The Art of Dim Sum
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- A short documentary on well-loved dim sum eatery, Sam Hai Yat, and the special craft of making these little bundles of joy.
Filmed in Hong Kong, May 2012 by Journalism and Media Studies Centre students.
"沒有新人入行年紀大的做做下唔做。試做d想話給人聽都冇人學。"
I left the corporate world after working in banking and NGO at the age of 28. I have begun my journey to become a Dim Sum chef, partly to continue the culinary tradition of Hong Kong. This video is very touching.
Are you still a Dim Sum chef. How can I get in touch with you. I have questions about this trade
Dear Lareina: I've just discovered this short dim sum documentary. It is a gem. I will recommend this to my students who are about to travel to Hong Kong and Guangdong. The chef 發記 (Mr. Wong or 王璨枝先生) is a genuine person who is devoted to his lifelong knowledge of making quality dim sum. His shop, his friends, his trip to Japan and return to Hong Kong to care for his son and daughter is deeply indicative of his Confucian-Chinese values. I hope there are more younger Cantonese men and women who are willing to follow his footsteps than he expected. His dim sum business is not all about making money. Making and serving good dim sum is his life. He makes meaning for himself and his peers and customers. I respect that a lot. Thank you for making and uploading this video. It is one of the best I've seen on TH-cam. I hope to dine at this restaurant when I go to Hong Kong next time. James Chan, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Wow, decades spent waking up before many have even gone to bed, to work so hard in a humble shop - it can only be a labour of love.
This reminds me so much of my own life. My father was a successful banquet chef trained in the old traditional way as an apprentice in Hong Kong. He became a very successful chef and was truly a sifu in the craft, he has since retired. He insisted that I didn't follow his path and to go to school. I eventually became a doctor. While I have no regrets about my career path, I do lament that my dad's knowledge will not be passed on to us or anyone else in the next genration. I can definitely relate to this story. It's a very touching film. Great job!
Peter Liu It is very touching! He doesn't seem like the father who would pressure his kid to follow him, but he did seem pleased when his daughter switched careers into culinary.
You could make some videos of him making dim sum so as to preserve his art.
Thank you for sharing Peter Liu. I would still learn the trade so the skill is not lost. It doesn't mean you have to switch trades.
I just hope that this dimsum culture won't die. Niw all the dimsum chefs are old the newer generation won't continue this work. This is such a beautiful cuisine.
His humility is truly inspiring. You will always prosper with hard work and love. Well done!
You can tell how much he loves his kids. The smile when he looked at the photos is priceless
Thank you Lareina for making this short film on Hong Kong best culinary art of Dim Sum. This wonderful art is slowly disappearing. I'm sure this clip will make people appreciate Dim Sum more.
This is a beautiful and sad video, deserves some kind of award, wish youtube had more videos like this I love BBQ pork buns and Dim Sims, please film more of these guys and teahouses so the knowledge can be preserved.
Awwwwwwwwwww God bless him and his family. He is a good father for his children as well as a good husband for his wife. He really did a great job not only for his family but also for the customers. May God give you long life and happy family...... God bless...... Thanks so much for sharing this video........... Its really encouraged a lot.......
Nice words but can you leave "god" out of this?
As I grew older I could see the importance and the rewards of the journey. We see the passion in our lives for what we did appearing to come to an end and wonder why no one else takes up our cause,but we should always remember it was our journey. It never really ended, it just move on to something larger. His passion for his craft will be preserved in this video. Nice job!
What a proud-dedicated man Chef 發記 is to his craft and family. Old School Dim Sum are always the BEST Dim Sum! Thank you for this Artful Documentary, it gets you in your feels. 💜
What a wonderful film. l had my honeymoon in Hong Kong. Wish l had known about this place, would love to have eaten there. So sad that the tradition in the art of making Dim Sum will be lost and that the younger generation do not want to learn this craft. The gentleman in the film certainly loves his craft and it was a joy to watch. He certainly does not look close to retiring age. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Yum I do hope this tradition never dies out. And what a delightfully happy family man he was, his devotion to his work and children is to be seriously admired. And he looks so young - perhaps the secret is contentment in life. Many greetings from Australia, I loved this video.
1 dim some stuff GK1 unblock restaurant
Thank you for a video full of heart. He loves what he does and this is reflected in his youthful and happy look. My late parents' cantonese sounded like his.
the immense effort and attention to detail these chefs put into making dim sum everyday (despite the minimal rewards other than customer happiness) makes me proud to be from Hong Kong!
Thanks for the kind words! This wonderful eatery is on Pokfulam Road, just a few paces from the Sai Ying Pun Post office (No.27). I hope those of you living in Hong Kong get to visit these 'sifus'.
I wish I could come, Australia is very far away though. I hope these tea shops and the art of DimSum do continue, they offer such wonderful food.
~In truth, I would love to learn the art of dim sum making
Hello madam.i am really keen of opening a dim sum restaurant in India.will it be possible if I could train under them.it will be my greatest honour. Can you please guide me.
touched me not as a chef, but as a father..this is what real fatherhood is about..thumb up!!
I could cry for this! (I am actually). Full of history, full of sentiment. Individual path, could have diverge into many directions. The little stores in HK are just awesome. Hope it will lasts.
Watching the video made me realize how much skill and artistry it requires for Chinese food to be cooked. Simply amazing.
Thank you for sharing this. It has a lot of heart and pulls at my heart strings. I haven't been to HK since I was 5 but I appreciate this video.
This is so beautifully filmed. I wish more documentaries had this much respect for their topic. Thank you for posting.
please keep this art alive
+stoner12008 If you learn it and pass it on, then you can take part in keeping it alive. :)
I have to agree, this was a beautiful insight to the life of a man who loved his work and loves his life. We could all take a page out of his book. Thank you for sharing this.
aw shit decided to write an essay about dim sum due tomorrow morning and was doing research when it lead me to here honestly i don’t regret it, tradition and heritage need to be preserved for the centuries to come, it is priority that we keep these thoughts and ideas of the past as long as we can, with all this technology and such we still need to remember what lead to this and what truly matters in a future filled machines cooking dishes for us; it’s the same reason handmade clay pots and pans or crafted wooden tools, and even superstitions which you believed in as a kid may you still believe in, and why? because it provides the soul with warmth, todays world where everything is mass produced in a factory it’s a real beaut to see something made with the soul, to see stories and traditions passed down, those things fuel and power the souls, but what really fucks the soul up it watching those traditions die out. honestly cried at the end
I am from slovakia.and respect to this man and his colegues.its pity that not so many people are like this man
Awesome!
This is very peaceful to have breakfast with some hot dishes and tea in a small store of a neighbor.
Their work is so mean. The boss talk about his job and smile happily.
Untill they retire, I hope they'll have a good time in this job as present
incredible film!!! the dim sum chefs are truly experts of this art, and it's amazing to see how they skillfully prepare the delicious food. wonderful! they have such a modest lifestyle and enjoy their trade.
This was a great video. Thanks for telling his story.
I felt kind of bad hearing him say how the art of dim sum is going to die when his generation retires. I hope not. I love dim sum. I hope new chefs take dim sum and make it even better in future generations.
Great video! I might have been there back in the 1980s while living in Kowloon and New Territories. Now I live in the states and plan on moving back to H.K as soon as I find a job there. I was born in Kowloon and lived there and New Territories. I really missed the food there. Thanks for making this film and I hope to stop at this dim sum shop after I move.
Great to watch, I adore dim sum and now my mouth waters. I used to work for a Cantonese restaurant years ago and this brought back great memories. I'm off to investigate cooking dim sum... and daydream about opening a little Welsh dim sum eatery : )
Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful film. I loved eating at this place, and would often stop by there in the morning on the way to work before catching the bus from outside the post office up the road... That was until I moved across to Kowloon earlier this year. I hope they haven't closed... I've gotta go back and talk to the guy. They are so friendly and old school... food is tasty too! It was wonderful to hear his life story and trip to Japan and dedication to his family. It really puts everything in a different light and makes me feel somewhat nostalgic of the end of an era. Your movie captures his dedication to a lifestyle and a past tradition which I can only glimpse into from afar and appreciate as best I can by sampling a 'spot of their hearts'
This was a fantastic video.
Thanks!! :)
Thank you for sharing. I'm a dim sum enthusiast but what you showed us is really touching, a "touch to the heart", which is dim sum.
Amazing little film - steeped in the art of dim sum making.....even if a little poignant and sad as the guy might be lonely without his trade and seeing all the customers on a daily basis.
Its 2018 now, he might has retired. But in Vietnam, I have just started to learn Dim Sum. Dim Sum won't disappere, I believe in that. Thanks for your share, miss Choong
Thoroughly enjoyed the look into your life, and the amount of skill and hard work it takes to make dim sum. Thank you!
Loved this documentary.
Makes me fell sad after and reflect.
Wish I could learn more about the art of dim sum.
I love them
And I can imagine for old Chinese people is a tradition they don’t want to lose.
Wish I could have visited chine in the 80’s.
Thanks for sharing
Thank you for posting. I love dim sum very much. This video gives us the behind the scene of the hard work required to make them. I have to say the man you interview does not look his age
So much work in a single bite of food. wonderful art!
He looks great for 63!! Happiness in your job must help that :)
That documentary was really nice to watch. Unfortunately we don't have this kind of restaurants in France. I would love to have fresh dim sum and see the cook happy to prepare them, as Mr Sam Hai Yat ! Here, we have frozen dim sum from the industry. Dim sum are less known. Not as successful as sushi, and it's really sad because it's so good !
So, I'm begining to cook dim sum (har gau). It's really fun to do and the fold is artistic. I love it !
Regards from France.
It's really amazing to see the older generations, who work extremely hard and to rely on everything with their hands. Rather than now, how we all rely on technologies and machineries. As well, they are more hard working than the majority of the people in our generation right now, because they have faced through hardship and trouble in their lives. We don't understand because we've never faced it this is why so much of us aren't as keen and hardworking and to be able to go through stress.
excellent work old hands never retire wish all the best to you and your family thank you
That was really charming. I love that guy. I dream of living near such a restaurant (now that I'm retired) and go there every morning just as you see here.
this is such a great movie! i hope the art will not be lost!
That is an honorable man! Hard worker and humble! I wish I could meet him in person. Good Luck!
Une bien belle personne et un beau reportage !
Hello Ms. Lareina, this upload is a great piece of value. I've been into dim sum for quite some time and I put a lot of respect for the chefs. If the art of dimsum is gradually fading in your country, I can tell for the very least that people in my country have been more familiar with this art of cuisine. They just love it when they find a restaurant that actually serves a real dimsum. Greetings from Indonesia. ✨
what a humble and happy man! i would love to learn "the art of dim sum"!
thanks a lot for the video.
greetings from germany
buhxe
Great little documentary. I needed to learn about Dim Sum for a video for a local traditional restaurant I am filming. I learned more than I expected. Very well made.
This was a beautiful piece. Chinese cuisine and culture are so wonderful. I wish I would of gone to China to study.
I would be proud if this man was my father. Lovely nature and work ethic.
Thank you for the video and also English subtitles! It was very interesting!
My wife and I will be visiting HK in November, hopefully we will have time to try this Restaurant. Great Video! Thanks.
Lovely story of a dim sum tea house. Thank you for posting this, the students did a great job. For some strange reason I feel hungry. 8-)
Well done. Thank you, Lareina and crew
camera work is exceptional i can imagine this as a full length documentary keep up the good work.
I love how happy this man is. Good for him.
My respects for such a devoted man and his skills, he is doing what he loves, I wish I can say the same
Awesome guy...
Awesome story...
Thanks to all who created this piece
Thank you
I would like to learn how to make all these dim sum from him. Some day, if i have a chance to visit Hong Kong, i will go to his dim sum restaurant. Thank you for posting. Please up load more!!!
he is the coolest man i ever seen ....honor and respect :)
i'd learned a lot from dimsum..because i'd worked before and i want to continue and pursue it...
i love dimsum
Honest man living a respectable life.
Beautiful video! thanks for sharing!
CONGRATULACION!!THE ART OF DIM SUN IS EXTREMELLY WONDERFULL,I HYAVE THE CHANCE TO GO TO HONG-KONG AND THE FOOD IS THE MOST DELICIOUS I HAD EAT...I´M FROM BRASIL,AND I WOULD LOVE TO EAT IN YOUR RESTANTE BUT KNOW IS IMPOSSIBLE,BUT BE PROUD!!TO COOK WELL WHIT A LOT OF TASTE IS MAGIC
Great video , many thanks for sharing 👍
This is a great documentary
This is a great video, Nice job!
This is a lovely touching short documentary, which I found very intriguing. Well done :)
I wish I could learn everything from these men. Their talents are incredible, and I wish I could be one of the few to carry on the tea house legacy.
nice documentary...dim sum is a favorite!
Thanku for your beautiful upload, I hope to visit HK one day
Thank you so much for such a well made film. So sad too see these chaps go in a few years. Eating in HK is a great experience.
Thank you for this video, I'll bet their Dim Sum is marvelous.
good quality amateur documentary. I really like it. Please lend me your skill master dim sum. XD
This was beautifully made. Thank you.
Hard working people living a simple life. Good memories & good relationship.
oww thank you for this story! I would love to have a father like him! Teaching me every one of this skills :D
really luv this documentary,,,,,
Video is awesome. I want to learn the art of dim sum now. Great dim sum is hard to come by these days. A lot of people don't realize how much work effort is put into the dishes. I had a connection with the story. Everyone is happy and full. I will definitely try to find the place when I visit HK next time.
wow that was really well directed video. this style is very chill :D
I like that guy. I hope he continues to do well.
Excellent video. Interesting subject, raises the senses, knowledgeable, emotional, brings notions of nostalgia and nice video work.
When these retire, I hope someone makes you tube learning video of their dim-sum techniques and markets it out to international as well as local folks. Would be so great for everyone.
Can you tell us the address of this shop?
I loved! I really like to learn this art!
amazing! making me hungry and craving for some!
At first this video made me hungry; in the end it made me sad...
very nice movie! and nice guy.Thank you
When a man is happy earning his living honestly ,this is God gift to him,and joy for the rest of us.
Thank You for making this video it's amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As a female Asian and Asian food lover especially of dim sum too. I wish these chef's could teach me how to make all of there dishes since the speaker chef seem like he is willing to teach. I live in Hawaii now and things are alot more costly than Washington state which is where I was from. As a beginner in trying to learn and make my own shu mai, mine don't taste or look good like the restaurant in Hawaii Chinatown or Washington Seattle Chinatown. Because of my poor skill and lack of ingredient knowledge even with youtube videos help but my foods doesn't turn out as good as authentic dim sum restaurant which is why I haven't even try making other dish or any of my egg tart. If these chef's are seriously willing to teach on TH-cam I will sure follow.
It is on Pokfulam Road, a couple of shops down from the Sai Ying Pun Post Office.
This was very beautiful it calm me down after a line bad day. Thank you.
Amazing. Absolutely love dim sum.
I love to learn how to do make dim sum. My husband and I love dim sum. Will be great if I ever get a chance to learn from him.
I really want to learn this... hope you can teach me here in the Philippines. I have a small resto and bakery here in Mindanao... love to learn your stuff. I salute you for being true to your trade. More power... Hope I can visit your shop when Im in Hongkong...
Tudo lindo e maravilhoso parabéns sucesso sempre 💞
A beautiful story.
wonderful video. thanks for making.
nice video
touching story....
produce more