Jakarta foodies now have greater choices as more and more restaurants in the capital are serving bite-size portions of Cantonese food.

Dim sum outlets are becoming more popular, especially in big cities, with Jakarta leading the way. Many cosmopolitan foodies are in love with bite-size Cantonese food, typically served in small steamer baskets or on small plates.

Great for breakfast or brunch, dim sum restaurants are best visited in a group. In Cantonese style, eating dim sum for lunch or high tea is known as yum cha. However, in Jakarta dim sum is the preferred word regardless of time of day or night.

A traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns, such as cha siu baau (barbecue pork-filled bun), dumplings and cheong fun (rice noodle rolls), which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, chicken, pork, prawns and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants also offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats, congee and soup. Dessert dim sum is also available and many places offer the customary egg tart.

Dim sum can be cooked by steaming and frying, among other methods. The serving sizes are usually small and normally served three or four pieces per dish. It is customary to order family style, sharing dishes among all members of the dining party. Because of the food'€™s small portions, people can try a wide variety of items.

Dim sum seems to be part of the foodie culture in Jakarta, followed by the growing number of F&B establishments serving the food. Often, the menu also includes other Chinese food, such as wonton noodle soup and siomay (steamed dumplings).

The following lists recommended restaurants in Jakarta that serve palatable dim sum:

Tim Ho Wan

Now Jakarta'€™s dim sum lovers no longer need to go as far as Singapore or Hong Kong to enjoy the special dim sum prepared by Michelin-starred restaurant, Tim Ho Wan. The Michelin certification signifies that the food served by the restaurant is of top quality.

The restaurant is popular for four of its most well-known dishes, namely a grilled sweet bread served with barbecued meat, steamed egg cake, vermicelli roll and pan fried carrot cake. Other popular items on the menu include steamed chicken feet served with abalone sauce.

The local outlet of the Hong Kong-based restaurant officially opened on April 18 in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta. The management said that more Tim Ho Wan restaurants would open in other areas of Jakarta and other big cities in the near future.

Oenpao

Chinese restaurant Oenpao is one of the fastest growing Asian food franchise chains in Indonesia. There are currently 12 outlets in Jakarta, four in Bali and one each in Cibubur, Bogor and Bumi Serpong Damai. Oenpao features a menu that has seven categories of Chinese fare: dim sum, noodles, rice, porridge, bakpao (steamed bun), wok and grilled food.

The chain has also established an outlet in Kemang to cater to customers living around the upmarket area. The Kemang outlet is quite outstanding compared to the others due to its large size. A number of tempting dim sum items are available in the restaurant, including hakau, swikiau and siomay dumplings containing chicken and shrimp, Shanghai wonton as well as Hong Kong spring roll with chicken and shrimp fillings.

Serbafood

Those seeking to satiate their palate with a taste of steamed or fried dim sum should head to Serbafood. The place is unique as it serves dim sum accompanied by a spicy sauce as a dressing. It also offers sweet bakpao and one that is shaped like a cute porcupine.

Conveniently located in the Tribeca at Central Park shopping center, the restaurant claims not to use monosodium glutamate as a flavor enhancer.

Nan Xiang

This Chinese restaurant has opened outlets in Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Jakarta. Signature items include xiao long bao (steamed soup dumplings). It comes with various fillings, including crab with chicken, shrimp with chicken, sliced meat, vegetables or chicken marinated in spicy sauce.

Its has outlets in various Jakarta shopping venues, such as Senayan City, Taman Anggrek Mall, Pacific Place and Grand Paragon, plus one in Hotel Sultan.

Babura Dim Sum Steam Boat

Located in Pantai Indah Kapuk, this Chinese restaurant is the Jakarta branch of the Medan outlet. Babura Dim Sum Steam Boat offers a wide variety of bite-size items.

Among the highlighted items on the menu are steamed shrimp dumplings and double egg siomay. The latter basically contains both quail and chicken eggs.

Worth a try is Leng Hong Kien, fried minced shrimp covered with a layer of mayonnaise and a sprinkling of white sesame seeds.