桃花源小廚 (Closed)

Item: Tim's Kitchen
Rating: 4
Author: ade.chua

Tim's Kitchen

3.5

103 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

4069

Sheung Wan

$201-400

Guangdong Stir-Fry

ade.chua

Level2

Read full review

My wife and I were visiting HKG over the CNY period and we decided to have dim sum lunch with some friends at Tim's kitchen in Sheung Wan. Staying only a stone's throw from Tim's Kitchen it was all the more reason to pay homage to this well establish restaurant.

The restaurant from the outside looks quite smart with nice large framed windows. However once you poke your head thru the doors that's when you realise the decor inside is somewhat dated and in need of a makeover. No matter, what we are here for is to savour the high quality and delicately prepared dim sum by chef Tim Ho Wan's team. We were wondering if the ex 2 Michelin starred restaurant can still produce the goods!

No booking was made ahead and we did not have to wait for a table @1pm on the 26th Jan. We were promptly seated on the 2nd floor. The dim sum menu was not very extensive but adequate to satisfy most people and very easy to order for those of us that don't read or write chinese!! Simply tick your choices on a bilingual menu. Tea and our dim sum order were promptly taken by our waitress.

The following dim sum dishes were delivered quite promptly har gao, siu mai, char siew bao, deep fried crab spring rolls, crab meat dumplings in superior soup, steamed glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf, roast baby belly pork and sesame paste bao.

The har gao appearance wise did not inspire confidence however looks are indeed deceiving. The har gao skin was delicate and silky smooth with good springy light texture, just the right amount of bite and the prawns were beautifully tender and sweet. We are off to a good start!

Next came the siu mai and these were good but not outstanding. Then came the very crispy and delicately fried crab spring rolls. These were delightfully light without excessive oil and had the sweetest crab fillings you could wish for in a spring roll. Simply delicious!!

The steaming hot char siew bao that arrived in their bamboo baskets looked like the many bao I've had in the past! But the char siew filling wrapped in the very light delicate white steamed buns were simply outstanding. The char siew filling and sauce had real depth of flavour with the correct amount of sweetness and saltiness. I don't think I have eaten a better steamed char siew bao. I could have easily eaten all three on my own!

Next up was the crab meat dumpling in the superior soup. This was a little disappointing because the soup broth was nothing to write home about, lacked real depth of flavour. The dumpling skin also was a little thick and not particularly light n smooth. It was ok but not something I would order again.

The steamed glutinous rice in lotus leaf was pretty standard fare. It was well seasoned and the glutinous rice was very well cooked.

The roast baby belly pork was very juicy and succulent, it was a decent roast pork but maybe the skin could have been a tad crispier in texture. Flavour wise I have no complaints.

The final dish was simply the perfect way to end the meal! Beautiful light steamed bao with the most delightful sesame paste filling I have eaten in quite some time. These were the light colour sesame seed variety as oppose to the black sesame seeds. Sadly not many dim sum restaurant nowadays serve steamed sesame paste buns. In fact I do not recall having this in London!

Unfortunately one of my favourite, baked char siew puff or char siew sou was sold out! Another time perhaps!

Price wise the prices here are a little on the higher side but I think the quality of the dim sum justifies the higher price.

My only gripe is the service was not on par with the food quality. Maybe the restaurant was a little understaffed because of the CNY holidays coming up.

Overall I give this place a thumbs up. There are some things that need tweaking but the overall gourmet experience is definitely good. In my humble opinion I think the dim sum quality compares favourably with some of London's finest dim sum restaurants such as Royal China Club on Baker's St.