All the old favourites - from ha gau (prawn dumpling) to pai gwat (steamed pork spare rib) - are available from steaming carts wheeled around the dining room daily 11am to 6pm.

Try the classic xiǎolóng bāo (steamed pork dumplings).

At a Turkish restaurant run by Istanbul's Divan Hotel, specialties include sea bass in parchment (dinner for two with wine is about $50, and Portugal's Panoramic Tower has spectacular views to accompany local favorites like cataplana (steamed pork and clams) for $68 to $114 for two.

Best of the lot was the plain steamed pork, a hot kiss best eaten in one big bite, so that the broth bathes the meat and your mouth and the dumpling skin all at the same time and prepares you for more exotica on the way.

Ma Mon Luk soon opened his first restaurant in Binondo, where he introduced his equally famous siopao, a steamed pork dumpling enhanced by a secret sauce.

Fatty steamed pork was served with kimchi and a vinegar dipping sauce; next to it was a plate of shredded cucumber with jellyfish, a 1,000-year egg (hard-cooked in soy sauce and spices), a little beef, and a lot of wasabi.