Oftentimes, popular gram-worthy restaurants look amazing in photos, but the taste leaves something to be desired. Yum Cha is definitely not one of those restaurants. Popular on Instagram due to its little animal-shaped buns, Yum Cha might seem a bit too kitschy at first. But not only is their food playful and creative, it tastes actually very, very good. They serve up a variety of dim sum, from traditional Cantonese to spicy Szechuan, and serve it up a modern, non-traditional setting.
The decor reminded me a lot of a coffee shop or cafe in San Francisco— love the copper accents and geometric tile. There are no traditional dim sum carts here. Rather, they give you a list where you can check off all the things you want. Efficient, but can also be dangerous, especially when you tend to over order like me!
Of course, on to the important part, the food! The dim sum that’s so photogenic tend to be the buns. Most are sweet, except for the pig buns and the dog shaped buns. The pig buns are the popular BBQ pork buns, and the dog buns are chinese sausage rolls— similar to a pig-in-a-blanket.
The orange yellow buns are hot custard molten buns, where the hot custard spills out. One of my favorites! So fresh. The green ones are same, but with green tea filling.
We also got these pineapple dove buns that even came in a little cage!
Now, on to the savory. The sweets were a delicious but also a bit much after awhile.
Another favorite was the sesame chicken rice noodle salad, we gobbled that up quickly! Creamy peanut with a hint of tart vinegar paired perfectly with the refreshing cucumber and rice noodles.
Sticky honey balsamic wings were good, but something you can get anywhere in the States.
We also got the seared chinese pancakes, which were perfectly crispy and chewy.
Such a fun place! If I were in Hong Kong again for a longer trip, I’d definitely go back to try more on the menu. We went pretty early, but the restaurant filled up pretty quickly, so I’d encourage reservations or heading over during non-peak hours.
Yum Cha (Tsim Tsa Tsui location)
3/F, 20-22, Granville Rd
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
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