This is an invited session
For those who have been to
Hong Kong and are even remotely interested in seeking out good dim sum,
Chef Mak's Tim Ho Wan shouldn't be an unfamiliar name. After all, his original shop has been crowned as the
cheapest 1 Michelin-Starred eatery with affordable dim sum to boot.
Having said that, I have to confess that I have
never actually set foot in the eatery since it opened, though the
"no starry expectations" might actually be a good thing when I went for the the
media preview of the Singapore store.
Located at the new wing of
Plaza Singapura, the first overseas branch of Tim Ho Wan (with a second outlet coming up at Toa Payoh ERA Centre), boasted a
rather spacious dine-in area and a
takeaway counter for those on-the-go. With quite a crowd at the tasting event, only a
partial menu consisting of their signatures and several others were available to the tables, with each of the items being
made upon order.
While service was
slightly blotchy that night with the same item coming in multiple portions that we did not order, it should smooth-en out as they
get accustomed to running at full capacity.
Baked Bun with BBQ Pork 酥皮焗叉烧包 ($4.50 for 3)
First up, the one that
converted many to Tim Ho Wan loyalists. With a
sweet, slightly flaky skin, the baked bun itself had a
light and chewy texture that was pleasant to chew on . Char siew, however, was just alright and somewhat
lacking in quantity, as the bun seemed to be rather hollow within. In other words, it felt like a
toned down version of the classic
Polo BBQ Pork Bun which I would actually prefer the latter.

Dumpling Teochew Style 潮州蒸粉果 ($4.00 for 3), Prawn Dumpling 晶莹鲜虾饺 ($5.50 for 4)
In most Cantonese dim sum, the one
easy rule of thumb to separate a good handmade dim sum from a bad one is the
quality of the skin. Smooth, thin, and doesn't stick onto your teeth. Basic but very very important. Having said that, the two here were
just passable, being not as smooth and transparent enough to see the diced veggies or prawns within. Perhaps I didn't
brush my teeth properly that day too.
Fillings wise, the teochew dumpling was slightly
overpowered by the taste of cilantro, while I had no complaints about the
fresh, chunky prawns in the other.

Pork Dumping with Shrimp 鲜虾烧卖皇 ($5.00 for 4), Beef Ball with Beancurd Skin 陈皮牛肉球 ($4.20 for 3)
The siu mai scored
plenty of points for me, as I appreciated its
simplicity in nature and yet had a
rich pork flavour with a firm bite.
The other one was frankly,
a disaster. And surprisingly it wasn't so much due to the main lead of Preserved Orange Skin Meatball being
starchy and lacking in beef taste, but because of the sidekick that seemed to be steamed in
nothing but plain water. It was so bland that the pockets of water trapped within the beancurd skin sort of
quench my thirst when biting into one.
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Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver 黄沙猪润肠 ($5.50), Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork 蜜味叉烧肠 ($5.50)
Another one whose skin played a major part, and another one that
failed to live up to expectations. A tad too thick and retaining a
flour-y texture, the lack of fillings also seemed to play a part, though I had to admit that the pig liver was
pretty good without the usual gamey smell. And oh yes, besides the surfaces that were in contact with
soy sauce, the rest of the rolls were
rather bland too.
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Pan Fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕 ($4.50 for 3), Spring Roll with Egg White 赛螃蟹春卷 ($4.20 for 3)
The good? Unlike the Singapore counterparts that are more
rice flour solid and and lacking in radish taste, this one had a soft texture and with
generous thick strips of radish. The bad? I actually had to check the
name and my picures right after eating to make sure that it was indeed pan fried, as the surface seem to have
barely touched the frying pan with the interior being way too moist. And for the
third time, bland.
A much more
decent attempt at the usual spring rolls, as the egg white added to the
overall texture.
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Steamed Egg Cake 香滑马来糕 ($3.80), Wolfberry & Osmanthus Cake 杞子桂花糕 ($3.50 for 3)
Thankfully, the ending sweet notes were
pretty satisfying. The steamed cake was
delightfully fluffy that disintegrated easily just by rolling your tongue, while the
very wobbly jelly had an excellent osmanthus fragrance and flavour.

Photog time with Chef Mak! (Taken with iPhone 5)
While I should be proud that a
fellow Hongkonger has made it this big on the international platform with his
humble dim sum, I coudn't help but feel that the Singapore Tim Ho Wan is probably only
a shadow of its glory. After adding on 17% GST/Service Charge, the prices here aren't that far off from
top notch local Cantonese restaurants and frankly, I would say that the latter would probably
impress more in terms of quality.
Admittedly, I am
particularly picky when it comes to dim sum (and Shanghainese food, for that matter) and that taste is subjective after all but hey, I have probably eaten more
har gow siew mai in my life than an average Singaporean has eaten
fishballs. Just saying.
Three months down the road when
operations have stablized, I really hope that I can
swallow my words, gladly with a couple of
Baked Charsiew buns with it.
Tim Ho Wan
#01-29A/#01-52 Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road Singapore 238839
Tel: 6251 2000
Special thanks to
Magdalene of Brand Cellar for the invite!
Taken with Nikon D70