Customer Reviews

Have Some Dim Sum

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book is terribly misleading. One expects to find mostly recipes, with some background information on each recipe. Instead, one finds 95% information, and very few recipes. I am returning this book. When I want a limited encyclopedia, I'll buy one. I thought I was buying a cookbook. Only some of the dishes even have pictures; many don't. If all you want is limited information with little intention of cooking, then this is your book. Otherwise, don't bother.

This book is a waste of money. If you're looking for recipes and not just paragraph long descriptions of dim sum, look elsewhere.

This is an excellent guide to help those in the know and those not to better enjoy Chinese Dim Sum when eating out or in. Basic ingredients for numerous popular types of Dim Sum are listed here along with detailed preparation instructions for selected dishes/baskets. Colour plates though limited, are tantalizing (and I suspect totally inedible).

Don't try reading this at home when the least bit hungry (I tryed), you will want to run out to the nearest chinese restaurant... To this end, each item's name comes with a pronunciation guide.

Although I have been privileged to almost always have a chinese speaking person with me when ordering Dim Sum, I have noted that it is easy to order even when one cannot speak a word. In addition the Dim Sum featured in this book do represent a good cross section of the more delectable items (at least from a 'cultured'? westerner's perspective,) the majority of which are commonly available.

P.S. Do try the oolong tea as recommeded in the book if you do decide to 'Have Some Dim Sum'!

I thought that this book would be a source of recipes for Dim Sum dishes. There are a few recipes included, but most of the entries are descriptions of dim sum dishes. The descriptions are interesting, but without photos I don't know if they're the dishes I've eaten at Dim Sum or not. I could have written most of the descriptions based on my limited Dim Sum experience, what I was looking for was recipes.

The funny thing is that with one description per page, it almost looks like the author intended to include recipes with each item, but maybe ran out of time (or accidentally provided the publisher with the unfinished book).

I wouldn't recommend buying this book.

Even though I've had dim sum many times, there are facts in this book that fascinate me. I've tried one of the recipes so far (the sticky rice) and like the taste a lot!

Both the backgrounder and the glossary on the ingredients are very useful. Not many recipe books go into details about each individual dim sum. Plus it's beautifully photographed.

This is one of the best investments for food books that I have ever made. The quality of the book and it's content is just excellent. It is a must have for any kitchen

What I love about this book is that it doubles as a guidebook and a cookbook. (The author describes 50 dishes and gives 20 recipes.) I put the book to the test on both accounts. First, I toted it with me on my visit to a dim sum restaurant. Unabashed about my novice experience, I relied on the book to tell me what and how to order (since the menu was in Chinese and the waiter didn't speak any English). Then I decided to recreate a bit of this experience at home and prepared the pork and vegetable dumplings for a cocktail party. The recipes were straightforward and the author's dipping sauce recommendations a big hit. Also, the photographs are absolutely stunning. If you love ethnic food like I do, then I definitely recommend adding this one to your shelves.

I find this book very useful as a guide book. We go out for Dim Sum a lot as a family and it's great to know what to order now. Also, I've made two of the easier recipes for entertaining and am pleased that they're not as hard as people would have you believe. Some Dim Sum are very tricky and labor intensive, I'm told, but this book only included the simpler ones. I made shrimp rolls and the stuffed eggplants and both are addictive!

A wonderful book written in a beautiful, personal style. I've avoided visiting Dim Sum Restaurants because of my fear of eating something I don't want to by mistake. This book describes over 50 of the most common dishes so you know what you're popping into your mouth and - if you're a fussy eater like me - what to avoid. On the weekend I took my wife and some friends to a Dim Sum Restaurant and we had a lot of fun and ate some really good food! A bonus is the 20 recipes from top chefs... my wife intends to try a few.

This book is really only a dictionary, with some beautiful pictures. There are VERY FEW recipes, and those that are given, are not given in any particularly useful detail for anyone who is serious about learning how to make these dishes. I am very disappointed, and consider this largely a waste of my money.