If you were to ask anyone the question what is your favourite dim sum dish? the likely response would be either the famous har gau or siu mai or perhaps cheung fun. Whatever the answer, 9 times out of 10 it will be a savoury dish. This is hardly surprising as dim sum, like tapas and meze is a world-class cuisine, which defines nations and the delicious savoury dishes do take some beating.

However once you’ve had your fill of the savoury dishes – do you leave room for the desserts? And is it worth leaving room for them anyway? Afterall the Michelin starred establishment Yauatcha shuns the traditional Chinese dessert for afters – instead offering a selection of fine French patisserie.

Or could it be that dim sum is really a brunch time affair and many people don’t think of having any of the dessert offerings? It may be too early for sweets and isn’t really part of the tradition anyway – the origin of the desserts range from the South-East Asian fusion mai lay gou - Malaysian sponge cake - to daan taat baked milk custard tart – another European influenced dessert.

Whatever the excuse, if you don’t try the dessert I think you are missing out, although they will never be as aesthetically pleasing as the French cakes in Yauatcha, I think they can equally match in taste and will take you out of your comfort zone. Here is a selection of desserts on offer in some dim sum restaurant around the country and what to expect – I hope you do leave some room for them!

Daan Taat – Baked milk custard tarts
This is a stalwart of Cantonese cuisine and if anyone orders dessert this is what they would probably order. It consists of a flaky pastry case and a delicious egg custard filling. You can buy these separately in any Chinese bakery and is often the most popular cake. In my opinion - the flakier the pastry the better the tart!

Naai wong baau – Sweet egg filled buns
The outer bun is a sweet version of the char siu baau. Inside is a sweet egg custard filling – some restaurants offer a steamed or a fried version – I prefer steamed. Ling yung baau is another version of this dish except with a sweet lotus seed filling in the middle – the lotus seeds tastes like moon cake – if you have ever tried it? There is also a version with sweet black sesame seed called ma yung baau – I haven’t seen this dish on many menus.

Mai lay gou – Malaysian sponge cake
Simply – a sponge cake made with molasses sugar – very delicate flavour and very light and fluffy.

Mong gwoh bo din – Mango pudding
This is a chilled, jelly like dish made lots of mango and served with evaporated milk.

Sai ma bo din – Sago pudding
Sago is used traditionally in Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine and again has been adopted by many Chinese restaurants for the dim sum menu, I think you either like it or hate it - it is a bit like rice pudding and very sweet! You can also try Ye jap sai mai lo – Sago milk with coconut.

Ji ma tong yuen – Sesame seed dumpling
This is a glutinous dumpling filled with sesame seed and served with a very sweet syrupy soup. Some restaurants serve peanuts with it, which I think compliments the sweet syrupy soup. I really love this!

Dou fou far – Tofu flower
This isn’t a Tofu flower – it is a sweet tofu dessert served with a gingery sweet soup – you can have it hot or cold.

Daan Taat, Dou fou far photo by avlxyz, Sai ma bo din  photo by stu_spivack