Tim Ho Wan Singapore: Dim Sum Meets Michelin Star
8:00 PM
Strategically located at the heart of Singapore, the Orchard Road, and inside one of the most famous malls for youngsters, Plaza Singapura, Tim Ho Wan is the perfect place to make your hungry stomach satisfied. It’s originally a famous dim sum chain restaurant from Hong Kong. When it first opened in Singapore, people had to queue for two hours to get a seat! But right now it has opened a few outlets, so it’s not as crowded anymore.
The original Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong has acclaimed a Michelin Star and dubbed as “the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant” in the world! For those of you living under a rock and thus are unaware of what a Michelin Star is, it’s basically a food guide, listing the best restaurants in Planet Earth. If this fact doesn’t intrigue you enough, I hope the pictures will. So, shall we?
Beware, this post contains a lot of pork! ;)
I won’t talk about the decor of the restaurants or anything like that, since it’s just clean and simple. Anyway, Tim Ho Wan states that their most famous dishes -the Big Four Heavenly King Dim Sum- are Baked Bun with BBQ Pork, Pan Fried Carrot Cake, Steamed Egg Cake, and Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver. Does ‘Heavenly King’ sound like a hyperbolic name to you? Trust me, it isn’t. *making slurp noises*
However, since this visit is not my first time eating at Tim Ho Wan, I don’t order all of those four, I only order some of them plus some other items. Let’s eat!
First, Baked Bun with BBQ Pork (SGD 5.00 for 3 buns). Imagine a bun, similar to ones you can find in other dim sum restaurants, filled with sweet spicy BBQ Pork. It is baked until the skin is crispy, and you can hear a crunch sound when you take a bite! Next thing you know, everything melts inside your mouth! Be careful, as the fillings are very hot.
Second, a variation of my personal favourite dish in dim sum, chicken feet: Braised Chicken Feet with Abalone Sauce (SGD 5.00). YUM!
Third, Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling (SGD 6.00). This one is okay, though I can’t really taste the wasabi.
Fourth, the vegetables, Steamed Spinach Dumpling with Shrimp (SGD 3.80). The skin of the dumpling is homemade and you can see how thin it is from the transparency. I also love the idea of combining spinach and shrimp -they taste good together!
Fifth, Prawn Dumpling a.k.a Ha Kao (SGD 6.00) -my second favourite dish in dim sum world. I believe that the quality of a dim sum restaurant can be assessed from two dishes, ha kao and shumai. Both are basic and pretty straightforward, but require a lot of techniques and the freshness of the ingredients can easily be evaluated. At Tim Ho Wan, both their ha kao and shumai tick all the boxes!
Sixth, Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork (SGD 5.50). YUM! (Sadly, the deliciousness of Tim Ho Wan dim sum has brought out the monosyllabic me…)
Seventh, Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce (SGD 4.50). Out of all others similar menus that I’ve tasted in other restaurants, this one is definitely among the best.
I order two dishes for dessert: Tonic Medlar and Osmanthus Cake (SGD 3.50) and Steamed Egg Cake (SGD 3.80). Tonic Medlar and Osmanthus Cake are some sort of a herbal jelly filled with dried goji berries a.k.a. wolfberries.
The Steamed Egg Cake is fluffy and light; it is mixed with a little bit of cinnamon and palm sugar (gula merah).
The homemade Barley is a favourite drink at Tim Ho Wan. It’s quite good although I prefer the one at Boon Tong Kee Restaurant.
Price-wise, Tim Ho Wan costs as much as any good dim sum restaurant in Jakarta (not cheap, not too expensive either). Do give it a try and have a taste of a Michelin Star dim sum!
M.
Tim Ho Wan, Singapore
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