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Dim sum or yum cha is ubiquitous in Cantonese culture. It’s a time where friends and family come together to eat well and catch up over small dishes of dumplings, rice and lots of meat all washed down with a hot cup of tea. When family comes to visit, you go to dim sum. On special occasions, you go to dim sum. Dim sum is an event, a part of the cultural identity of being Cantonese.
And in Hong Kong, it’s no different.
I completely failed in taking a photo of the storefront! Photo: Robyn Lee
Tim Ho Wan, which literally translates to “add good luck”, was opened by the former dim sum chef of the Hong Kong Four Seasons hotel, Mak Kwai Pui, in 2009 with a small restaurant of 30 seats in Mongkok. Diners were promised high quality dim sum at reasonable prices with dishes made in house and never frozen.
From the get go, it was a success and it wasn’t before long it caught the eyes of the Michelin folk who awarded the restaurant its star in 2010. Demand quickly grew and the restaurant has since expanded to 4 other locations around the city and internationally in Singapore, the Philippines and has its eyes set on Australia in 2015. However in 2013, due to rent increases, the original Mongkok location closed.
Now the Sham Sui Po location is your only choice for a certified Michelin star meal. So naturally, that’s the one we went to. With reports of long lines stretching down the street, we woke up early and arrived at the restaurant just after opening at 8:30. There was no line. In fact, the restaurant was still half empty when we showed up. We were quickly seated and an ordering sheet thrust into our waiting hands.
There’s English too!
Despite its Michelin star status, the restaurant doesn’t let it go to its head. During our visit, it seemed like we were the only tourists who made the trek out bright and early for a taste. Other tables were filled with locals, those who called this neighbourhood home.
Still pretty empty just after opening.
The place mats on the table thankfully were full of photos and we were able to figure out exactly what we wanted to order. There is English on the menu, but you’re never too sure if the English translation is correct. Dishes range in prices anywhere from $15 – $25 HKD. There is also a per person tea fee which is normal.
We ordered a few classic items: ha gow (shrimp dumplings), sui mai (pork dumplings), rice rolls with beef, and sticky rice. A few not so classic items: spring rolls with shrimp and egg whites and steamed rice with beef and pan fried egg. And the most important dish – the BBQ Pork Buns.
Quickly bamboo steamers came flooding out of the kitchen onto our table. None of that dawdling over the dishes. These guys meant business. They wanted you to eat and then get out.
First impressions of all the dishes were of how small everything seemed. I had dim sum a couple days prior at another restaurant and portions there were significantly bigger. Everything tasted as it should, but nothing stood out as being exceptionally stellar.
The biggest disappointment was the steamed rice with beef and pan fried egg. I hated the beef mixture. Certain herbs that I couldn’t quite pick out were included in the mix which gave it an odd taste and the texture was mushy and wet, like it wasn’t properly cooked. Except that it was. It’s nothing like the beef and pan fried egg rice that I get here at home. We didn’t finish that one. In hindsight, I wish I had ordered the chicken feet and sparerib steamed rice. Mmm chicken feet.
Bad bad bad! Never again!
But the crowning dish – the reason people go to this restaurant are for the BBQ Pork Buns. In hindsight, we should have ordered two plates of these, they were so delicious. Most dim sum restaurants offer a steamed version of the BBQ pork bun where a white fluffy dough encases the sweet and savory pork inside, however, the one at Tim Ho Wan is on a completely different level.
Just look at that crust! Droool
The bun was baked and on top had a crumbly crust, similar to that of a pineapple bun. Biting into the bun was like biting into a pillow of deliciousness. There is a slight give to the thin bun, the crust crumbles into your mouth and then the delicious pork hits you. The perfect combination.
Yummmm
I probably could have skipped the rest of the meal and just had order after order of these buns. They were that good. Perhaps other items on the menu were tastier than the ones we ordered, but I’ll definitely never order anything with minced beef in it again.
I’m glad we didn’t have to line up for an hour for this meal, otherwise I probably would have gotten quite angry after the meal. Based on reviews and word of mouth recommendations, I was really looking forward to trying this place out for myself. In the end, I was pretty disappointed. Sure it’s good dim sum for very reasonable prices, but it just didn’t live up to the hype.
So if you decide to make the trek out to this institution, go early and go for the BBQ buns.
Tim Ho Wan locations in Hong Kong:
Sham Shui Po: G/F & M/F, 9 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong 2788 1226
IFC Mall: Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central, Hong Kong 2332 3078
North Point: Shop B, C, & D, G/F, Seaview Building, 2 Wharf Road, North Point, Hong Kong 2979 5608
Tai Kok Tsui: Shop 72, G/F, Olympian City 2, 18 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui, Hong Kong 2332 2896
Have you been to Tim Ho Wan before? Or any dim sum restaurant? What was your experience like?
P.S. The Unspoken Rules of Dining Out in Hong Kong & 4 Things You Must Eat in Hong Kong
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Looks delicious! We have a lot of good dim sum restaurants in the SF Bay area, but it would be great to go to one in Hong Kong.
I think any city with a large Chinese population is likely to have good dim sum 🙂 I had dim sum once in SF and was a bit disappointed. I don’t remember what it was called, but it was in Chinatown. Where would you recommend eating at?
I am a big fan of the Chinese cuisine and this particular one looks awesome: clean, neat and with great food. I’d love to try some authentic Chinese sometimes. I keep hearing that we we enjoy here, in the States, is not really authentic Chinese food. Do think that’s right?
I think it really depends on where you go Anda. San Francisco and New York City definitely have some authentic restaurants (from the places I’ve been to) and Seattle has an outpost of the famous Din Tai Fung from Taiwan, but I don’t know about other cities. I would imagine at least the larger restaurants with a large Chinese population to be fairly authentic though. Come up to Vancouver and I’ll take you to some amazing Chinese restaurants here (and none of that rushed and cramped business I wrote about in my previous post).
I’ve never been to China nor a Dim Sum restaurant, but it looks tasty… specially the BBQ pork buns!
Yes! They were very tasty.
That’s too bad this restaurant didn’t live up to the hype. Your pictures look delicious though! I’ve never seen BBQ Pork Buns that look like that. My mouth is watering just looking at them. What a great experience to eat at a Michelin Star restaurant though.
I’ve never had buns like those either. They’re very good! This is a great place to cross of the “eat at a Michelin star restaurant” item on your bucket list if you have it. It’s so wallet friendly.
Munich is appalling for good dim sum, unlike London where we could seek it out. I love it, and you don’t know how hungry this post has made me!! 😀
Aww! Though far from Munich (but certainly closer than London and Hong Kong), Berlin has some good options. I had dim sum there when I was living in Budapest and absolutely craving it. Too bad these dishes are such delicate items that making them is so difficult!
I will be going here next time in HK! Thanks for the tip!
Awesome! I hope you enjoy it Corinne 🙂
I’ve never been to a Michelin Star restaurant before and this is certainly not how I expected one to look, I had this vision of crisp white tablecloths and silverware, and huge plates with tiny servings on them! Maybe that’s just England, lol 😉
Haha, I think most Michelin restaurants are like that. At least the one I went to in Budapest was as well. This one is just an anomaly for the common folk 😛
We call this Yum Cha in Australia. It is a family favourite. Just reading this made be hungry! I think this is worth a trip to Hong Kong!
The two are pretty interchangeable in my head. It’s kind of funny. In English I call it going to dim sum, but in Chinese I call it yum cha. So weird that my brain uses both without me really noticing. And yes, its definitely worth a trip to Hong Kong.
Oooh I’ve heard of this. I didn’t know it’s famous for the bbq pork bun though. They look better than any that I’ve ever had! I only semi-like dim sum, but I am definitely coming here next time I’m in HK. I can’t get behind chicken feet though (but D loves them)!
They have a couple dishes that they call their famous dishes and of them all this was really the only one that appealed to me. Everything else was super traditional and weird even to me. The BBQ buns are so worth it though. Go go go!
Damn all of this Asian food is making me so hungry. We cant find anything near us – and I could eat a BBQ bun right now!!
They’re not too hard to make so I hear… Just time intensive.
I’ve never really made a serious attempt to try dim sum, but those BBQ pork rolls do look fab, and I do like the idea of a cheap Michelin starred restaurant! Of course you had to go!
Yes! Exactly! When it’s so affordable there’s no good reason to say no. I hope you get a chance to try some dim sum. There’s so much variety!
Despite a month in Hong Kong, I never did go to Tim Ho Wan. But I have no regrets because of the places to which I was brought for dim sum: in Central, Admiralty, Causeway Bay, North Point, etc. The mantra really is true: so many places, so little time. Those baked “pineapple-bbq-pork” buns look darn good though. 😉
The only thing you truly missed out on were those BBQ buns. Everything else is probably better elsewhere (and yes, even in Vancouver too).
P.S. When are we doing our dim sum meet up?
I have never tried dim sum but I will mak e apoint of trying it soon (if I do find a good place that serves it in Nairobi).
Sorry about the restaurant not living up to your expectations, I hate it when that happens.
Hopefully you’re able to get you hands on some! I like to think of it has the Chinese equivalent to Spanish tapas. Great fun to go with friends and try a variety of items!
I never knew there was a cheap Michelin star restaurant… hmmmmm, and it is an Asiatic one, I love it!!
Everything looks very nice… sorry that not all everything was perfect, but great that it wasn’t hard to get a table there!
Happy to have found you via Upasna from Life on my Plate 😀
Happy travels to you!
Allane
Thanks Allane! There are a couple Michelin star restaurants on the cheaper side in Hong Kong. Definitely worth the money to experience quality.
That is great to know!! I would love to try some 😀
I never got the big deal with dim sum until last year when I finally went to the right place – I realized I’d never actually had the real stuff before!
I’m pretty easy to make happy, food-wise, but if a place claims to be amazing – or has an impressive recommendation like a Michelin star – I’ll hold them to that, and be annoyed if my expectations aren’t met. At least the buns were good!
Yea! You gotta go to a good place otherwise everything is just subpar and meh. I’m the same way, if a place has a good reputation I’m definitely expecting it to keep up its end of the bargain. Maybe I just had too high of an expectation.
Whoa, I wouldn’t have guessed that was a Michelin star restaurant! Looks cheap and delicious, especially those BBQ pork buns. I’d definitely pay them a visit if I happen to visit Hong Kong.
Yea! The only way you’d know it has such a reputation is by the long lines going down the door (which I happily didn’t experience). Good experience for the money for sure.
OMG, we’re SOOOOO hungry now!!! We’ll travel to Hong Kong in November. Thanks for this post 🙂
Thanks! November is a great time to go to Hong Kong. Enjoy!