Four Hong Kong restaurants putting a modern spin on dim sum
A new wave of chefs is reinventing the bite-sized treats that are one of Cantonese cuisine's gifts to the culinary world
Dim sum is one of Hong Kong's time-honoured dining experiences, plugging into an older generation's defining food memories, deeply rooted in a sense of family and tradition. Yet, in keeping with the broad trends of new wave Asian cuisine, a younger generation with a more international perspective yearns to define the dim sum experience afresh. Subsequently, modern dim sum restaurants have appeared, catering to these more contemporary, more adventurous tastes. It's a fine line, of course, innovating and pushing the boundaries while remaining anchored in tradition - abandoning authenticity completely is a recipe for a fusion mess. But that's what makes it so challenging and exciting, as the rules are slowly revised and Hong Kong's appetite for dim sum with a difference expands.
Tycoon Tann
The Western world has fallen in love with dumplings - explore the foodie hubs of New York, London or Melbourne and you're guaranteed to find some hipster enclave offering its take on this Asian comfort food. That's all well and good - Western dining has been enriched by the embrace of Asian flavours, while the Asian market benefits as interest deepens overseas and diners become more knowledgeable. But it's hard to imagine any of these well-meaning establishments taking their dumplings as seriously as the operators at Tycoon Tann.
The offerings here are innovative - for example, the combination of wagyu beef with pear, encased in a crispy shell. It doesn't sound like it should work, but the way the hint of fruitiness lightens and offsets the richness of the beef is a revelation. It's certainly not traditional dim sum but the complexity of flavours is superbly judged. The Iberico pork dumpling with scallop and caviar is also exceptional; the soft-centred scallop and caviar finish are guaranteed to send your umami sensors into overdrive.
To follow, there's a Shanghainese pork dumpling with crab roe - at once delicate and deeply satisfying - and a shrimp dumpling with pork and elm fungus, further evidence of the excellent work done here with unique ingredients.
