Dim sum =? savory snack

[Joel S. Berson]

At 8/17/2011 03:00 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>For dim sum, the OED says "A savoury
>Cantonese-style snack; a meal consisting of these."
>
>For savoury, the OED has one relevant definition:
>
>adjective "3. Used, in contradistinction to
>sweet, as the epithet of articles of food having
>a stimulating taste or flavor."
>
>I have a bit of trouble imagining dim sum as a
>"snack," but I suppose you can look at it that
>way. "Let's go by Mee Sum Bakery and get a snack
>to go
" seems plausible though a little odd.

Do you consider "snacks" as always "to go"?  I
don't.  OED n.2, 4.b "A mere bite or morsel of
food, as contrasted with a regular meal; a light
or incidental repast".  More than 3 or 4 dim sum
dishes becomes a meal, so that part of the OED definition is OK  :-).

>But at least egg custards don't fall into the
>category of "savoury." I think there are other
>non-savory dim sum dishes as well.

I think so too -- e.g., the red bean pastries.  I
too don't think of these as "savoury".

>(The noun definition does not apply at all
>AFAIK: "A savoury dish (see A. 3); spec. a
>cooked dish, flavoured with appetizing
>ingredients, served at the beginning or end of a
>dinner as a stimulant to appetite and digestion.")

Joel

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