Tim Ho Wan

Menu is limited and average or just slightly above average. Portions are small
For the slightly above average dishes, i’d recommend:
1. the baked bun with bbq pork
2. Mango sago pomelo
3. Spring roll with egg white
4. My wife found the Vermicelli roll with shrimp (15−20min wait) good, i thought the skin was a little thick and have eaten better
5. Chilli sauce is excellent
Also, lookout for the monthly specials:
1. We had the Laksa Wonton which was good when eaten with the laksa base
2. The custard lychee tasted a bit weird but was glad to try it but won’t order seconds

Had high hope seeing that I really really enjoyed the one in Hong Kong. Pork bun was nice enough… Similar to what they have in Hong Kong… But for me, it stops there… For the price that you are paying, I would seriously rather go to other dim sum places — the quality would be much better.
Don’t get me wrong, food wasn’t bad. But just not up to what I have expected…
A tad disappointed. Hopefully they are still good in Hong Kong

This is one of my fav cheap eats. Food is made to order and it’s delicious. The only con is that you will wait when it’s peak time but I think worth it. It deserves its popularity.

No lines! That was the only reason why we decided to eat here because there was a table readily available. We had ordered the more popular dishes which included the pork buns and vermicelli bbq pork among others. service was quite attentive. Servers kept on coming over to collect whatever they can from the table. Overall this place has fast and friendly service and reasonable prices.

O-​ver-​rated. The signature pork buns are nice enough, but everything else is average or mediocre at best. I can’t believe people queue up for ages for this stuff.
For better dim sum, go to Paradise Dynasty at ION (not Victor’s Kitchen).

Finally, after only being able to get takeout at the HK location, we were able to sit down and eat at Tim Ho Wan. We were doing some shopping in the mall, and all of a sudden, I saw the green sign from the distance. Better yet, not wait (3 PM on a weekday). We got seated right away, and ordered:
Pork and thousand year egg congee: standard but good
Chicken feet: the abalone sauce makes this dish really good
Bean curd roll: good, but a little too soupy or saucy
Har gow: nice and big chunks of shrimp
Fried bean curd roll: crispy and light
Pork and mushroom rice: came out in a metal bowl, nice and hot
Shrimp Chong fun: standard but good as well
Steamed lettuce: I guess you want to order this if you want some vegetables, but I don’t think it is worth the 5 or 6 SGD price.
I didn’t get the infamous pork buns, but I had my fill of it already in Hong Kong. Overall, it seemed a little more expensive than the one in Hong Kong, but we got really good service here.

Came to this mall to go to mos burger and then saw Tim Ho Wan and I have always wanted to try but been deterred by lines. We arrived here on a Tuesday at 11am, no line but the restaurant was pretty full. Got the classics: Har Gow, Shu Mai, Spare ribs, bbq pork bun, rice roll with shrimp, and Congee. Everything was amazing especially the har gow and BBQ pork bun. I would wait 45 min for this place but I’ve heard the line can get pretty crazy here. I want to try in HK because that is the Michelin star one.

Tim Ho Wan is truly a special chain restaurant. I’m not going to belabor the point that this restaurant is great as so many of my fellow Unilocalers have given their rave reviews. However, If I were to sum up all their reviews in a nut shell, it is the following: (i) long lines, (ii) amazingly crispy on the outside and (iii) mouthwatering taste /​melt in your mouth type experience on the inside.
Word to the wise, if you ever get a chance to eat at THW, FORGET ordering the usual Dim Sum staples: har gow, shiu mai, bean curd, etc. They are no better than those found at any Dim Sum restaurant, Crystal Jade, etc. I would solely stick to the THW specialities. The ones I consider specialties: Baked Bun with BBQ Pork (world famous), Yam Dumpling with Chili Dumpling (wouldn’t be surprised if this was offered only in Singapore) and rice with chicken, sausage & mushroom. There may be others, but these are my favorite.
Parting note: If you ever see a Tim Ho Wan without a line, literally drop whatever your doing and head over the restaurant immediately. You may never get this opportunity ever again. Enjoy!!!

Tim Ho Wan is the home of my roast pork bun dreams.
Yes, it is worth the hype IMHO.
I’ll admit I’ve never had to wait too long for a table (though I did wait maybe 15 minutes at this branch and the Toa Payoh branch). I’ve come to the centrally located Plaza Singapura from a Friday at 3 pm to Saturday at 10:30 am and was whisked into a seat almost immediately. The restaurant even gave me superior treatment when I was pregnant/​we had our baby and immediately gave us seats or moved us to a wider table. This hungry mama was very thankful to receive such great service! But that is only one of the reasons I would come back.
The Food
This dim sum is simply superior. My very picky friend agreed that the quality of the ingredients was simply better than at other dim sum places. The roast pork buns are the best ones I’ve ever tried with a crispy, slightly sweet exterior and a mildly sweet cha seow pork filling. This is a fabulous combination and I don’t even LIKE roast pork buns most of the time. The spinach dumplings are light, yet flavorful (I’m eating my veggies ma!) The shumai as well as bean curd filled with shrimp and pork are satisfying and flavorful, but not filled with fat like it is at other restaurants.
I still found the roast pork buns to be tasty, but perhaps lacking a little crunchiness the last time I went, but still loved every bite.
Dreaming of great dim sum? Make your dreams a reality and eat here!

The whole michelin star thing seems a little excessive but I would probably come back if there wasn’t a queue. There was no queue today when I arrived at 3pm.
The bbq pork buns and the steamed egg cake were very good. The rice with beef and fried egg did not seem like high quality beef.

Tim Ho Wan, a household dim sum name in Hong Kong and now Singapore, has had me standing in line and then surrendering and eating at some other Chinese restaurants several times due to the impossible lines. Read my review on the Hong Kong Tim Ho Wan here.
I finally sampled the Singapore version when we managed to score seats at the newly opened Bedok Mall during dinner time.
We started with some Century Egg Congee with lean pork and salted egg ($ 4.20). I didn’t try this in Hong Kong but hello salted egg! The flavor of the silky smooth and thick congee was certainly enhanced by the salted egg. Delicious!
I’ve heard enough negative reviews on the baked bbq pork buns but i gotta try it for myself. First glance at the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork ($ 4.50) didn’t leave a good impression already. It was pasty looking, nothing like that golden exterior of its hong kong sister. The bottom was oily and the bo lo crust wasn’t milky nor crumbly enough. Kudos to that pillowy texture sandwiched between the meat and the upper crust, however, it wasn’t good enough to cushion that shock i received from the char siew.
Upon splitting the csblb into halves, my immediate reaction was WTF? How is that char siew?! Artificial coloring could be seen from a mile away and instead of juicy meat, i bit into chunky fats. I simply had to ask the waitress if this was really the csblb. Such a disappointment.
The other standard Heavenly Kings include the Ma Lay Gao (Malay cake) a steamed cake with sugar. Honestly if you want steamed cake, you should just get it from any confectionery store. $ 3.80 per piece of cake is totally not worth the price. I gave the pan fried Carrot Cake and the Cheong Fun a miss this time since i wasn’t overly impressed by them in Hong Kong.
Decided to taste the Beancurd Skin Roll with Pork and Shrimp ($ 4). It was saucy and savory but kinda lacking in the filling department.
The Har Gao or Prawn Dumplings ($ 5.50) were on the powdery. Instead of whole prawns, i believed they were filled with chopped up ones and it seems like fish/​prawn paste were added to the mix. MEH.
The other dish that hits the mark was the Tonic Medlar and Osmanthus Cake ($ 3.50). It had the same intense flavors as the Hong Kong one and left us refreshed with its lingering fragrance.
Overall, edible dimsum, not super fantastic. I’ve had better dimsum in Singapore really. I wouldn’t mind eating it is there isn’t a queue but if i were to wait 1h for this, i would surely be darn pissed.
p/​s: Heard that the Toa Payoh outlet serves the best dimsum out of the lot. Let me know what you think!

Whhheeeee! My first ever Michelin restaurant AND it was the cheapest of the Michelin star restaurants in the world?! There was also a 10 minute wait when I happened to go for lunch with a few friends. Best. Day. Ever.
I don’t eat char siu bao normally. They just don’t taste very good in my opinion. But I will eat an entire order of Tim Ho Wan char siu bao by myself. I think it’s the bread. I don’t normally like bao bread, but the breading here is soooooo good! Like many of the other customers, I will be back to Tim Ho Wan just for the char siu bao. The «vermicelli» noodles, or chong fun, is also very good, as are the shu mai and ha gao. You’ll need to order other items other than the char siu bao because they limit the number of orders of bao to the number of guests dining at your table (boo!)
You order your food using a little checklist that the servers provide you with. You write the number of orders for each menu item listed. You also have to order beverages (including water) this way. There is also no take out available unless you dine in and then take away «left overs» (oh, my bad, we *accidentally” maxed out on char siu bao and couldn’t finish…).
The service was pretty spot on until we got to the end of our meal and a different waitress came by to give us boxes. She stared us down like we were the most inconveniencing guests at the restaurant… it was awkward.
Overall, this the most I’ve ever paid for dim sum, but the food is just so darn good that I will definitely be back! Who wants to stand in line with me?!

Back in Singapore for 2 weeks and of course I had to give Tim Ho Wan a try after reading about all the hype around it. Thankfully, I was not disappointed!
I’ve tried the Tim Ho Wan in Hong Kong, so I definitely had high hopes for the one in Singapore. We went there on Saturday around 2pm, and the line wasn’t that long. We only waited in line for about 30min before getting a table.
The char siew bun and the pan fried turnip cake was definitely the best dishes. I like how the pork bun is served warm which made the pastry more flakey :)
The har gao, siew mai, and other dim sum not in their famous heavenly 4 selection were so-​so/​pretty average. Nonetheless, the pricing was pretty fair, so thumbs up for that!
Oh, and I really enjoyed the dessert too :)
Would definitely come back again, and wouldnt mind waiting 30 min again!

The sign read: «The world’s cheapest Michelin restaurant.»
Supposedly it’s one of the best dimsun chains in Hong Kong. My coworker stood in line for almost two hours before we were seated, during a weekday lunch. We eagerly just wanted to try their famous BBQ pork buns but we ended up trying at least ten other dishes… and to sum it up, it was okay. Perhaps it’s because it was way overhyped via media and all those ppl standing in line, but I’ve had similar or better at other local restaurants in both Singapore and Hong Kong, and not sure if this really «stands out» from the rest to earn its Michelin star. The BBQ pork buns were unique and tasty, but it wasn’t something I wanted more than the normal three pieces given. I’d come back only if there’s no line.

So, I basically waited in line for three hours to get sevee food allergies! (Note to the wise: wine from Wine Connection down the block doesn’t help alleviate food allergies)
In all seriousness, this place deserves four stars! It’s not Michelin rated for nothing! The food was definitely good. Could have been better considering the wait, but overall tasty and a bang for your hard earned Singapore dollars! I would have given this place a five, but I felt as if most of their dishes had the same ingredients, particular prawns, of which I am allergic to. Even their pork dumplings had shrimp!

Call me kapoh but when I saw a long line for Tim Ho Wan on a Tuesday night at 8pm, I knew there was something to be explored here. After all, who eats dim sum at NIGHT?! I peaked in at the bustling open-​concept restaurant and saw a teeshirt they were selling that said «World’s Cheapest Michelin Restaurant». Michelin?! Now I knew I had to try it…
Having just had dinner, however, I tried to get some dim sum to go. But, nope! Can’t do that. We later realised you can only get to-​go after dining in (and you’re limited to 3 plates per table or something like that)
So the next morning, right at 10am (when they opened), we made our way back to Atrium mall to check out this dim sum restaurant… The line had already formed and was a full line that went up to the first curve. F, I thought to myself. But thankfully, it moved super fast and we were in within 10−15mins.
Now, what I experienced next was mind blowing. I Love good dim sum (yes, that’s Love with a capital L), and this might have been one of the best dim sums I’ve ever tasted. So, I beg to differ from the other reviewers — I definitely thought it was worth the hype. After all, even if you didn’t trust me, we both know Michelin doesn’t just give out stars to anyone…
Here’s what we got and how they fared.
Pork Buns: like everyone else said… truly heaven in your mouth. i don’t even normally like pork buns at dim sum restaurants, to be honest. because of how bread-​y and just blah the whole thing is. but this pork bun, this ones different. it came out piping hot, the pastry soft yet flakey/​crumbly with the perfect amount of sweetness to it. it was generously filled with pork, and together with the bun, created an explosion of deliciousness in my mouth, so much so I wanted to scream a little. definite must try whether or not you like pork buns.
Har Gow: generously filled with shrimps covered in a thin skin, it felt like the perfect ratio of dumpling skin to shrimps — which is always important. but more important than that, i loved how succulent and super fresh the shrimps were.
Spinach, Garlic & Mushroom Dumplings: without a doubt the best veggie dim sum I’ve ever had. super generously filled with spinach, garlic and mushroom, the veggies aren’t so finely chopped up whereby you feel you’re just eating green mush, nope! with these dumplings, you can actually taste the texture of the spinach — and in my opinion, is what gives this veggie dumpling an extra oomph and clear edge over the rest of the veggie dumplings I’ve had.
Shrimp Chee Chong Fun: good and well done. they pour the soya sauce on the cheong fun right when it gets to your table (as they should) so it doesn’t get over soaked.
Deep Fried Shrimp Beancurd Skin Rolls: I normally don’t like the deep fried beancurd skin rolls because of how greasy it makes you feel after. however, though they were without a doubt oily, it didn’t give me a yucky feeling after. and it was yummy enough whereby it was worth it, I’d say.
Steamed Egg Cake: now, why don’t they just call this steamed brown sugar sponge cake? because that’s what it tastes like. don’t get me wrong, I loved it. I really did. it was light, fluffy and not too sweet. I just wished I knew what it was from the name because it sure doesn’t taste like egg!
Chicken Feet: I can’t say I’m a big fan of chicken feet but it was my mom who ordered it and she definitely enjoyed it, so.
All in all, my top favorites were without a doubt the Pork Bun, Spinach dumplings and the Har Gow (the steamed egg cake follows close after too). I loved how fresh and full of ingredients and flavorful everything was. I loved that it wasn’t too oily or salty and I didn’t feel like all I ate was starch and msg after (like you do sometimes… okay mostly at dim sum restaurants in LA) yes, their menu is small (no Char Siew Pastry or Egg Custard Buns or any of that here) but you know what? They’re incredibly good at what they have and I’m totally okay with that.
Will definitely be back. In fact, probably in the next day or two…

I really dont understand why this place only has 3.5 stars. Everything here tastes so delicious from the har gow to the pork buns. Everything is made with precision, brining out flavors that will make your taste buds explode. And this is coming from a person that doesnt like dim sum.

Waited 30 minutes at 3 pm on Sunday. When I left, the queue looked around the same – (30 minutes @ 4 pm on Sunday.)
I ordered 3 out of the 4 Heavenly Kings: the pork buns, the liver chee cherng fun, and the egg cake. Only the pork buns were worth ordering again, the liver in the chee cheong fun was really overcooked, and the egg cake was nothing special, just a bit of cinnamon in it.
I noticed the ‘regulars’ also only ordered the bbq pork buns. The other things that are really popular are the rice wrapped in banana leaves.
I’m glad I tried it and the wait wasn’t that long (because once you get seated, they bring the food 2 – 5 minutes later). But it wasn’t so great that I’d wait over half an hour for.

I think I may give it a 4-​star rating if not for the super long waiting time, about an hour for us.
I passed by Tim Ho Wan almost every day and the line never seemed to abate. Thanks to a friend who had some free time and was willing to wait in line for the better part of the hour, we were brought to our table shortly after our arrival.
We ordered almost everything on the menu, including the 4 heavenly kings.
1. bbq pork bun (#1 bestseller or hot favorite) — definitely to be eaten warm, that is in the restaurant. it was lackluster when I had it at home, several hours later. the top bits reminded me of bo luo bun. the bbq pork, while juicy, was also overly sweet.
2. rice rolls (shrimps, pork liver, beef and char siew) — shrimp was the best (sweet and juicy), followed by char siew. Beef was so gooey soft that I could not tell if I was eating the rice rolls or beef slices. Not a fan of pork liver though my fellow diners liked it well enough. the rice roll itself was also moist and not hard and dry. one of the better versions around.
3. glutinous rice dumpling in lotus leaf — this was my favorite. soft tender rice soaked with the rich flavor and taste of the chicken, sausage, mushroom and what not.
4. pan fried carrot cake — soft wobbly carrot cake which had a good ratio of water and flour. another favorite of mine. not too oily too.
5. shrimp dumplings — a nice size with a thin case around the sweet and plump shrimps.
6. siew mai — also pretty good, not porky at all, with bits of prawns in it.
7. rice with mushroom, chicken and sausage in a metal container — actually quite good, reminded me of the claypot chicken rice except it was not served charred in a claypot.
8 and 9: some beancurd skin dishes which I did not know the names of. One was fried and one was braised. Both were good.
10. Ma Lai Gao (Malay cake) — soft cake with a strong taste of brown sugar. a bit too sweet for my liking.
11. some sort of vegetable dumpling — pretty ok, not so memorable.
If I could only order 3 items, I would get the glutinous rice dumpling, pan fried carrot cake and shrimp rice roll. Then again, if I need to wait an hour to get a table, I will probably order everything and have the leftover packed in a doggy bag.

When I first heard of this restaurant, I instantly knew I wanted to go. Not because it had 1 Michelin star or anything, but rather because I have a friend named Tim Ho and I wanted to tell him about it.
Now that I’ve eaten there, I can say I would only go back for the same reason I went there the first time. As in, I probably won’t go back, since it wasn’t worth the +2-​hour wait, even though the restaurant was nice enough to provide tiny stools for us to sit on and shuffle along as we waited. The restaurant is about as special as its menu: a small order form, with a (comparative to all the other dim sum restaurants I’ve ever dined at) limited selection of dim sum dishes. I was a tad disappointed, since there was really nothing special about this supposedly famous restaurant other than its famous baked BBQ pork buns.
But don’t get me wrong – the buns themselves are delicious. Each order is $ 4.50 and contains three (small) fist sized buns. I think what makes them distinctive is that they have this nice butter-​sugar topping, kind of like the topping on roti and pineapple buns (if you’re familiar with Asian bakery lingo). The bread itself is delicate and well baked, and surprisingly isn’t soggy from the gold mine of char-​siew sauce-​drenched BBQ pork stuffed inside. I consumed my first two buns so eagerly that I didn’t even realize I had scalded my tongue. Rookie mistake. As I looked around the rather small restaurant, I realized everyone else around me was eating a lot more slowly. I proceeded to consume my last bun with dignity (read: table manners) and can gladly report it was just as delicious as the first two, even though I was now significantly more full.
I don’t know if it was the fact that I wasn’t hungry anymore, but the rest of the dishes my two friends and I ordered tasted mediocre at best. We ordered the steamed meat rice dumpling, which was filled with Chinese sausage, shiitake mushroom, and (who would have guessed?) BBQ pork. The dumpling was good, but it had a slightly sweet aftertaste that I wasn’t a huge fan of. We also ordered shrimp dumplings, steamed pork ribs, beef balls, vermicelli rolls with (why am I not surprised?) BBQ pork inside, steamed vegetables (my roommate swears by vegetables, but I think it was a little expensive for the amount we received), and carrot cake, which were all dishes exactly you could order from any other ordinary dim sum restaurant.
To sum up my experience, it was a lovely brunch, but I have dined at far better dim sum restaurants for the amount I ended up paying after we split our bill ($ 20). But at least I can say I’ve dined at Tim Ho Wan now! – although in my personal opinion, they should probably just rename the restaurant «BBQ Pork.»
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PS: I actually ended up going back the next week with my co-​worker, who had never tried the killer baked BBQ pork buns before. With just the 1-​hour wait (but mind you, we went on a random Tuesday after lunch) I thought it was much more worth it, and this time we both ended up spending $ 7.50 to share 2 servings of BBQ pork buns and 1 steamed meat rice dumpling.