Dim sum is the ultimate in Chinese fast food, and the process is sped up further at Canton Dim Sum, which opened last week at Market City Shopping Center, 2919 Kapiolani Blvd.

There’s no table or cart service. Instead, customers point out what they want from the array of bite-size delicacies sold by the piece at the counter from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

At the low end, basics such as pork hash with shrimp, beef balls, chicken dumplings, chive dumplings and crispy wontons are 79 cents each. For 99 cents, pick up sweets such as egg custard tarts and jin dui (fried sesame balls filled with red bean paste). Various manapua are $1.29, and once the restaurant is going at full speed, you’ll be able to get steamed rice noodle rolls (cheong fun), at $3.99.

A recent lunch for two amounted to $18 with tip, about the same you’d pay for a sit-down dim sum meal. But this is strictly for the eat-and-run crowd. There are a few tables, but the servers can’t be bothered with the minimum of keeping a water pitcher full. Food sitting out okazu-ya style was cold, leaving the wrappers dry and hardened. Dim sum is simply something I prefer to eat hot out of the steamer, and apparently, another customer felt the same way. When told to come again, he replied, "That’s OK, Happy Day is right up the hill." Call 735-1688.

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