Tim Ho Wan Michelin Star Dim Sum Restaurant in Singapore!

Yes! Tim Ho Wan is finally opening in Singapore, tomorrow, 10 April 2013!

If you haven’t heard of Tim Ho Wan, here are some quick facts:

ღ Tim Ho Wan is Hong Kong’s renowned Michelin Star Dim Sum Restaurant
ღ Located at Plaza Singapura, this is Tim Ho Wan’s very first overseas outlet (how honoured we are!)
ღ At the helm of Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong is Chef Mak Kwai Pui who will visit Singapore’s branch every quarter to ensure quality is maintained

I was at the preview opening for tasting and here’s what they have!

First off, their most famous dish, the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork (3 pcs $4.50) which made Tim Ho Wa famous! From a hole-in-the-wall eatery to a Michelin Star Restaurant, that’s something to behold.

I love the crust on top. It’s like Po Lo Bao! It’s crust is crumbly and when I use my chopstick to poke it slightly, it softly gives way the the awesomeness that is seen below.

Yes. That’s what I call a very very good Baked Bun with BBQ Pork. I would totally return just for this. The BBQ pork & delicious sauce is very generous and goes so very well with the very soft surrounding bun. Take a bit and you’ll taste sweetness from the crust and saltiness from the inside. It is something you want to eat again and again.

Another one of my favourites, another MUST TRY is the Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (4 pcs, $5.00).

There’s one big shrimp on top of every dumpling. When you chew into it, it oozes juice that tastes of prawn and pork flavours. It’s easily one of the best I’ve ever tried. EASILY. A definite must try.

Here’s an interesting one. It’s Spring Roll with Egg White (3 pcs, $4.20).

I do not eat fried stuff mostly but I ate one and the skin is very CRISPY and very TASTY! I found it a slight tad too oily but my BF didn’t seem to think so. I love that it contains egg white, so interesting and complements the tasty spring roll skin very well. If you like fried dim sum, TRY THIS!

Next we have the Beef Ball with Beancurd Skin (3 pcs, $4.20). I usually won’t order this if I go to a Dim Sum restaurant on my own cos I’m boring and I like the usual Siew Mai, Har Gao and Char Siew Bao. But since this was a tasting session, we had one of everything.

I know how “raw” this looks but this is another you should totally try. The beef flavour is quite strong here but the chives that’s packed into these balls kinda offset it and make the dish more wholesome and rounded in terms of flavour. The accompanying beancurd skin is not to be overlooked as well. It’s soft texture absorbs the beef flavours very well.

Another dish worth highlighting is the Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork ($5.50).

I like how the Chef has tweaked this common dish by adding chives into the rolls. It gave the whole dish more oomph! I wasn’t the biggest fan of how thick the Vermicelli Roll was though.

Another one of their Big 4 Heavenly Kings was the Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver ($5.50). This is a very traditional dish and yet the Chef has given it such a twist by adding Pig’s Liver in it. I don’t take Pig’s Liver but I heard that it has a gamey flavour that goes well with the plain roll.

This Dumpling Teochew Style (3 pcs, $4.00) has a very strong flavour to it. It’s actually a very well thought out dish. The skin is transparent, very thin and is almost tasteless, but once you take a bit, the strong flavours inside just bursts out. See what’s inside! So colourful right?

And we also had a staple dish like the Prawn Dumplings (4 pcs, $5.50) which was good too.

And how can I forget the other two of the Big 4 Heavenly Kings, the Pan Fried Carrot Cake (3 pcs, $4.50) and Steamed Egg Cake ($3.80)

The way this carrot cake looks and tastes is true to it’s authenticity. In Singapore, we always mash it up and fry. In Hong Kong, when you ask for carrot cake, this is the only way you’re getting it. I like the surprise I got when I bit into it and found chunks of radish in it. Nice touch there Chef.

I’m not a big fan of Steamed Egg Cakes. This was light and spongy. Usually cakes like these tend to be more sweet but this was not at all.

Last dish we tried today was the dessert, Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake served cold (3 pcs, $3.50).

It was a tad too sweet for my personal taste but the BF loved this and said it’s a very refreshing dessert. Dim Sum tends to contain a lot of meat and ending on a sweet, refreshing dessert seems quite apt.

And here’s one last picture that I took with Chef Mak Kwai Pui! :)

All in all, if you love authentic Hong Kong Dim Sum, this place is definitely one to go.

Psstttt!! I bet the queues are gonne be pretty long (I heard people in Hong Kong queue 3 hours for their seat) but not to worry, besides the 100 seater dine-in area, there’s also a takeaway counter! :)

Check it out soon :) This must be one of the cheapest Michelin Star restaurants.

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Tim Ho Wan Singapore
The Atrium@Orchard, Plaza Singapura’s new wing (opp Starbucks)
Ground Floor
Tel: 6383 2828 (first come first served)
Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday, 10am to 10pm
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