Many Chinatown restaurants offer dim sum, the traditional midday meal featuring appetizer-style dishes. You'll see steamed buns (bao) filled with pork or bean paste; meat, shrimp, and vegetable dumplings; spareribs; shrimp-stuffed eggplant; sticky rice dotted with sausage and vegetables; spring rolls; sweets such as sesame balls and coconut gelatin, and more. Waitresses wheel carts laden with tempting dishes to your table, and you order by pointing (unless you know Chinese). The waitress then stamps your check with the symbol of the dish, adding about $1 to $3 to your tab. Unless you're ravenous or you order a la carte items from the regular menu, the total usually won't be more than about $10 to $12 per person.

Dim sum varies from restaurant to restaurant, chef to chef, and even day to day; if something looks familiar, don't be surprised if it's different from what you're accustomed to, and equally good. This is a great group activity, especially on weekends. The selection is wider than on weekdays, and you'll see three generations of families sharing large tables. Even picky children can usually find something they enjoy. If you don't eat pork and shrimp, be aware that many, but not all, dishes include one or the other; calorie counters should know that many dishes (again, not all) are fried.

Empire Garden Restaurant, 690-698 Washington St., 2nd floor (tel. 617/482-8898), serves a dazzling variety of dishes in a cavernous, ornate former theater balcony. Also known as Emperor's Garden, it opened in 1998 and instantly challenged the dim sum supremacy of China Pearl, 9 Tyler St., 2nd floor (tel. 617/426-4338), and Chau Chow City, 83 Essex St. (tel. 617/338-8158). All three are excellent.