An essential guide to dim sum

From the latest issue of Lucky Peach, a guide on what and how to order at a dim sum restaurant.

Regular patrons of North American dim sum restaurants will find most, if not all, of the selections pictured here familiar. Newcomers should find the illustrations-which have been grouped by their method of preparation and general type — helpful in identifying some of the more typical offerings. This arrangement will provide even first-time visitors to dim sum restaurants with access to field identification in a clear and rational array.

The first half of the Field Guide introduces steamed items; the second covers fried, baked, and sweet offerings. These general divisions have then been subdivided according to each dim sum’s predominant physical characteristics.

• Carolyn Phillips
• food
• Lucky Peach