Don't Cha wish your dim sum was hot like me!

written by Kora-Lee Lust

It all started with a dim sum recipe booklet, a bargain at the Antwerps Kookhuis. A couple of years later, Toni, a 32-year old hobby chef, opens his own dim sum place in the Museumstraat called Yum Cha. A remarkable career switch, seeing as he was a real estate agent. Yet, that didn’t stop him from taking a leap of faith. He thought Antwerp was ready to meet the dim sum culture which is already omnipresent in cities like Paris, London, Berlin and Amsterdam.

Yum Cha refers to the Chinese tradition of drinking tea and eating dim sum. Think high tea au chinois. Although Yum Cha is not your average tea room, it is however everything you had ever wished for in a dim sum restaurant! Each morning at 6AM Toni starts preparing his business: he makes the dough of the dumplings all by himself, prepares the stuffing and folds the dumplings in graceful shapes. The result? A tasty dim sum filled with scampi, vegetables, beef and Thai basil or rice balls with pork, lemon grass and ginger: a guaranteed taste explosion. Feel free to mix and match because there are mixes with up to 48 pieces. It takes Toni 6 minutes to steam the dim sum. Combined with the three different sauces it is the perfect meal for a light lunch or a quick bite.

P.S.: For those of you who can’t get enough, you can get them to go and steam them at home. This way you don’t have to worry about your appetizer for your next dinner party!

Why Yum Cha ?

Type

From 6 dim sum up to 48: you decide how hungry you are, but due to the short preparation time this is the perfect quick bite.

Vibe

Yum Cha is trendy but oh so tiny (6 seats), which immediately brings about this cozy vibe. Especially if you can have a chat with the owner, Toni. Not ideal for large groups, but luckily takeaway is a possibility. We’re already dreaming about the nice summer weather, a fresh pint of beer and a portion of dim sum on the staircases of the Museum of Fine Arts just across the street.

Area

You can find Yum Cha in the bustling South side of Antwerp, yet a little hidden in the Museumstraat. A pit stop at Yum Cha when you’re out grocery shopping (at the Delhaize across the street) is inevitable. Or you could also put it this way: we never thought we would love to go to the supermarket.

WiFi

We were way too excited about the dim sum and finished so quickly that we actually never checked whether wifi was available or not… #onejob

Pricing

Yum Cha is very affordable. For 6 pieces of dim sum with 3 different sauces you pay 8,50 euros. The Mix ‘em Real Good mix of 48 pieces costs 69 euros. We shared a Mix ‘em Well mix (24 pieces) with 2 people and definitely had enough without having the feeling we had overeaten. There’s also a quick lunch formula with a special combo of 6 dim sum with a serving of green soybeans for 8,50 euros.

Life changing

Toni let us in on a little secret: you can’t just take the dim sum home to steam, you can also easily fry them. Mind. Blown.

Service

We were at Yum Chai when it was quite calm and thus we had the pleasure of having Toni all to ourselves. Good food and a nice chat!

Interior

White, cool neon lights, a glass wall, refrigerators in brushed metal and on the other side wooden tables, a cute Asian touch and a lot of steaming baskets: a trendy mix of modern, zen and kitsch.

Specialty

Ok, we have to admit, the dim sum are an absolute must. But the Rice Bombs totally won us over. On the menu, these perfumed rice balls filled with pork, lemon grass, ginger and mushrooms are described as an ‘explosion of flavor’, and trust us… This was totally the case.