I had a friend in college who refused to eat Dim Sum unless it was served in the most traditional style: on little carts that circle the room, piled high with anything and everything: dumplings, sesame balls, chicken feet. I am inclined to agree with her. There's something to be said about how you're served food changing the way you eat it. There's no challenge to eating a la carte Dim Sum, no impulse decisions, no sour-looking woman lifting up the covering of a plate to show you the hidden treats within, no frustration at having the same cart go by your table five times while the cart you really want gets stuck all the way across the room. Dim Sum isn't really a type of food. It's an experience.

I've never been able to experience Dim Sum the way it should be experienced, mostly because I tend to eat it with J, who has food allergies and therefore it's easier to just order exactly what we know he can eat. I definitely need to try it this way, because the experience sounds awesome. My favorite local sushi place uses a conveyor belt system for some types (well, they use a little train, and it is stupid adorable), and being able to grab something before someone else, even if that interaction is really in your head, is such a great part of the meal. I want Dim Sum that way too.