ground pork and shrimp siu mai, sweet treats including custard buns and ma lai go steamed sponge cake.

Once mainly part of a leisurely weekend ritual that could last hours, dim sum is now a speedier pursuit in Hong Kong, including take-away kiosks in the subway stations.

With demand growing and rental costs high, mass-produced buns and dumplings imported from the mainland are a way to up the volume and cut costs. But there are those actively seeking to prevent a culinary art from dying out. 

In the kitchen of the famous five-star Peninsula Hotel, teenagers don chefs’ whites to knead dough and fill intricate parcels as part of a cooking contest. 

“We need to attract youngsters to join this trade. Craftsmanship is what is needed,” says Frankie Tang, executive chef of the hotel restaurant Spring Moon and organiser of the contest. Seventeen-year-old Wu Cheng-long won after making from scratch dishes including crunchy lotus-seed pastry and a spring roll filled with fruit.

“We should make sure people don’t forget how to make dim sum – we should continue to develop this tradition,” says Wu, who won HK$25,000 (Bt116,000) in cash and a year’s apprenticeship at the hotel.

There is also hope among the city’s food experts, who say dim sum’s enduring popularity at home and increasing appeal abroad will inspire young chefs. Several of the city’s dim sum restaurants have received international accolades, including Michelin stars.

“The tradition of eating dim sum is still thriving. On Father’s Day, for example, you don’t go to a Western fast-food restaurant – you go to yum cha,” says food blogger KC Koo.

Yum cha – Cantonese for “drink tea” – is the meal during which dim sum is eaten, washed down with hot tea. 

Koo adds that it’s important to preserve the handmade tradition because it’s a key facet of Cantonese culture. “I have confidence there will be new blood because the market is there,” he says.

At Sun Hing, Chui’s 48-year-old son, Chui Kwok-hing, is following in his father’s footsteps. “I come in at 1.30am. Sometimes I feel like I’ve migrated to another country because the hours are upside down!” he says of the exhausting routine.

But he sees a reason for waking up in the dark. “People like to have dim sum in the morning, to be energised with some tea before going to work. I feel happy when people think the food is delicious.”

He adds that he wants to preserve the restaurant’s hard-won reputation. “My dad is 85, but he still works here. As the young generation we should try to be even better.”