Soooooooo I might or might not have kept on mentioning/complaining to people that I still haven’t tried Tim Ho Wan yet. In case you’re not from Hong Kong, Tim Ho Wan is the cheapest michelin star restaurant in the world. The chef/owner of the restaurant used to work at the HK Four Seasons hotel’s 3-star Chinese Restaurant Lung King Heen, and left years ago to open his own hole-in-the-wall dimsum eatery in Mong Kok. Not sure why he didn’t start a higher end restaurant, considering his background, but it worked out for him nevertheless. The restaurant was already pretty popular before it got its first Michelin Star, largely because of its super affordable prices for the quality of the food (I believe they started during time of severe economic depression in HK). I couldn’t find any old interviews but I heard from my parents that back when the restaurant first opened, Chef Mak would cook AND serve customers all by himself in the tiny store. Talk about hardworking! The original Mong Kok location has closed down and a few years ago the new flagship location has opened in Sham Shui Po. There are a few other branches and even one in Singapore right now.
Anyway, my parents frequent THW but for some reason I happen to be busy everytime they went. Anyway on a public holiday Tuesday we were out of ideas on where to eat, so I asked my parents if we could go to Tim Ho Wan. They were a bit reluctant as they’ve visited only a week ago but I practically forced them to in the end
We got there at the busiest time – around 1 – and there was a 70 table wait. Yeah, that’s right, SEVENTY. Luckily we got a parking spot right in front of the entrance so we were able to get away from the crowd and wait in the car #spoiledkid
We waited for around an hour for our table. This was actually quite fast considering there were 70 tables ahead of us.
We didn’t waste anytime and filled in our order sheets before sitting down. The restaurant was crowded and the tables were terribly cramped. A little bit difficult for my dad who’s 6′ tall.
In their Singapore branch, they labelled 4 popular dishes as “The Big 4 Heavenly King Dim Sum” 四大天王點心: 脆皮叉燒包 Crispy Skin Cha Siu Bao, 黃沙豬潤腸 Pork Liver Cheung Fun, 香煎蘿蔔糕 Pan Fried Turnip Cake and 香滑馬來糕 Malay Steamed Cake. Very ordinary, non-gimmicky items but all done very well (though I’ve only tried two of them)
We started off with 黃沙豬潤腸 – Rice Noodle Roll/Vermicelli Roll with Pork Liver
黃沙豬潤腸 – Rice Noodle Roll/Vermicelli Roll with Pork Liver
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黃沙豬潤腸 – Rice Noodle Roll/Vermicelli Roll with Pork Liver
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-The rice wrapping was very thin, although this wasn’t the thinnest I’ve had. It was still done well and not doughy
-The liver filling was smooth rather than the “crispy” (爽口) kind. I think this went better with the smooth rice wrap. It was also marinated well and didn’t have any bloody pork taste.
潮州蒸粉果 Teochew Dumplings. Not a signature item but one of my parent’s favourites
-Like the rice wrapper from the Cheung Fun, the skin wasn’t doughy but at the same time held the ingredients well. Semi-transparent and just the right amount of chewiness
-The fillings were the best! There was a combination of meat & vegetables. They also used ingredients like celery and peanuts to add some crunch to the texture. Yummy!
蝦餃 Shrimp Dumplings
-The dumpling wrapping was just right – I know a friend who’d enjoy savouring the skin ;)
-The shrimp was fresh-ish…the shrimp pieces were still distinct and not that mushy crap you get from frozen shrimp. Nice and bouncy
-This wasn’t bad but not exceedingly good either. I’ve probably had Ha Gaos of comparable quality elsewhere
陳皮牛肉球 Beef Meatball with Dried Tangerine Peel
陳皮牛肉球 Beef Meatball with Dried Tangerine Peel
陳皮牛肉球 Beef Meatball with Dried Tangerine Peel
-To be honest I don’t really like Dried Peels so I didn’t like this as much. Nevertheless the meat still retained some texture and was even slightly bouncy. The beef taste was strong and not overpowered but the fillers it was mixed with
豉汁蒸鳳爪 Steamed Chicken Feet with Fermented Soy Bean Paste
豉汁蒸鳳爪 Steamed Chicken Feet with Fermented Soy Bean Paste
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豉汁蒸鳳爪 Steamed Chicken Feet with Fermented Soy Bean Paste
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-We ordered this thinking that it was their other famous dish 鮑汁蒸鳳爪 Steamed Chicken Feet with Abalone Sauce
Must order next time!
-This again was well executed. The chicken feet did not melt off and the skin still had texture.
-The sauce was sharp, salty and delicious!
Finally came the star of the show – 酥皮叉燒包 Crispy Skin Cha Siu Bao (Pork Buns)
酥皮叉燒包 Crispy Skin Cha Siu Bao
酥皮叉燒包 Crispy Skin Cha Siu Bao
酥皮叉燒包 Crispy Skin Cha Siu Bao
酥皮叉燒包 Crispy Skin Cha Siu Bao
-It was still hot when it arrived – had to resist the temptation to bite into it right away before taking pictures!
-The crusty skin on top was thin but still noticeable. It was sweet and savoury and the same time. Oh my goodness the texture was amazing! Like biting into a thin layer of Pineapple Bun crust. The soft bread was well done too – soft and fluffy!
-The cha siu filling was also great in texture. The pork was tender and the sauce was just the right consistency. I did find it a tad too sweet though
-These certainly did NOT disappoint! I believe this was one of the reasons why Tim Ho Wan got a Michelin Star. Well worth the hype!!
酥皮叉燒包 Crispy Skin Cha Siu Bao
酥皮叉燒包 Crispy Skin Cha Siu Bao
Finally we got some 杞子桂花糕 Osmanthus Jelly with Goji Berries
杞子桂花糕 Osmanthus Jelly with Goji Berries
杞子桂花糕 Osmanthus Jelly with Goji Berries
Not bad, though I thought it was a bit too sweet. I’d save room for desserts elsewhere
Then came my second favourite part of the meal (the first being eating the heavenly Cha Siu Bao) – the bill! $157 for the 3 of us (including my Dad who’s usually a big eater)!! Can you believe that??
Anyhow, I was pretty satisfied! Although to be fair it wasn’t as OMYGOSHSOFRIGGINGGOOD as I expected but I still really enjoyed the food. The con, however, was definitely the line up which I guess could be avoided by going at a less convenient time seeing that they’re open 24/7 (early morning, late afternoon, late night etc). Also they do take outs too so this would be a good option for a quick street snack. In fact I bought a few Cha Siu Baos for breakfast at the IFC location the week after!
Also we found out that they had a special menu for people who reserve VIP rooms – minimum charge $1,000. This seems like a really good deal as I’m sure $1000 worth of food here can feed many people. Will definitely come back again for their special items!