Dim sum and the rise of the independents

Said to have originated in the royal palaces of China, dainty plates and baskets of dim sum were popularised in small tea houses or rest stops along trade routes in Guangdong at the turn of the last century.

Initially, tea was what drew customers in and the food was merely intended as a snack. Nonetheless, the food soon took centre stage, to the extent that the tea now served with dim sum can be a watered down afterthought. (Today, we still call the act of eating dim sum "yum cha", which literally means to drink tea.)

These small plates are now a favourite for breakfast and lunch, and usually consumed in large restaurants with lengthy menus. And what's old seems to be new again, and in recent years, and small, independent dim sum shops have sprung up once more.

This chapter in recent dim sum history can be traced back to 2009, to a dim sum chef named Mak Kwai-pui. On a backstreet of Mong Kok, amid motorcycle repair shops and neighbourhood estate agents, Mak opened an equally humble dim sum shop.

His experience in the kitchens of high-end eateries such as Lung King Heen ensured that the quality of his food was high, but the location and down-to-earth, quick service format kept prices low.