Dim Sum in Michelins Cheapest Restaurant Yunisa - Singapore
Tim Hao Wan
Flat 8 Ground Floor, Phase 2, Tsui Yuen Mansion, 2-20 Kwong Wa Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Phone: 23322896
Opening Hours: 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Pricing: very cheap
Taste: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Hong Kong for me equals to dim sum. I can eat dim sum for breakfast, lunch, and supper in Hong Kong (and later fretting of gaining weight post-Hong Kong dim sum-ing).
Mak Pui Gor, the former dim sum chef at Hong Kong's Four Seasons Hotel, where he worked at its three-starred restaurant Lung King Heen, opened this humble dim-sum eatery in March 2009 and it was not surprising when Tim Hao Wan becomes one of the three Michelin-starred restaurants in Hong Kong (the other two are Loaf On, a seafood restaurant in Sai Kung and Hung’s Delicacies, Chiu Chow restaurant).
When I reached Hong Kong, the first question I asked my aunt (my mom’s eldest sis) was whether she knew Tim Hao Wan. I was deadly curious to compare how good the Michelin starred is compared to any random dimsum I eat in Hong Kong. After decoding my long winding description in Cantonese, my cousin (there are language barriers between us without his parents) answered he knew and he had dined there before Tim Hao Wan was certified with Michelin star.
Crazy queue
Do not believe what the Australian newspaper said. The queue for lunch is not one hour, it was 3.5 hours! That is the longest queue in my life for dining, ever! (It is normal in Hong Kong, my aunt said).
Judging from the queue, my aunt estimated it was 2 hours, so we were circling around Mong Kok area (Langham Place is nearby, by the way – and the 5-floor escalator and Christmas decoration was superb) - and when we returned, it turned out we still need to wait for more than an hour. Mind you, when the people called you up to 4 numbers, and you were not there, you can say goodbye to dining at Tim Hao Wan. There was a man who screamed and got mad because of this. It was a dramatic scene to witness.
Very affordable pricing
The most expensive dish in Tim Hao Wan cost HKD 17 (SGD 3.10) for steamed rice menu, which Singapore dimsum restaurants do not offer. (Who needs to eat rice with chicken feet and pork ribs, anyway?). However, it is common for Hong Konger to have rice dishes – even with dimsum, and it is not bad, actually. Standard dimsum like hakau (steamed shrimp dumplings), steamed chicken feet, steamed spareribs and rice rolls cost between HKD 10 to HKD 16 (less than SGD 2 to less than SGD 3).
For tea, you have two choices, Pu Erh and Oolong. The oolong is not as bitter as I usually get. Both are equally good. Not to worry, they have menu in English.
The shrimp dumpling (hakau – hajiao) is indeed delicious. It is hard to describe. One of the best hakau I have ever eaten. The skin is thin, soft, and does not tear or sticky to the bamboo container when you use your chopstick to pick it up. The shrimp is fresh and mould into perfection, just the nice proportion. My pre-teenage sister can finish three sets (3 * 4 pieces) by herself, unconsciously. (Where is my hakau? Who finished it? Haha).
The rice rolls (chee cheong fun) is normally good – soft, unbreakable skin texture and delicious soya sauce poured.
The steamed pork ribs (spareribs with black bean sauce) is rejuvenating. Some restaurants either put too much black bean sauce – or the spareribs are not juicy enough. Tim Hao Wan served one of the best steamed pork ribs ever – be it as dimsum or served with steamed rice.
The steamed beefball with bean curd skin is actually nice (at least my aunt and cousin like it). Unfortunately the coriander (or parsley?) inside destroy the meatiness sensation I enjoyed (perhaps because I hate it). If only I can ask the chef to prepare one without coriander.
I did not eat chicken feet (as it reminds me of baby’s fingers), but my sister and aunt said it is very good. Looking at the texture, I agree. It is not soaky or overcooked. Just perfect.
The steamed chicken and fish maw with mushroom is very appetizing. It is fresh, savory, very delicate on the palate. (I finished it before I remembered that I haven’t taken a picture).
Finger licking good
If no one was watching, I did want to lick my fingers after I finished all the deep fried dishes in Tim Hao Wan. The carrot cake (they called it turnip cake, picture A) is definitely the best I have eaten. The crisp on the skin layer and bouncy with mouth-watery taste to eat more and more once you bite it.
The fried sticky rice (picture B) were formed like Indonesian fishcake (pempek) and it has dried meat inside. The taste is unique, you have the sweetness from the sticky rice and the saltiness from the meat. The springroll is actually filled with cheese and garlic – and very, very crunchy skin but not oily (picture D).
The usual pan fried bean curd roll – is extraordinary. It reminded me a bit of nostalgic Indonesian Semarang ngo-hiang (very different from Singapore’s version). The bean curd skin is layered and made into perfect rolls, deep fried into golden perfection to ensure the crispiness and every bite is guaranteed the tenderness of beef and enoki mushroom.
The fried char shiew pao (actually it is called baked bun with BBQ pork, picture C) is crispy on the outside, warm, soft and yummy on the inside and the shape is unusual – more like Western pastries than the normal Chinese bun. The granny next to my aunt told us that the waiting time did not worth it but for these buns (her grandsons also like it).
The one dish I do not like (other than the coriander factor) is the sponge cake, a.k.a Malay cake (steamed egg cake) with brown colour – it’s neither there nor here. Not sweet enough, yes, it is spongy, but it is incomparable to the usual pastries I usually eat.
For the dessert, my aunt ordered a red pudding – very unique because it contains the flower with my mother’s Chinese name (Gui Hua jelly). In the menu, it is tonic medlar & petal cake. It is very fragrant, sweet and… I lost at words. There is bottled tea in Singapore with Gui Hua flower.
Tim Hao Wan does not serve take-aways. They provide Styrofoam boxes though. So you order as if you’re going to dine in, and ask for the boxes to go, and pack it yourself.
In summary, is the queue worth the food? I am saying no. Almost any random dimsum place in Hong Kong serves as good dimsum as Tim Hao Wan. Rather than starve yourself for 3.5 hours, go and grab your dimsum in other place.
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@Dr Piper: akhirnya!!! ada yang ngeh juga sama maksud penulis. even my sis n best friend protes kenapa isinya bikin ngiler tapi conclusion-nya kok kyk gitu :P lah any random dimsum di HKG aja enak, ngapain perlu Q 3.5 jam... @Om Gun: cross finger someday I will be back hehehe
Dear Yunisa,
Have a blessed New Year 2010. Do you know also where is a best Dim sum restaurant at Bay Area, CA ? We can go together if you back to Cupertino. Thank you for your sharing, all food look delicious. GBU
@Om Bagong: iya ngantrenya bikin kapok (bukan kapok lombok)... tapi tadah nggak bisa diperbesar je... @Nonsy: daya khayalku emang aneh hehe, ortu sampe marah2 pas aku ngotot ceker itu mirip tangan adik2ku pas bayi. @mbak meong: hahahha, sikat aja. eh iya siomai di HKG selain isi udang, ada isi ikan, isi sapi juga...
Yunisa: ngantri (atau pesan) 3,5 jam untuk dim sum? Wah.... porsi dobel mestinya! Ceker ayam bagus..... hehe satu jenis aphrodisiac menu...... Kipas saja!
Posted by: Bagong Julianto | Kamis, 14 Januari 2010 | 10:07 WIB
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