kay, I'll admit it, I'm a dim sum junkie. The first time I experienced the light melt in your mouth dumpling I was hooked. Rice noodles, wide and soft, caressed with perfectly cooked shrimp spoke to my very soul. Minced greens, mixed with exotic flavors filled little pouches of dough, some with pork, some with shrimp, some unidentifiable, but all equally delicious. They are my absolute favorite snack. While I do consume enough to qualify as a large meal, dim sum are traditionally served as brunch or early lunch. For the uninitiated, dim sum are small dumplings, sometimes fried and sometimes steamed and can be sweet or savory. They are served on small plates, with three pieces to each order.

My first experience was on The Bowery, in lower Manhattan, also known as Chinatown. I knew it would be a serious food encounter, because the restaurant, HFS, was filled with Asian diners. The dumplings are pushed around on tiered steel trolleys and the best way to identify what's inside in the beige wicker steamer baskets is just by opening the lid and looking. The language barrier is the most frustrating part of this ceremony and I am always sure that I am missing something really terrific. I now find myself frequenting Jing Fong, on 20 Elizabeth St. in Manhattan, whenever I am in town. It's sort of like "coming home."

Being a confirmed dim sum lover and having the good luck to find myself in San Francisco recently, I made my way to Chinatown alone. After wandering the streets and reading window reviews I walked into Dol Ho, a large restaurant on Pacific Avenue. with lots of tables, but not a lot of atmosphere. Again, it was mostly Asian occupied, so I knew I was in for a great lunch. I was seated at table for six with a lovely couple who were just finishing their lunch. This is typical, most restaurants have large tables and it is not uncommon to be seated with strangers. Again, the language barrier was present, but good food does bring people together. The couple encouraged me to test some dishes I might never have tried. I discovered "bean curd," sheets of cooked bean curd wrapped around fillings and served with an incredibly flavored savory bean sauce. This has become the dish by which I measure all other restaurants - and dim sum.

Divine providence stepped in when my 25-year-old daughter, Amanda, was offered a promotion and job transfer, to Hong Kong. As my husband and I bemoaned her new life on the other side of the world for the next two years I consoled myself, with - yes, you guessed it - dim sum, and, of course a visit with my daughter. Surely this dim sum would be the very best. So, on my first visit, I poured over travel guides, hoping to be pointed in the right direction.

It's best to go with a local and we did. The Luk Yu Tea House on Stanley, in the Central District, served what was by far the best I had while in Hong Kong. I was cajoled into trying a special sweet dim sum with a rich yellow egg custard and topped with what was called a "birds nest." This is a highly coveted item in the East, full of collagen, protein, and again, unidentifiable ingredients. Whatever it was it was incredible. I also learned some of the etiquette that goes with this genre of dining. When first seated, one is usually presented with a warm wet cloth to freshen up. And I found that in addition to the tea pot, a separate pot of hot water is served as well. While I wasn't sure what to do with this, I noticed many diners rinsing their cup first. Needless to say, I reveled in Hong Kong for ten days and, no lie, took myself out for dim sum every day. I tried minced fish balls, Shark fin soup with exquisite dumplings, and whenever it was offered, bean curd dim sum. Each experience was different, and yet the same, slightly different flavors, textures, and each reminded me that when one person dines alone for dim sum, you miss the experience of sharing those many different flavors. Sadly, one can only eat so much.

Home from Hong Kong and on the quest for the very best, I visited a fellow foodie in Phoenix, Arizona. We went to the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix, and had dim sum at the Golden Dragon, at 668 N 44th Street. I couldn't believe that right in the middle of the good old United States I found the very best dim sum. Again, we were a minority, cultures flock to their comfort foods no matter where you are. The dough for each piece of dim sum was tender, fresh and melted in your mouth. Fillings were perfectly flavor balanced, steamed buns were tender, with both sweet and savory fillings. As my tastes run to the savory, I sampled the barbequed pork-filled steamed bun. Imaging tender tasty barbequed pork enveloped in a lovely round of steamed bread like dough. Heavenly! Even the little egg custards I ate on the streets of Hong Kong, had met their match. We were a group of eight, a great number because it allows you to taste, taste, taste. And weren't my friends impressed when I silently summoned the waitress for more of the wonderful jasmine tea by lifting the lids on the teapots, two gentle taps on the table signaling my thanks. Ah, my love for dim sum and the lessons learned in Hong Kong served me well.

Elaine Timmons is a foodie and self taught chef from Westchester County, New York. After many years of food service related jobs and private catering, Elaine was the chef and owner for the Weathervane Inn in West Dover, Vermont until she sold it in 2004. Now she caters and creates culinary feasts, as well as English Teas for her friends. She can be reached at: e.timmons@earthlink.net.