And bankers are vying for the prestige that comes with advising on landmark dim-sum deals.
Separately, HSBC's crosstown rival Standard Chartered sold 1 billion yuan worth of dim-sum bonds in Singapore Monday.
WSJ: U.K. Banks Sell $245 Million Dim Sum Bonds in Singapore
Dim-sum bonds have been the Chinese government's most visible effort to allow its currency to trade outside the country.
Europeans bought about 9% of a China Development Bank dim-sum bond and 8% of one sold by Beijing Enterprises Group, Dealogic said.
European investors are taking a bigger bite out of dim-sum bonds, giving a fillip to the swelling offshore market in China's currency.
The majority of dim-sum investors so far are in Hong Kong, which since mid-2010 has been designated by Beijing as a laboratory for yuan liberalization.
Ms. Chan says she likes the bohemian feel of Sai Kung, which on weekends sees throngs of residents congregate for outdoor meals at local dim-sum stalls.
Large, state-controlled lenders China Development Bank Corp. and Export-Import Bank of China are planning to pitch dim-sum bonds in London to investors, said people familiar with the matter.
But London is growing faster than other financial centers, such as Singapore, as a hub for offshore yuan payments, including payments for currency trading, imports and exports, and dim-sum-bond settlements.
Chef Pui Gor of Tim Ho Wan, a cheap, hole-in-the-wall, dim-sum-only restaurant with a cult following, makes a contemporary version of a bean curd skin roll, filling it with light shrimp rather than the traditional fatty minced pork.
"Hong Kong is still the major center, but this has gone beyond Asia, " said Augusto King, Royal Bank of Scotland's co-head of debt capital markets in Asia, talking about investors' interest in dim-sum bonds, also known as CNH bonds, where the "H" stands for Hong Kong.
So we join the rich in beautiful dining rooms, like The Peninsula's Mei Jiang (peninsula.com) where we eat exquisite dim sum - rolled noodles with black beans and chilli, snow pea pastries, roast pork puffs so buttery they're like pig shortcakes - and are treated like pashas.
But in Hong Kong little stays the same for long, and in recent years chefs have begun taking fresh approaches to native-style dim sum, bringing a dash of extra excitement to a meal that wasn't exactly lacking in popularity in the first place.
For a more elegant experience, head back to Happy Valley, to a restaurant simply called Dim Sum (2834-8893).
CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch | Hong Kong's Palate Pleasers
Yuan-based "dim sum" bonds are drawing global investors these days for their higher yields, not merely as a bet that the Chinese currency will rise.
Famous tea house Luk Yu is known for its dim sum (available from 7am-5pm) and Cantonese dishes.
It's 10 a.m. and already the dim sum kitchen at the Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong is abuzz.
"It is easy, " chef Lau says, passing through, as I prepare to embark on my one-on-one lesson with his dim sum chef.
Upstairs is a spacious salon and library serving superb cocktails and light all-day fare, such as dim sum.
Although foodies make pilgrimages to Hong Kong for Cantonese staples such as dim sum and barbecued pork, top-quality French or Japanese has not been a draw.
Tin Lung Heen, its Cantonese restaurant, which recently gained its second Michelin star under chef de cuisine Paul Lau, churns out 700-1, 400 pieces of dim sum a day, ranging from simple vegetarian mushroom to a gourmet house specialty of roast goose with abalone.
These days Mr. Schoenfeld, one of the country's foremost experts on Chinese cuisine, is the proud co-owner of RedFarm, a popular dim sum restaurant in Manhattan's West Village.
WSJ: Ed Schoenfeld of Uncle Tai's Hunan Yuan on Domestic Bliss
Maxim's is arguably the most famous dim sum spot in town, a 32-year-old restaurant in the middle of packed Central district that serves classic Hong Kong-style dishes to locals and visiting dignitaries.
It's far from the only place to find traditional bites: Dim sum is served in upscale hotels and back-alley tea shops, in tourist traps overlooking the harbor and the basements of shopping malls.
The dim sum is tasty, but the grumpy, senior-citizen staff and raucous atmosphere are what draw the crowds.
CNN: ASIANOW - TIME Asia | Travel Watch | Hong Kong's Palate Pleasers
Dim sum bonds provide an investment outlet for yuan that would otherwise be stuck in low-yielding bank deposits.
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