Dim Sum ☆ A Beginner's Guide 

She’s back!! You look amazing Martina!! Great video of course! 😁

Martina is looking gorgeous. Like I can't take my eyes off her. You go gurl!!! Also, I have already watched the dim sum video on King Kogi twice now, so its great to see more about it on the EYK channel :)

She is glowing and we love to see it 🥺❤️✨

I’ve been going through a really tough time lately…I got broken up with, my tía (who is very dear to me) died, my uncle from the other side of my family died the same day, I lapsed on my meds…yeah it’s been rough…but seeing your poster behind you that says “beautiful girl you can do hard things” just brought me to tears. I can do this. I can do this!

As someone who grew up in the HK culture, it was super interesting to hear you describe your first dim sum experience - I've literally never thought about how strange/intimidating someone who has never been exposed to dim sum might find the whole experience, but you're right, it is vastly different from any other dining experience you would get in a western society. Thank you for introducing dim sum to everyone in such an approachable way - it's so delicious and I hope this encourages more people to try it!

This video shows just how great of a storyteller you are. You pulled us right into your memories and made us feel like we were there with you! 💖💜. Thank you for the cozy vacation into Martina Land!

Just left my 13 year relationship and it's been hard since I've been with them since I was 16...but seeing you thrive is so inspiring 💖 love you and thank you! 😊 one foodie to another 😋

It's nuts how much experiences we have in our childhood/teenage years can affect us so much. I really loved this storytime, it seemed to have sparked a lifetime interest in Asian food and good food in general.

Martina is literally made to be a youtuber, she's such an amazing storyteller. We love you!

You have no idea how happy I (and clearly all of us) are to see you back. Martina, I am consistently awe struck by your ability to tell your stories in a way that helps a stranger to you understand and see it all in our minds eye. Keep going and we're rooting you on like heck. Go girl!

Martina! Your hair is luminous, skin glowing; you look beautiful! Love you story and how it ties in to your dim sum video on your King Kogi channel 😊❤️

Martina's description of the dim-sum restaurant made me emotional because I was reminded of some of my childhood memories. And as an adult, when me and my friends has nowhere to go in the middle of the night, we'll go to this dim-sum place that operates 24/7. Ever since Coldemort, we weren't able to go there as a big group anymore and you know how food taste less delicious when you're not having them with the usual gang. Anyway, thank you Martina for always bringing us fun contents! And your hair is GORGEOUS here.

The wood paneling basement of an older Canadian home is such a mood and I miss it.

Growing up with dim sum, I'm missing a simpler time. My brother passed three months ago and one of my favourite memories of him was us going to get dim sum. Eating together has always brought us together, we had a pretty tense relationship. I'll love him forever. I'm remembering him now. Thank you for reminding me Martina. Much love.

Martina’s joyous enthusiasm is what brings me back to this channel! Despite difficulties in life, she always brings light!

Wonderful seeing a video from you Martina!! Thank you for sharing such a cherished memory!

Something so comforting about Martinas voice and the way she speaks 😁

This video shows perfectly why you're one of my biggest inspirations as a teacher. I feel like I'm literally immersing myself in your vividly depicted stories as if I were there as well. Amazingly done, Martina. 🌸

I love how you describe the bottles on the table looking like "potions." Cooking has always seemed like magic to me.

The feeling of going to a steamy restaurant with carts piled high with dishes, sitting around the round table with friends and family. That big sharing experience is something I've missed so much.

The queen has blessed us with new content!! We are so grateful of the effort that you put into making videos for us, Martina. You are so loved.💗💗💗💗

I'm not very good at pin yin so here goes: Dan tat: egg custard tarts. Pai guat. Chunks of pork ribs with black beans. Chicken feet, both in the red sauce or plain. Congee with 1000 year old egg and pork, so good! Tripe, brisket with radish... I'm salivating. Freshly made soy milk.

Listening to you talk is like having someone describe Christmas to someone who doesn’t know what that is. It’s magical! I wonder if there are people watching this video who have never had dim sum who are so intrigued by your storytelling. If you’ve never tried dim sum, these descriptions are so accurate. Dim sum is amazing.

For those living around east midland area England, there’s a restaurant called Man’s in Nottingham which sells really delicious dim sum! My favourite dim sum is garlic and ginger beef tripe, definitely a must try! And as always, thank you Martina for spreading love and awareness, letting people discover new cuisines especially this time, cuisines from my background!

Martina needs a netflix food show ... Due to the extraordinary ability to pass on the feeling, flavour and overall experience of food just beautifully.

Having neighbours from all over the world is one of the best things about living in Canada

You are such a good storyteller! I would love a podcast from you again, I was always transported by the way you tell stories.

Aw... Hi Martina! as a chinese/cantonese myself I really happy that you make a dim sum video. I'm really craving for Siu Mai and Liu Sha Bao (Salted Egg Custard Bun) now.

The queen herself has blessed us with a new video 🥰 So happy to see your content again, Martina.

omg. that first anecdote. that must have been such a magical experience for you

Martina, that shade of blonde looks so good on you. ㅠㅠ It makes the color in your tattoos pop too. ~

I love the "saucy tofu crepes", very tickled by your recollection of first dimsum encounters, thank you! Also just want to share that many elderly people go to dimsum in the morning even if they are living alone - dimsum may look like little bites that naturally SHOULD BE shared, but while it does facilitate that, there is no stigma WHATSOEVER about ordering just 1-2 dimsum dishes and enjoying a solitary morning on your own. (P.S. Describing eating culture in my hometown, Hong Kong!) (Edit: Gosh just finished the whole video. This was a full-on, FULL-ON HOMAGE to dimsum. Thank you so so so so much, Martina. It's almost making me cry! I want to share this video with so many of my friends and loved ones.)

You describe the whole dim sum experience perfectly! If I weren’t Chinese and going to dim sum forever, I would definitely feel intimidated not knowing what to do in the situation, and your storytelling really makes it less scary for those who may have been hesitant. My favorite is the turnip cake. It’s funny cuz my in-laws make their homemade version around lunar new year, and it’s the best I’ve ever eaten. It’s chock full of flavorful bits and we cut it up and steam it or pan fry it. But I still crave the dim sum version because it’s what I had every time we went to a restaurant. Heading over to your channel to see your dim sum review!

I adore hargow! I make my own lunch with egg noodles and the hargow, water and the soy sauce that took me a while to find that tastes just perfect. I drain out a little of the liquid at the end so the egg noodles can sit in the air rather than being submerged

Dim sum is such a big memory food experience for me too! My grandpa used to take my sisters and I to dim sum when we were babies, and we've been going to the same restaurant for 30 years. Every time we go back it's still exactly the same as I remember and absolutely delicious! Awesome video as usual, Martina! Now I'm hungry!! ; )

TWO AMAZING VIDEOS IN ONE DAY?! What a treat. It’s so good to see you and your magic. I loved both videos btw! This story time made me particularly nostalgic because I feel that my first dim sum memory sparked a love for exploring food and culture. I begged my parents (I’m from Oshawa) to take me to Dim Sum on my 11th birthday and finally we went to a Dim Sun place in China Town. It truly was a memorable experience and hey, I’m a foodie now too girl. I love your food videos always! I can’t wait for the next one. 💖💖

I so enjoy hearing Martina talk about anything - even things I already know about!

It’s so cute that you described har gao as seashell-shaped. I personally have never seen it this way and I love all things seashelly because hey I am a Mermaid. A Chinese Mermaid. Oh and “Lor Mai Gai” is pronounced as “Law My Guy”.

Martina always makes food and cooking sound so extravagant and magical ✨ she speaks so beautifully 💕 I’m craving dim sum so badly now haha

my hongkong-born family runs a couple dim sum restaurants and seeing you talk so enthusiastically about the dishes I grew up with makes me feel so happy ! sending you lots of love and support Martina!

I haven't seen you in a while so I'm happy you are back on this channel and keeping up the great vibes that touches all of us around the globe and make our day just a bit better😊🤘.

This really felt like I was being read a fantasy bedtime story, I love hearing about your childhood/past experiences. You describe things so creatively and it’s so fun to imagine such a beautiful meal. I definitely do feel intimidated by dimsum restaurants, as a vegetarian, since the most popular things I won’t be able to eat 😵‍💫 After watching both your vids I genuinely am less intimidated, and I would love to try that garlic snow pea leaf and aubergine 🤤 I’m excited to explore a new cuisine! Hopefully with my friends as soon as I can 🥰

Martina I just love you. I love your energy. Your spirit is literally glowing and your brightness shines on all of us and makes us happy to see you and know you :) you are amazing. You always inspire me. As a fellow EDSer, let’s get through life together! We can do it!

I know it’s totally unrelated to the topic, but just based on your storytelling, I feel like you’d be amazing at D&D 🤣 thanks for sharing the memory of your first dim sum experience with us!

Also from Toronto here! I can vouch for Rol San, soooo amazing! When I want a quick fix I head to Nations which is an east meets west grocery chain with hot foods too. Not so far off from rol san! Along with Martina’s recommendations I’m a huge fan of deep fried squid tentacles 😁

I just underwent emergency surgery for a chronic pain condition its been so hard but I've been building a ladder all thanks to you Martina I can do hard things I'm ready! muchos lovos from Scotland x p.s your hair looks fantastic

Martina is too legit for these double uploads 🥰😩💕✨💕✨ Too legit to quit (hey heyyyyyyyyyyy)

I knew nothing about dim sum before watching this video and now I am looking up restaurants near me because I have to try it!!! You are so great at describing food! Thanks for the video ❤️ I love what you’re doing on the King Kogi channel 😍

I am so so happy to see a video from you Martina! I’m going through a hard time with me anxiety/ocd, and you give me a nice reprieve with this video. Thank you so much!

It’s so funny that this video came up while browsing for lunch options haha and Martina, your hair 😍😍 hope you’re well and lots of hugs from London, England ❤️

Great to see you back Martina! You have a genuine love and knowledge of East Asian cuisine. Great to have the different varieties explained in an accessible way for those of us who are amongst the completely uninitiated. Thnx! 🥂..

I am really happy you dove into a sub culture that I grew up with all my life!! For years and years I've seen you document your food adventures all over the globe and dim sum holds such a sentimental place in my heart

what a beautiful memory and story!

You go boo! Love you @KingKogi. 💕💕💕💕💕💕

I love sticky rice with red wine vinegar and curry fried squid (it made me fall in love with squid as a kid), if anyone is around Edmonton, Alberta there is an amazing restaurant called Tasty Noodle on the south side its AMAZING!!!

I literally just watched the ep on King Kogi! Heck yeah. Loved watching both!

So happy to see you and feel your glow again. I love getting caught up in your stories again! Your aura seems bright and open again! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

The Food Adventures For Awesome People continue, but through storytelling! ^_^ Gotta agree that Martina is a fab story teller, she can really paint an atmosphere with her words.

It’s nice you see you on my subs page. ♥️ my ehlers danlos syndrome has gotten significantly worse within the last few years as I get older, and I think about you a lot. You seem to be doing well! I’m glad

Another one back to back? We’ve been truly blessed 🥺💕💕 Love seeing Martina’s content pop up!

Looking beautiful! Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done to produce this content for us. Eager for the day your King Kogi channel is ready for memberships. I’ll be there!

The video on the King Kogi channel was a lot of fun, too! Thank you for all your hard work! 💕

I love the idea of sharing a meal and conversation with you! Your enthusiasm is infectious, and peaks my curiosity. I'd wanna try so many things. I'll need to put this feeling in a jar and bring it with me, the next time I go out to eat. ♡

Martina, sending you some love. I was craving Dim Sum today. I hope you’re taking care and eating delicious noms.

You're looking soo beautiful - as always - Martina! 💖 So glad to see you upload, this just made my day! 🥰❤

I just love your descriptions of food.. the aroma, the taste, the textures. LOVE IT!!

have not sleeped due to severe headache last night. Storytime is just what i need. Always happy to hear from you.

Somehow I keep coming back to this channel ever since 2015. Y'all like my parents 👶🏻 we missed u Martina

As someone who went to dim sum constantly while growing up, I really appreciate the description you gave. It's really interesting to hear what it feels like to go for the first time! Also I can confirm, my mom, who is from Hong Kong, always calls it yum cha and rarely dim sum. The dim sum in Toronto/GTA is very authentic, at least the ones I've been to. The main difference I found between Toronto and Hong Kong is the size, they're not as huge in Hong Kong, I assume because of the lack of space there.

While watching this I just order everything you mentioned and yes radish cake!!! The best😭😭

I was feeling a bit grumpy but this video cheered me right up. You are delightful!

You are looking good and so glad to see you!!! Got my first hard job after many years of being on disability. It's kicking my booty but I'm loving it. I come home sore and using muscles I forgot I had. I'm using my ladder on these days to remind me of why I'm getting outta bed. Thank you for what you've done for me and so many others. Love ya and sending happy and healthy thoughts.

Love this!!! Thank you for this lovely piece of storytelling! I can picture this as having illustrations pop up, like some of the storytelling channels on yt! Lol, I see the pictures, and I’m now starving, thank you! Your descriptions were wonderful, I felt like I was there-this could be in an article in any top mainstream publication.

THat was a great storytime! The dynamics of the restaurant reminded how here in Brazil we have "Rodízios" (something like "rotation") which is exactly the "reverse buffet" hahah we sit back and waiters walk around with the different foods that are available, we do that in steak houses and pizzerias mostly.

Hi Martina! Thanks for the story. I'm so glad Miki and her mom introduced you to dim sum and that you loved it! 🥰 I live in BC now, but I grew up in Calgary, and my go-to place for dim sum there is Forbidden City at the Pacific Place shopping centre. There's also a T&T in the mall, and an Oomomo (formerly Daiso)! So awesome!! 😄

I love these videos! My family is cantonese and yum cha is always so nostalgic to me and feels like home, so it's really nice to hear that you love it too and have such nice childhood memories with it. I've also been lucky enough to have been to Rol San! Unfortunately, it was 3AM so I didn't get to try too much but it was good. My favourite dishes to have are cheung fun and a deep fried glutinous dumpling filled with ground pork. I don't actually know the chinese name for it, but if you see it - definitely give it a try! Glad to see you enjoying yourself!

This video is making me so hungry! So lovely to see you Martina and on King Kogi! More of these please. I look forward to seeing what you make next. I have never been to Canada or the US. It's cool to see different yummy food videos from your perspective!

OMGOSH MARTINAAA Making me so hungry this early in the morning!🤣 looks so good and I hope to try it soon! BTW, you're glowing!! love the room vibe too🤣💜💜

YES! Martina is too legit to quit!! Love your stories! First time commenter..long time viewer of your videos for years. I lived in Seoul for 2 yrs teaching English in Sinchon pre-youtube days. Lovely to see you are shinning bright on your own. Wish you the best! Subscribing now to YOUR channel. NYC .. too many to name...but old favorite, Sripraphai and new favorite Nneji both in Queens NYC!

I love your story of your first encounter with dim sum! I can't remember how young I was when we first started going (i.e. when my parents trusted us not to run all over), but the things I liked gradually increased as I got older - those American taste buds needed breaking in. It truly is such a different experience from any other kind of restaurant. My adventurous eater friends always loved it, and the less adventurous were totally intimidated... it probably didn't help that my dad's response to 'What is it?' was always, 'Oh, that's good, eat it!' XD One of my favorite dishes is half a green bell pepper filled with chopped shrimp that's fried on one side then steamed (or the other way around) and then served with what I believe is oyster sauce. It's terribly difficult to eat with chopsticks because it's unwieldy and slippery, but well worth the effort!

Hey, I'm from Ottawa and some of my favourite dim sum places in the city are from Ng's Cuisine, Sea King, Hung Sum and Ha's Dim Sum. Some staple dishes that I order: shrimp siu mai, beef cheung fun, chicken feet with black bean sauce, steamed tripe with ginger and onion, and steamed beef tendons/organs.

Lets go MARTINA! ❤️

Thank u for also showcasing other types of Asian foods. Dim sum is absolutely underrated

Oh love Dimsum. So lovely to see you back Martina. Hope your health is good

What an amazing memory and experience! Love ya girl

Woohoo I'm Cantonese - love dim sum! I admire that you had the courage to try to pronounce the dim sum items even when you knew you weren't going to get it right haha. Would love to show you how to correctly pronounce it so you can order even more like a pro ;)

I love going to Joyful Garden in Watertown Massachusetts. Dim Sum is daily but only until 3pm. It is so amazingly good! You mentioned all my favorites but I have never had Radish Cakes. I’ll have to try it next time we go.

I loved hearing your experience learning about dim sum. Having grown up with this as an integral part my childhood within a larger Chinese Canadian community, I never had a chance to introduce anybody new to the experience. You're such a good storyteller and I felt the excitement as you described it. Thanks for the wonderful feels 🙏🤗❤ P.s. all of it is my favorite but currently I'm craving the rice rolls drizzled with nutty brown sauce, hoisin sauce and sweet soy sauce (cheung fun)

Martina has such an amazing spirit 😪 so much good energy she surpasses anything tbh 🤷‍♀️ what a boss chick 😭😭😭. GOALS!!!

It's so good to see you!!! You look so vibrant. I hope you're doing well and happy!! All the love from Oregon!!

Oh my... I need this! I have never had Dim Sum. There aren't any restaurants in my area. But I am willing to hop on my bike and go to a big city just to get some food ... eeerr I mean culture! in my tummy.

Yes!! Everything Martina said in the video was completely correct and I'm so glad dim sum can reach more people this way! Frozen dim sum is for sure something I have at home at all times just in case I can't go out to eat it 😆😆 I love to have it in platters to have some variety as well. Can't wait to see what else you introduce!!

I’m so glad that I got to watch a video sharing the wonderful world of yum cha! All the foods you said that you loved are dishes I love too and have grown up my entire life eating. (I’m partial to Cantonese dim sum however food from all over is delicious) Lo bak gou is also traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year, and most people reserve lo bak gou and lin gou (a sweet date rice cake) to eat during the Chinese New Year period, I love it so much too and could eat it all year round. :D

I recently relocated from the GTA to LA and watching this video makes me feel so comforted 😭 it's like the comfort of home and the stuff you know

Ahhh, this is making me reminisce about pre-covid times where every time I’d visit my family we would go to one of the very few push cart style dim sum place (most in my city you order a là carte) that are offered here. All the things I’ve taken for granted I truly appreciate now.

Here in Manila, it's called hakaw and siomai. Chinese food has always been a staple in most households since we have a large Chinese population. It's one of my comfort foods. Perfect with soy sauce, calamansi and lots of chili oil yum!!

So glad to see you doing food adventure again Martina and in GTA where I am from :D I've been watching your food reviews since you were in Korean and Japan, the food always looked amazing but I can't taste them, you don't understand how happy and excited I am now because I can actually taste the food that you going to show me from now on, can't wait

Wow! Martina you look amazing!! So happy to see you making a video. 😘😘😘

I love your style of youtube videos/your editing/format etc please never stop making videos they are unmatched!!

I had a similar experience as a kid, with my friend and her dad taking me to a dim sum restaurant after we had done some grocery shopping! My two favourite places in Calgary are Silver Dragon Restaurant, and Regency Palace!! Both have amazing dim sum. It's been so long since I've had it, this video low key makes me want to order some....