Food & Drink
Dim Sum & Chinese Food Quiz
Har gow, siu mai, and Peking duck — how well do you know Chinese food and dim sum?
Har gow, siu mai, and Peking duck — how well do you know Chinese food and dim sum?
Chinese cuisine is the most widely eaten food in the world, with regional cooking traditions stretching back thousands of years. From the delicate steamed dumplings of a Cantonese dim sum parlor to the fiery chili-laced dishes of Sichuan province, China's food culture is astonishingly diverse. This 50-question quiz covers dim sum classics, regional cuisines, wok technique, tea culture, chopstick etiquette, and the fascinating history of Chinese food around the globe.
Each round serves up 10 multiple-choice questions randomly selected from a pool of 50. Identify dim sum favorites, match regional dishes to their provinces, and test your knowledge of Chinese dining traditions. You get instant feedback with explanations after each answer -- no signup or timer required.
Questions span the full breadth of Chinese cuisine: dim sum staples like har gow, siu mai, and char siu bao; regional cooking styles from Cantonese to Sichuan; wok hei and stir-fry technique; tea pairing traditions; Peking duck, xiaolongbao, mapo tofu, and hotpot; chopstick etiquette; the origins of fortune cookies and General Tso's chicken; and Michelin-starred Chinese restaurants. You'll discover the rich history behind one of the world's greatest culinary traditions.
Dim sum translates roughly to "touch the heart" in Cantonese. It refers to a style of Chinese cuisine featuring small bite-sized portions of food served in steamer baskets or on small plates. Originating in the teahouses of Guangdong province, dim sum was traditionally enjoyed as a light accompaniment to tea, and over centuries it evolved into the elaborate brunch-style meal loved around the world today.
Dim sum refers to the food itself -- the small dishes, dumplings, buns, and rolls. Yum cha, which means "drink tea," refers to the act of going out to eat dim sum, since the tradition revolves around drinking tea while enjoying these small plates. So you "yum cha" (the activity) by eating "dim sum" (the food). The two terms are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, but they technically describe different things.
Fried rice and sweet and sour dishes consistently rank among the most widely ordered Chinese dishes worldwide, though popularity varies by region. In China itself, dishes like kung pao chicken, mapo tofu, and Peking duck are among the most beloved. Dim sum items like har gow and siu mai dominate in Cantonese-speaking areas, while hotpot has surged in global popularity in recent years, becoming one of the fastest-growing Chinese dining experiences outside Asia.
Last updated: March 2026