– Tasting Invite –
Hello chewys! Have you Tim Ho Wan-ed yet? Even before this famous Michelin star Dim Sum restaurant opened its doors to the public on 10 April at Plaza Singapura Atrium Space, it had already gotten everybody’s attention. Why the hype and excitement?
True blue dim sum lovers have probably heard of, or even tried, the renowned One Michelin starred Tim Ho Wan from Hong Kong’s Mongkok branch which had recently ceased operations. It is also the cheapest and most affordable Michelin starred restaurant in the world which makes it so popular!
Finally, the foodies in Singapore can have a taste of Tim Ho Wan’s legendary dim sum without having to fly over to the Hong Kong and subsequently queue for hours at its remaining branches just to try it. I was very lucky to be invited by one of my favorite PR companies, Brand Cellar, to be amongst the first in Singapore to taste Tim Ho Wan’s much raved about dim sum, especially their Big 4 Heavenly Kings!
Brand Cellar was also kind enough to allow me to have misterchewy join me in this mass dim sum party! Yeah as you can see, we are one of the true BLUE dim sum lovers. LOL π
Hahaha ok here’s another photo of us because my eyes look bigger.
This was for our table of six… NOT! I think we ordered like at least 4 to 5 times of these! Major food coma but very satisfying! *Rubs tummy with glee* π
Group shot! Sorry I didn’t use my flash that day so it’s not the photographer’s fault that the pic is yellowish. Kinda lost touch with taking food photos after our 3 week long honeymoon trip in Europe π
And without further ado, I shall first introduce Tim Ho Wan’s Big 4 Heavenly Kings – Baked Bun with BBQ Pork, Vermicelli Roll with Pigβs Liver, Pan Fried Carrot Cake and Steamed Egg Cake, in this order. After which, I will be reviewing the other dishes that we had also tried.
Of all the dim sum dishes at Tim Ho Wan, my favorite was the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork ($4.50 for 3 pcs), which I prefer calling char siew bao. It is not your typical char siew bao though, because the bun is baked and not steamed. When eaten hot, the sweet and fragrant BBQ pork oozed out of the bun which was unbelievably soft and a little crusty with a slight bounciness to it.
The Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver ($5.50) was also a crowd pleaser. Loved the cheong fun’s smooth and firm texture and the pig’s liver was soft instead of rubbery.
We had mixed views towards the Pan Fried Carrot Cake ($4.50 for 3 pcs) so it really depends on personal preference. It might be too soft and flimsy for some, and might come across as steamed instead of pan fried. This makes it unique and is still worth a try.
Kinda like our Malay kueh, the Steamed Egg Cake ($3.80) was very light and fluffy. Taste wise, it was not cloyingly sweet which soon got us asking for seconds!
Other than the Big 4 Heavenly Kings, we also sampled all the other dishes that were available during the media launch. First up, the Prawn Dumpling ($5.50 for 4 pcs) was nothing to shout about. It was just normal. No surprises here.
The Pork Dumpling with Shrimp ($5 for 4 pcs) or more affectionately known as siew mai, was jam packed with flavor and this is something which I will definitely find myself ordering again and again and again!
If you are not a fan of pig’s liver, you should try the Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork ($5.50) as an alternative, which is equally impressive!
I didn’t fancy the Dumpling Teochew Style ($4 for 3pcs) because of the odd taste and smell of chives. Other than that, the crunchiness of the dumplings was quite pleasant.
The Beef Ball with Beancurd Skin ($4.20 for 3 pcs) looked really tempting and I almost took a bite until misterchewy told me that it’s beef. π
The Spring Roll with Egg White ($4.20) was the only fried item that we tried at Tim Ho Wan and it was really good. Instead of the typical vegetables encased in a deep fried crackling shell, the egg white filling was smooth and creamy and this was good enough to be eaten on its own.
Finally, for desserts, we had the Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake ($3.50 for 3 pcs) which was like agar agar served cold. The light sweetness and subtle fragrant hint of osmanthus was a wonderful delight to the taste buds.
A photo of us with Chef Mak Kwai Pui, the man behind Tim Ho Wan! It was such an honour to be able to meet such an important and respectable figure from the dim sum food scene! π
Hope everyone enjoyed our review on Tim Ho Wan! Is it worth queuing for hours? You decide!
For more updates, connect with us at our Facebook page www.facebook.com/missuschewy and on Instagram @missuschewy and @misterchewy π
Tim Ho Wan Singapore
68 Orchard Road
#01-29A
Plaza Singapura
Singapore 238839
Tel:+65 6251 2000 (No reservations)
Opening Hours:
Daily
10am β 10pm
