15. November 2015: Restaurant Tim Ho Wan, the Dim-Sum Specialists

The Tim Ho Wan is the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world. It has one Michelin star and while I have read quite a bit about it and how difficult it is to get a seat, it was actually not difficult at all. Given you get a menu (luckily in English) and you have to cross which dishes you want (which is not always easy to understand and the waitress was only limitedly helpful as her English was only limitedly good) we decided to just try a couple of different dishes.

We started with “Steamed fresh shrimp dumplings (ha jiao)” (26 HKD) which were actually a great start as they were absolutely delicious. After this start we had high expectations …

… which kind of were matched with the next course, “deep fried spring roll with egg white and shrimp” (24 HKD). The egg white in the middle was actually what really made the difference – truly lovely!

The next course “steamed spareribs with black bean sauce” (17 HKD) was nothing for weak stomachs. I mean, it did not taste bad or anything but frankly it was very chewy and you have to be quite “willing” to eat it.

The next course were “deep fried dumplings filled with pork” (14 HKD) which were okay but the quality of the meat was also not what one is used to from Europe.

Now while the “Pan-fried beef dumplings with black pepper” (22 HKD) sounded absolutely delicious on the menu I must say they were not so much. The meat was obviously steamed in stead of grilled which really gave it a special consistency, and I do not mean special in a very positive way here. However, the pepper sauce was actually yummy.

The next course, “steamed rice with beef and pan fried egg” (27 HKD) was also rather particular. If you ate the meat by itself it was pretty much the same as with the one with the black-pepper sauce. However, if you mixed everything together, egg, meat, and rice, the dish became actually quite okay.

The cheapest Michelin-starred (just 1 star) restaurant in the world looks actually surprisingly appealing from the outside. However, from the inside it does not compare to any Michelin-starred restaurant you have been at in your entire life! The place is – let’s say – interesting, definitely. However, the atmosphere is more like an American food joint, the service does not speak English too well, and the dishes were to a large degree nothing special.

Still, if you are in Hong Kong you should definitely pay the Tim Ho Wan a visit. I mean, when else can you eat at a Michellin-starred restaurant for a party of three for total less than 80 CHF?

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Contact Details:

Restaurant Tim Ho Wan, the Dim-Sum Specialists

2 Hoi Ting Road

Tai Kok Tsui

Hong Kong (HK)

Tel.: +852 23 32 28 96

Homepage: http://www.timhowan.com

About the Author: Sven

I started the blog in October 2009, while living in Milan which I definitely consider to be one of the food capitals of the world. I was in touch with food since my early childhood (as my father is a former chef). Whenever I can, I travel the world to discover new places, to meet people but mostly to try local dishes and to find hidden gems! If you know a place worth going, please drop a line to: info@thediningexperience.org. Currently, I am a member of the following food-related associations: Chevalier @Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Zurich-Ville; Membre Gourmet Dégustateur @Ordre Mondial des Gourmets Dégustateurs [OMGD]; Gesellschafter @Goldener Fisch and Member @Slowfood Convivium Zurich City.