Sometimes a dinner arrives that you suspect might be a bit of a faff. Lots of packets, lots of instructions, and a vague sense that it will all end up being more work than just ordering a takeaway. That was slightly my expectation when a dinner box from Ding Dong Dim Sum arrived to try, along with one of their bamboo steamer baskets.
The concept is simple enough. Instead of ordering dim sum that’s been travelling around in a delivery bag for half an hour, everything arrives chilled and ready to cook so you can steam it yourself at home. The box we tried was designed for two people and had a mix of dumplings, buns, sticky rice and dipping sauces. Opening it felt a little bit like unpacking a picnic. Lots of small things to discover, each neatly labelled so you know what you’re putting in the steamer next.
I will say straight away that it was very easy. You put the steamer over a pan of boiling water, line it with the little papers they provide, and most things take around ten minutes. There’s no real prep and no skill required. If you can boil water, you can make dinner. Even the timings were forgiving, which is helpful if you are chatting or pouring another drink while something is cooking.
What I quite liked about it was the pace of the meal. You cook a basket, eat it, then put the next one on. It turns dinner into something a bit slower and slightly more sociable rather than everything landing on the table at once. It reminded me of the rhythm of eating dim sum in a restaurant, just in your own kitchen. There’s a small moment every few minutes when the lid comes off the steamer and you see what’s ready next.
Taste wise, everything was solid and enjoyable. The prawn dumplings and bao buns were probably the favourites here, and the sauces meant you could mix things up a bit as you went along. The buns were properly soft and comforting in the way steamed buns should be. Nothing felt fiddly or overly styled. It was simply good, straightforward dim sum that happened to be cooked in your own kitchen.
It also felt quite generous. For two people it made a proper dinner rather than a handful of small bites. In fact we slowed down a bit towards the end because there was more food than we first expected when we opened the box.
In terms of value, it sits somewhere between supermarket convenience food and a takeaway. It’s more expensive than buying frozen dumplings, but compared with ordering dim sum for delivery it didn’t feel unreasonable, especially given the amount of food in the box and the fact you’re cooking it fresh. It would be quite an easy thing to order if you wanted something slightly different for a Friday night without leaving the house.
If I had one small criticism it’s that there is quite a lot of packaging when you open everything up. Individually wrapped items make sense for freshness, but it does mean your kitchen bin fills up fairly quickly.
That aside, it’s an easy and slightly different way to do dinner. Not a big event, not complicated cooking, just a small steamer basket appearing on the table every few minutes with something warm inside. And on an ordinary evening, that felt quite nice.
Prices start from £39.75 for a box for two