Days In Hong Kong - Tim Ho Wan

After shopping to our hearts' content at Tsim Tsa Tsui, we took the MTR to Yau Ma Tei, where we braved the queue in the sweltering summer heat for a table at Tim Ho Wan.

 

We were given a queue number, an order chit to pencil down our orders and sweated buckets as we stood with other hungry diners waiting patiently for our numbers to be called. Considering how we had read about people queuing for 2-3 hours, we were surprised we got a table within 40 minutes.

Tim Ho Wan recently opened a second branch at Sham Shui Po which is bigger but reviews are mixed with some netizens saying it's not as good as the flagship. Maybe we will try the other outlet the next time to see if reviews are true.

Service was fast and we didn't have to wait more than a few minutes for our dishes to arrive.

 

First up was Tim Ho Wan's signature dish - the Crispy Char Siew Bun, We were told to eat it immediately as it's best enjoyed piping hot.

The light, crisp crust was a perfect compliment to the piping hot, juicy char siew filling. It was SOOO good and we would have ordered a second helping if we weren't so stuffed!

The Steamed Glutinous Rice Wrapped in Lotus Leaf was another winner.

We also ordered the Liu Sha Cheong Fun which I was misled into thinking it was Cheong Fun with Tau Sa (Bean Paste), thanks to the dish name. 

It turned out to be Cheong Fun with Pork Liver, which we didn't mind eating, but we would have preferred a more common filling which we were used to, like Char Siew or Prawns. The Cheong Fun skin however was smooth and soft and one of the best i've tried. Chef Mak, owner of Tim Ho Wan and former dim sum chef at Four Seasons Hotel, indeed knows what he's doing.

A good Har Gau to me is one where the skin is soft and thin and the prawn filling is fresh and succulent. Tim Ho Wan's Har Gau definitely met my criteria.

The Fu Pi Juan (Fried Beancurd Roll with Prawn) was also excellent (I'm running out of positive adjectives to describe the food).

And our last dish was the husband's comfort food - Lo Bak Gao or Pan Fried Radish Cake. I liked how you could taste juicy strips of radish in every bite. Yummy.

Limited seating at Tim Ho Wan

And now, for the most important question - Was it worth the wait?

My answer would be a resounding yes, provided the waiting time is less than an hour. 

The trick is to avoid the morning yum cha period and come at odd hours. (We had an early dinner at 5pm so our wait was manageable).

Where else will you be able to enjoy 6 dim sum dishes of Michelin Star standard for about 100 plus HKD (less than 25 Singapore Dollars)?

And that heavenly Crispy Char Siew Pau. Oh boy, sweet dreams are made of it.

Tim Ho Wan
G/F, Phase 2, Tsui Yuen Mansion
2-20 Kwong Wah Street
Mong Kok, Kowloon
Hong Kong