While the name of this café might make you laugh, you might actually smile at the ingenuity of the name when you learn what it means. In Cantonese, the language by which this café is based on, “yum” sounds very much like the word for “to drink,” and “cha” is the word for tea. If you say, “yum yum cha?” quickly, you’d actually be asking a person to drink tea with you in Cantonese. Not only will you be yum cha-ing, but if you visit Yum Yum Cha Café, you’ll also have some dim sum. Dim sum translates to “ordering from the heart,” and refers to bite-sized pieces of food that traditionally accompany the act of drinking tea.

Dim Sum Selections

There are many different types of dim sum available to eat, ranging from things like steamed dumplings to sweets and baked goods. Depending upon the time of day that you visit Yum Yum Cha Café, your choice of dim sum might vary greatly. If you’re having tea in the afternoon or evening, opt for the sweet red bean buns, sticky rice shrimp balls, pork and shrimp filled bean curd with oyster sauce, or the BBQ pork rice roll. You can order dim sum in three sizes—small, medium, and large—and they are priced are $2.25, $3.25, and $3.95 accordingly.

If you’re visiting Yum Yum Cha Café in the morning or as an after dinner retreat, make sure to try one of the egg custard tarts, almond tofus, steam sweet rice cakes, or sweet lotus seed paste cakes.

Cart Free

If you’ve been to any other dim sum restaurants in Houston or other parts of the world, you know that it’s pretty traditional to see ladies pushing carts and yelling out dim sum menu items, which certainly adds to the experience. Much to the chagrin of many diners at Yum Yum Cha Café, there are no carts at this restaurant. Instead, you’ll simply choose your items from a menu, making for a much more quiet, and much less chaotic, dim sum experience.

We’re not in Chinatown Anymore…

While Yum Yum Cha Café is often reviewed as not having the highest quality dim sum in the world (but still good dim sum), it’s still frequented by many in the area based solely on its location. Because it’s not in Chinatown where all the other dim sum restaurants are located, it’s a good, and much more conveniently located, alternative for those who live in the West University area of Houston. Definitely try the shrimp dumplings and fried shrimp balls, but maybe shy away from the spare ribs or lotus chicken. If you’re feeling daring, order the chicken feet, which are rumored to be a little fatty, but pretty delicious nonetheless. Open until 10, this restaurant makes for a great location for an after-dinner craving or a fun place to catch up with friends on the weekend.