Masterclasses

I'm in Chinatown and I'm going to take you to one of my favourite Chinese restaurants that not only serves fantastic dim sum, but traditional Chinese food.

Dim sum in Mandarin Chinese is called 'dien xin' - it means 'to touch the heart'. So I'm going to order a selection of dim sum dishes, traditional dim sum snacks, and also I'll show you how to order 'off-the-menu', Chinese à la carte-style.

Now, dim sum originated from southern China, and it's a cuisine that has developed during times of the silk road, where teahouses sprung up and they would serve little parcels of delicious dumplings and snacks to go with tea, giving travellers their dim sum or 'yum cha' break.

This dumpling is called 'siu mai' in Mandarin Chinese and it's essentially a pork and mushroom dumpling. This is one of the prized dishes of dim sum.

Another dumpling that is the benchmark of a good dim sum restaurant is the 'har gau' dumpling, and you can see little ripples on the skin where the folds are. A fantastic 'har gau' would have about 10-12 folds.

Whenever I go to dim sum restaurants, I just always order 'char siu bao'. And what it is, is a fluffy, white, steamed bun filled with some roast pork filling, and it's really delicious. It's so soft it just melts in the mouth.

For the brave-hearted, if you want to try something different in dim sum, why not try traditional Chinese chicken feet cooked with some black beans and chilli? Now, traditionally the Chinese eat everything, every part of the animal, from chicken's feet, to fish eyes, to intestines, because we don't like to waste anything and we see it as a delicacy. So if you're feeling adventurous, then why not give it a go?

It takes a dim sum chef about seven years to train to master the complete art of dim sum. It takes only about two minutes to finish eating it all.

Now the dumpling is delicious on its own, or I love dipping it in some spicy hot chilli sauce. This is what the 'char siu bao' looks like inside… mmm!

Drinking tea is a crucial part of enjoying dim sum. Tea really helps to wash down the meal; it cleanses the palate and allows you to taste all the different aromas and flavours of each of the dishes. In most dim sum restaurants like this, you also find traditional Chinese dishes, from steamed sea bass, to twice-cooked pork and 'mapo' tofu. These are the dishes that you really want to ask your waiter for.

I've ordered here some tender pea shoot leaves, and these have just been stir-fried with whole cloves of garlic.

This is 'mapo' tofu. This is a traditional Sichuan dish, and in Sichuan it would be swimming and covered in chilli oil and lots of long, dried chillies, coupled with a little bit of Sichuan peppercorn for that 'mala', or numbing hot, flavour and sensation. It's cooked with some minced pork or finely ground pork, cooked up with some fresh tofu. Let's have a quick taste… mmm.

Wow, look at that! That is a gorgeous seabass and it's just been steamed and coated in this fragrant oil of Shaoshing wine, light soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. The best bit is here - the cheek. That's the most tender part of the meat. A quick dunk in the sauce, and that's cheekily tender!

The whole Chinese cooking experience is not just about cooking at home, it's about going out to a good Chinese restaurant, exploring some dim sum or some Chinese dishes 'off-the-menu', like à la carte, real Chinese-style. I hope I've shown you some dishes that you'll experiment with and maybe try next time you go to a good Chinese restaurant.

So, enjoy, relax and have a wonderful experience!