Yes, You Can Eat Alone At A Dim Sum Restaurant, But You Might Be Missing Out

Unless you or your friends are food-possessive, sharing your meal is easily one of the best parts of dining out in a group. It's a great way to try many of the dishes a restaurant has to offer without stuffing yourself silly. So while there's nothing wrong with solo dining at a dim sum restaurant, you might feel a little FOMO (fear of missing out) with this traditional Chinese brunch's typical menu filled with savory and sweet small plates that is intended to be a social event. Sharing allows you to try more without over-ordering or breaking the bank. 

Believed to be of Cantonese origin, dim sum may have originated over two thousand years ago as a snack served to travelers on the Silk Road, a network of trade routes spanning over 4,000 miles, connecting the Eastern and Western worlds. Today in Guangzhou (also known as Canton), yum cha is a traditional brunch where diners linger over hot tea and dim sum, although now these meals can be enjoyed all over the world. However, is it worth it to go alone?

Often served on push carts rolling seemingly at random through the dining room, dim sum options are many and varied, but they do fall into two general categories: steamed and fried. Steamed appetizers range from broth-filled soup dumplings and BBQ pork bao (char siu) to short ribs with black pepper, and ground shrimp and pork-stuffed wonton wrappers called shumai. Fried dim sum includes beef or chicken curry puffs, sweet, custard egg tarts, and spring rolls. With all of these small, tapas-like plates on offer, sharing with friends and family makes for a fun, flavor-filled and affordable brunch.  

Although there are hundreds, even thousands of different types of dim sum, most restaurants will only offer a few dozen, but even that's pretty daunting when dining alone. Most importantly, going "out for tea," the Chinese codewords for dim sum, is meant to be a weekly, extended, communal meal where folks take time out to catch up with family and friends. If you're looking for the best way to experience all of these dishes, bringing along a few friends and splitting each option is your best choice to avoid missing out.