Tim Ho Wan

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As one from HK, of course, I can have a 'better' comment on Cantonese Dim Sum restaurant.  Even I am from HK, I never tried Tim Ho Wan for one simple reason - it used to be a small shop and now expanding crazy and also regionally (to Taipei, Singapore).   This is also a sign of deterioriating quality against the speed of expansion.  To my surprise, there are a lot of positive reviews but I can only say from my first try, it is definitely just so-so Dim Sum, there are much more better Dim Sum shops in HK, well, maybe Dim Sum is a considered a rare specialty in Singapore so people just ranked them high.  Sorry, it is just plain so-so.  The portion is small, the taste is plain, the fried rice is not HK style (it added with a bit of garlic).   I understand the need of localization but I am a fan of respecting authentic and traditional recipe so sorry, this is not my restaurant and I will not come back again.   continue reading

Tim Ho Wan 添好运 has been open in Plaza Singapura for a while now, and the fad has kind of died down a little. Riding on their success, they recently opened at another location - Bedok Point - an addition to the 4 other outlets scattered around Singapore.Reading this on their website makes me very excited.Tim Ho Wan, the hole-in-the-wall eatery in Hong Kong that defied all odds to gain an entry in the Michelin guide, has finally arrived in Singapore. Its dim sum have won the plaudits of food critics and the hearts of epicureans around the world.Is it really worth the queue? I'm going to find out.First, the surroundings:Baked Bun with BBQ Pork 酥皮炬叉烧包 ($5)The first dish, and one of their dishes in the 'Big 4 Heavenly Kings' series. 'Big 4 Heavenly' series consists of 4 dishes which they call their best of the best, recommended signature dishes to try at Tim Ho Wan.And boy, this one did not disappoint. The meat was juicy and tender, well flavoured and goes exceptionally well with the puffed pastry exterior. Loved this one, and thumbs up!Pan Fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕 ($4.80)I did not like this dish. The carrot cake was served at room temperature, and was lacking in texture. I was scratching my head to understand how this is one of their 'Big 4 Heavenly Kings' dish.Steamed Egg Cake 香花马来糕 ($3.80)Honestly, I have no major gripe with this dish, but I would have liked it to be more fluffy. This is another one of their 'Big 4' dishes. Overall, this was just so-so, but one of the better dishes in the assembly of food I've ordered here. Vermicelli Roll with Shrimp 鲜虾肠 ($6)The prawn fillings were succulent and fresh, the skin was smooth as well. But be sure to eat it with the accompanying sauce to have it at its best!Prawn Dumpling 晶莹鲜虾饺 ($6)Dim Sum should be served piping hot. While this one was, the dumpling skin sure didn't taste like it. It was a little too thick for me but the prawn ingredients were nice and fresh. Pork Dumpling with Shrimp 鲜虾烧卖皇 ($5.50)I love Siew Mai, a.k.a Pork Dumplings with Shrimps. A lovely dash of colour as they used wolfberries to decorate the top of the dumpling. But no taste of the wolfberries were apparent during tasting. But overall, this dish was pretty alright.Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce 豉汁蒸肉排 ($4.50)This is also one of my dim sum meal staples. This dish is meant to be oily, and the oily sauce was lacking! I'm a sad girl. But the meat was tender and I would order it again if I'm here, if just to satisfy my cravings. Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling 青芥末明虾角 ($6)A typical dish for me, and I felt that the wasabi mayonnaise was quite light - too light, in fact. Yam Dumpling with Chilli Crab Meat 辣椒蚧芋角 ($5.50)This was a really interesting dish, so I was quick to order it. Not many people like yam, but I do. The yam was nicely done, with a lovely crisp exterior.The chilli crab paste was, however, slightly lacking in terms of flavour. As the yam paste can be a little too rich, a well flavoured chilli crab paste might be the answer to balancing that out. It's a personal preference, but I do like my sauces a little more flavourful and stronger, so I can taste the essence. For this dish, that was what's lacking for me. Congee with Pork, Century&Salted Egg 金银蛋瘦肉粥 ($4.20)I was looking forward to tasting this dish because it was one of my dim sum staples. But I was disappointed. The porridge was not fine enough, and the flavour of the salted and century egg is not strong enough. This is called century & salted egg porridge for a reason, and I believe the hints of these ingredients should present itself well enough to satisfy lovers of this standard dim sum dish.Rice with Chicken, Sausage & Mushroom 腊肠北菇鸡饭 ($6)While the ingredients tasted just as it should be, I would have liked that the flavour of the ingredients could have better merged with the sauced rice to give it the unique flavour that this dish has. What I understand is that this dish is cooked together with the ingredients, and the sauce in the rice soaks in the merged flavours and fragrance of these ingredients - chicken, chinese sausage and mushrooms. Unfortunately, it tasted like it was cooked separately and the rice was not fragrant enough in that sense. I did like that the chicken was tender and had good texture.Glutinous Rice with Lotus Leaf 古法糯米鸡 ($6) Nicely wrapped, this oily dim sum dish is not easy to make. Here's how it looks once opened.I did like how the dumpling was cooked just nice, and the meat used with the rice had retained its juiciness. Crystal Shrimp Roll with Century Egg 水晶松花虾卷 ($5.50)Seeing this dish under the Chef's recommendation, I really wanted to try it. I took this photo right after it was served and the sauce was almost to the point of coagulation. After 5 minutes, the sauce did coagulate, so I wasn't imagining things. Thus proving the dish was served to us too late! Anyway, I didn't really enjoy this dish as I felt that the entire dish would be better off with the century egg sliced thinner and the dish being served warmer. Or hotter!Mango Sago Pomelo 杨枝甘露($5)One of my favourite desserts to have, but not at this restaurant. I love sago, so one gripe is that the sago was not soft enough, felt like it wasn't cooked enough.Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake 杞子桂花糕 ($3.50)Light and refreshing. I liked this dish, but I felt it should be served slightly more chilled. When served, it was close to room temperature and I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have if chilled.So my conclusion?No. It really wasn't worth the queue. Sadly, it is widely raved for, but I'm not feeling it and it definitely did nothing to wow me at all. Their wait staff were not so friendly and most were concerned about clearing the queue, and because it's so packed and so many orders had to be served out - some slower than the others, some important aspects (like the temperature of the food to be served, etc) were compromised, thus affecting overall food taste and enjoyment.But I'm sure of one thing: If I do return, I will order takeaway with the baked buns with BBQ pork for their claim of this 'heavenly king' dish was the only one I felt was worth the mention and did not disappoint.Average spending per pax: $20 - $30 continue reading

Always see a long queue at this Famous Based Hongkong Dim Sum, Tim Ho Wan. No matter it is, people are still queueing for it especially during dinner time and weekends. Reached early at the Plaza Singapura outlet to join the queue and within a 30 mins of reasonable queueing time , finally we gotten a seat.Full blog review : http://cennds.blogspot.sg/2013/12/tim-ho-wan.htmlBBQ Pork Bun A crispy & yummy BBQ Bun made me want to order for more and though of to have a take away order just for this BunPrawn DumplingSoft skin dumpling with a fresh prawn may be a good choice for additinal order.Chicken FeetIt was a bit cold when served to our table and found that it is quite oily.Pork Dumpling with ShrimpSpring Roll with Egg WhiteIt is rarely for me when having a Dim Sum could enjoy a lovely Spring Roll and maintained well on the Crispy skin itself. The Egg white was so delighted.Beancurd Spring Roll with ShrimpThe fried beancurd roll was a bit thick and it just taste average on my mouthDumpling Teochew StyleLOL .. Dumpling Teochew Style is a Siew Mai .. hahahahaWe were wondering .. Did we order siew mai as we didn't see it on the menu ??Anyway, thanks godness we could eat on the delicious siew maiChicken with Fish Maw ( Special Monthly )Thanks that during the month we visit, they have a special montly of steamed chicken and Fish Maw. The fish maw is really delicious as well as the fully meat chicken with no bone continue reading

After months of waiting, in the hopes that the crowds would die down gradually, I finally got to eat this Hong Kong style dimsum at Michelin Star Tim Ho Wan.Even though there was a long queue filling up all the seats at the waiting area, as well as beyond the queue-line set up, the line moved pretty fast and soon Edwin* and I were ushered to a table. In fact, we already selected the items we wanted on the order form while waiting in liine. The interior of Tim Ho Wan is brightly-lit with a very open dining concept, filled with diners happily digging in over chatter.The first item was served shortly after we sat down - the Baked Buns with BBQ Pork. In fact, we looked around, nearly every table ordered this signature item. The exterior of the bun was somewhat crumbly and fluffy, and the sweet-salty pork oozing out from the bun's centre was tender and simply lovely.Next, another item from the Big 4 Heavenly Kinds list - the Pan-fried Carrot Cake - which was crispy on the outside and fine on the inside. The carrot and radish flavors were very prominent here and one could actually find tiny bits of carrot and radish within the pan-fried pastry itself.We had the Glutinuous Rice Dumpling - it smelled so good when it was being served so *Edwin and I eagerly tore the pandan leaf apart to attack the delicacy. While the dumpling was filled generously with tender pieces of meat and shiitake mushroom, we were a little disappointed that the rice was a tad soggy and the entire dumpling tasted rather bland.For more detailed information and photos, please feel free to visit:http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2014/04/dinner-at-tim-ho-wan-restaurant-plaza.html continue reading

Been busy at work since I arrive in Singapore and just when my mom and brother plan to visit me so we decided to try Tim Ho Wan as my work leave. My family are lover of Dimsum in the Philippines so we order items that are not available there. My brother who never like salted egg got to finish his congee without getting the salted egg out. The Tonic Medlar and osthamus cake is available at 5 star restaurant but the color is not that dark because it's just plain osthamus cake.  The bake BBQ bun is the best the bun is thin which is unlike in the philippines which is mostly thick and steam. It's really melt in your mouth.  For tourist who like to taste Tim Ho Wan better go there when it's not lunch or dinner break or you will really have to wait in line. continue reading