Tim Ho Wan

First I’ll start by saying the selection was amazing. We got SO much food, I think our server doubted us when we put in our order slip. We’re American, dammit – we can eat that much food. Virtually everything we tried was delicious. Was a bit confused by the steamed vegetable of the day, which seemed to be wet iceburg lettuce, but hey, I tried it.
Finding this place takes some work. It’s down the escalator, but if you ask the security guy standing upstairs, he will send you to something else. I will say this location is somewhat sanitized, being in a train station and all. No real ambience. Next time I go to HK, I’ll be sure to visit one of the neighborhood locations.

The bbq pork buns are really the star here. The shrimp dumplings and the meatballs are excellent as well. Everything else is pretty good but not necessarily much better than what we can get back in LA. Was it worth waiting in line for? Yes. Should you expect every single item you order to be mind blowing? No. I would still be here all the time if it were in LA though given that there are some items that are definitely better than what we can get back home. Next time I will probably order more pork buns and a little less of everything else (still good though).

So i have lived in Hong Kong for about 21 years of my life and have ONLY stopped to try these buns yesterday. they are DELICIOUS. I did take out and only ordered the char siu bao and holy smokes they taste AWESOME. I ended up eating 3 that night and my friend ordered 9.
Thats how yummy they are.

Good dim sum place, but I thought the only food that stood out to me was the baked bun with BBQ pork, which was delicious. It was sweet and tangy and succulent…
Siu mai and glutinous rice dumpling were average. Steamed fresh shrimp dumplings (har gow) were called «fresh» but disappointing to me – tasted just average, not fresh or anything different. Steamed lettuce dumplings filled with shrimp were surprisingly impressive. Very soft/​tender and fresh (which i can taste!). Deep fried spring roll filled with shrimp and mayo was eh (i am not a fan of fried spring rolls or mayo). Steamed dumplings in Chiu Chow style were okay, filled with too many different things (veggies and nuts), so it wasn’t a good combination for me

AMAZING! Loved it here! At 10AM on a Wednesday, we were able to sit right down. All the dim sum was amazing (our favorite was Tim Ho Wan’s take on simple sticky rice, and the rice with beef and egg). Service was quick, as there were a lot of tourists (like us) and a line was forming as we were finishing up. Highly recommend!

This dim sum restaurant is a must go whenever I’m in Hong Kong! I would seriously take the airport express to Central and back just to get some baked BBQ pork buns if I have a layover at HKG.
Although Tim Ho Wan is known for their baked BBQ pork buns, most items are also really delicious. These are the best dim sum items (ordered by personal preference):
1) Baked BBQ Pork Bun — a fusion of baked, crunchy pineapple bun and amazing sweet cha siew filling.
2) Tonic Medlar and Petal Cake — another must get! This is a refreshing floral /​goji berry jello dessert.
3) Steamed Egg Cake — This is a HUGE piece of egg cake and served right out of the steamer. It’s not too sweet and you would probably need at least two people to finish it. (That is after you eat a whole plate of the baked BBQ pork bun each.)
4) Steamed rice rolls with chives and shrimp — So delicious!
5) Glutinous Rice Dumpling — It looks and smells amazing, but it’s very filling and takes up precious stomach space. (Would prefer another plate of BBQ pork bun hehe) ‘
Overall, all the dim sum at Tim Ho Wan are pretty good.
If you’re lucky enough to dine in, go ten minutes before opening so you can avoid having to wait 30 minutes– 1.5 hours for a table.

Tim Ho Wan is wildly popular for it’s amazing Dim Sum selections. I’ve never seen a Dim Sum restaurant that consistently has a line with people waiting for it to open 30 – 45 mins before it actually opens. In fact, people wait on this line to experience the magic one last time before their flights since this location is located inside the MTR station. You’ll notice many patrons waiting on line with their luggage.
My favorite dish to order from Tim Ho Wan is their Baked Bun with BBQ. For those familiar with Asian bakeries, this is like a their Bor Lor Bao with Roast Pork inside. The outside of the bun is perfectly flakey and the piping hot juicy roast pork that almost leaks out with each bite is something you must experience to understand. This dish comes with 3 buns and we normally order second or thirds.
The rest of the Dim Sum is good and the prices overall is very very inexpensive.
Tim Ho Wan is a must try, I can’t wait for it to open in NY !

Bis gestern wusste ich nicht, dass ich bereits im günstigsten Sterne-​Restaurant der Welt gewesen bin. Nicht dass ich nicht wüsste, wieviel Geld ich ausgebe oder dass es sehr gut geschmeckt hat. Aber das Ambiente und das drumherum ließen einfach nicht den Schluss zu.
Alles fängt damit an, dass man sich am Eingang meldet und sagt für wieviele Personen man einen Tisch benötigt. Dann erhält man eine Nummer. Und wenn man will (und das ist zu empfehlen) gleich die Karte dazu. Und dann dauert es. Es bilden sich teilweise schon Schlangen bei der Nummernausgabe. Das ganze sieht eher nach Flughafen checkin aus.
Irgendwann wird man dann aufgerufen. Das Restaurant ist so bis auf den letzten Platz ausgebucht. Fast rund um die Uhr.
Am Tisch bestellt man dann die Getränke und das Essen, das man sich am besten schon vorher ausgesucht hat. Es ist laut, denn alle erzählen, schlürfen, schmatzen.
Es gibt keine Speisefolge, sondern die Sachen werden gebracht, wenn sie fertig sind. Und manchmal steht der Tisch dann ganz schön voll.
Die Spezialität sind Dum Sum. Der Schwabe nennt sie Dampfnudeln. Der Chinese ist aber nicht so geizig wie der Schwabe und füllt diese mit allerlei Leckereien.
An die Hühnerfüße haben wir uns nicht gleich getraut. Wir kamen aber dann mit Sitznachbarn ins Gespräch und durften dann mal probieren. Sieht schlimm aus, schmeckt aber nach köstlichem Hühnchen.
Den Köchen kann man zusehen. Aber die Hektik ist unbeschreiblich.
Am Ende hat man dann zu zweit ca. 5 Gerichte gegessen und der Preis liegt bei 15 – 20 Euro.
Das ganze Vergnügen dauert ca. 45 Minuten. Es ist nicht üblich danach noch groß zu verweilen. Und man will ja nicht unhöflich sein. Der nächste wartet schon (seit 45 Minuten). :-)
Fazit: Essen wie am Fließband, aber auf hohem Niveau.

I agree with other Unilocalers whose palettes have already been graced by great dim sum in cities such as Vancouver, Canada, NY, LA, SF Bay Area and the like. I don’t know how this place earned a Michelin star to distinguish itself from its peers. It is very, very overrated. Ah well, now I can say I’ve been.
The famous pineapple BBQ pork bun can be found elsewhere. Other dim sum, in my opinion, were below average. I waited about 20 minutes and I would say it isn’t worth the wait, or any wait for that matter. The staff are rude and the place is basically filled with tourists referencing food blogs while they order. There is much, much better dim sum to be found in when in HK.
The highlight of the meal was the Osmanthus Goji Berry jello.

At 10:20am on a Wednesday, there was already a line — they even have a designated queuing area! Previously they would give you a number and shout it out once your table is ready, but I think the queue works better and is more organized than a massive dispersed crowd of people waiting outside the restaurant.
As a party of 5, we waited for about 15 minutes.
Not too long of a wait, but we were fairly hungry. To avoid a wait at all, if coming for breakfast, best to come right when they open, at 9am.
Since my last visit to THW, I’ve noticed that prices have gone up — especially for the shrimp dumplings (HK$ 30) and baked BBQ pork buns (HK$ 21) for which you can find similar prices elsewhere. What makes THW the cheapest Michelin-​starred dim sum restaurant is the fact that their tea charge is only HK$ 3/​person (diluted Pu-​erh tea). At other local establishments, you’d find yourself paying on average HK$ 15/​person (for good quality tea of your own choice). Take note!
THW is a more of an «eat and go» establishment. The baked BBQ pork buns (each order has 3 pcs) came out first, piping hot, and they were delicious! Followed by the glutinous rice in lotus wrap, har gaw, siu mai, spring rolls, spare ribs (a miss), turnip pudding, Chiu Chow dumplings (fun gwor — my absolute dim sum fave!), rice rolls (cheong fan) filled with minced beef (good!) and char siu (a miss) — note you need to pour the «sweet soy sauce» on your own for the rice rolls. We ordered just the right amount of food at the start and didn’t need a second round, although I wish we had ordered more baked BBQ pork buns to-go…haha!
Also, it’s cash only! They don’t accept credit cards. Happy eating!

Before my trip to Hong Kong I’ve spent extensive research on where to go, and what to eat. And every article/​video talked about this place. How its the cheapest Michelin restaurant. We came to this location which is in the central train station. It was in a food court, the place was pretty small, but the line was out the door and some. The line was about a 40 min wait, but if you order take out its 5 MINS!!! Trust me, unless you got nothing else to do, and need to sit down, don’t waste 40 mins of your time to sit down take it to go, Im pretty sure the menu is the same. As for the food, deff had the sweet PORK BUNS, it was amazing. Deff worth the hype. We also had multiple dim sum which were all good, but nothing amazing. The foods good, and a great value for price, but not if you wait 40 mins for it. !!!

Solid dim sum but really packed space at this location. For tourists stopping by HK, this is the closest quality dim sum you can get at a airport express/​subway station.
My favorite items:
Steamed beef balls
Stuffed Green Peppers
last but not least, the had how and sheumai, a HK classic !

We didn’t realize there was more than one Tim Ho Wan restaurant in Hong Kong and when we found this one in the train station not far from our hotel we jumped on it. Now of course there was a line to get in even at the relatively early Hong Kong dining hour of 630pm but it was well managed with Disney like barriers to control the crowd. The staff also passed out paper forms to pre-​order your food in advance of being seated which helped move the line along. Without handy pictures though we were left guessing what to order beyond the must have fried pork buns. The ordering process works though to move the line and we were seated in less than 20 minutes.
Seating is at long community tables so you will be placed next to complete strangers but that can be half the fun. We were seated next to a nice young couple from mainland China who spoke English. We shared some stories about our travels before the food started to arrive. The servers don’t say much and you have to trust that we will bring out the correct dishes you ordered earlier on paper. It is easy to loose track of what you ordered ahead of time but it all does eventually show up but it what may seem like random order.
The pork buns were as awesome as you hear from everyone. Each order has three buns and we toyed with ordering more than one order each which in hindsight would have been too much of a good thing. We also went with some fried spring rolls (three to a plate) that were nice, hot and tasty. We also enjoyed the steamed vegetable dumplings with shrimp but will pass next time on the steamed spare ribs due to all the small bones to avoid in that dish. There is tea to drink at the table along with soda and bottled water that can be ordered.
We got out there with a really cheap bill and having experienced their world famous pork buns. They also offer takeaway if you just want the buns to take back to your room.

Tim Ho Wan… Dubbed the cheapest Michelin star restaurant. I believe that star goes only to the pork buns. Everything else is alright. You have people who come directly from the airport to line up for your food. You did not disappoint but you did not blow my mind either. It’s not your fault though, people seriously blow things up out of proportions. But I liked the cheap, good eating experience nonetheless. 4 stars for your cheap Michelin star.
If you’re in HK and this is your first time., just get at least 2 orders of The Roast Pork Bun (maybe 3 orders). It was textural heaven. Light and cripsy yet lightly sweet– this is the true game changer here. It’s like a melon bun stuffed with sinfully gooey and sweet pork.
Everything else we ordered was just ok. Its dim sum you would find in SGV. I had the siu mai, har gao/​crystal shrimp dumpling, and cheung fun/​rice noodle shrimp roll. The siu mai had a fresher shrimp taste than back home I must say.
Don’t expect 5 star service since the waiters work really fast. It feels as if you’re being rushed out of the restaurant as soon as you’re done eating to make room for the long ass queue. My tip: leave a bite on the plate so they can’t take it away and take your sweet time enjoying your pu’er tea (which is not free, its a mandatory $ 3HK charge but who can complain.)
I would come here again if I can somehow buy a fast pass and skip the line which for me, would make this place the happiest place on Earth.

Heard a lot of hype about this place. Cheapest Michelin rated restaurant in HK.
The line — I mean zoo — outside can be daunting if its your first time. There are tons of people waiting out front and no clear line. I made my way to the front and managed to signal for a table with some hand signs, the lady wrote me down on the list. Shortly after that she waved me over and I was walked over to my seat.
Important Note: They have english menus (pink paper), but those aren’t at the table, they are by the take-​out/​payment counter — get the paper before you sit to save yourself a lot of confusion
It’s a communal table with some tea and water shared for the table. You fill out your menu paper with a pencil and hand it to the server. A few minutes later they come with all your stuff. It doesn’t all come at once, so don’t think they forgot part of your order.
What to order: Do yourself a favor and order the Pork Buns (char siu) — 3 come in an order. The buns have some kind of sugary/​sweet glaze and the bbq pork inside is delicious. Honestly I ordered a couple of other things that were ok, but this was the highlight! Order these and you are all set!
It was a nice experience, the buns were worth it and the food is cheap. I wouldn’t recommend for a large group because the wait might be a bit long during peak lunch hours.

HK is the dim sum capital of the world… I was expecting way more from this renowned restaurant.
For such a famous place, the wait isn’t bad because the workers are very efficient. Be prepared for no service whatsoever but fast food. The interior is neat and clean. However, you’ll definitely be aware that you’re in a chain restaurant. Kind of takes away from the feel of a classic dim sum restaurant.
My friends and I ordered the classic shrimp dumplings, shrimp rice rolls, sponge cake, bbq pork buns, and some other dishes to try. The dumplings and rolls were small and had little, bland shrimp in it. At other dim sum restaurants the dumplings are 2x the size and stuffed with giant, juicy shrimps. The sponge cake was pretty good but drier than I imagined. My friends loved the bbq pork buns… I had a taste of the sweet outer crust and can agree that it’s the star dish at Tim Ho Wan.
My takeaway from Tim Ho Wan and many other places I’ve tried is that cheaper Michelin Star restaurants are very overrated. Maybe the quality goes down when it becomes famous?
So all in all dim sum. The portions were standard and the fillings often lacking. The taste is good… but there are many non-​chain dim sum restaurants across HK that are much more delicious AND cheaper AND more innovative.
(I recommend Gut Gut dim sum in Kwun Tong and Hao De Lai Xiao Long Bao in Jordan.)

My husband and I tried going to this same location more than 2 yrs ago. Thanks to HK’s infamous typhoons, we were turned away. On this holiday trip, my husband and I brought our family to give it another shot. With the 7 of us, I thought it was the worst idea but we were luckily seated within half an hr!
We handed in our ordering ticket prior to being seated and were served almost immediately after getting situated. We sampled almost the entire dim sum menus. Throughout the meal, we couldn’t get over how amazingly well everything was made and tasted. Their famous roasted pork buns — were out of the world! It’s a hybrid of sweet melon bun exterior with savoury roast pork bun center. Crusty, soft, warm, and buttery — all in one bite. I devoured 3 of them within the first round.
Other favs — their sweet glutenous rice pork dumpling and lotus leaf wrapped rice. I usually don’t prefer either at dim sum just because they are carb heavy and in most cases not worth the calories. But the ones at Tim Ho Wan were so well worth it! Other highlights — shrimp and pork rice rolls (their rice skin was so soft!), lotus flower cake (lightly sweetened, goji berries filled jello), veggie dumplings/​ha gow/​shui mai (the skins were just perfect and each was packed with perspective fillings!)
Overall — not sure what specifically awards it with its Michelin star but its dim sums were one of the best I’ve ever had! Don’t forget to strategize how much foods to order! You are only allowed to add additional orders one time!

On a long layover in Hong Kong I decided to come out kicking and check out the «cheapest michelin star meal I ever.» It wasn’t by the way, but that is a discussion for another day. This is in a train station, still boggles my mind you can dim sum and pretty good dim sum at that at a train station. I got before they opened, and wondered around the station and mall a bit. Came back and there was a line of people already, I was able to get a seat immediately, pretty grateful because within 30 – 45 minutes of opening there is a solid line waiting for seats.
The food was pretty good, not great, not amazing, michelin star worthy? I don’t think so, I have eaten at more than one, 1-​michelin star restaurants before. But the food is pretty good, at a decent cost.

«Cheapest Michelin star meal you’ll ever have!» they say. «The food is not that great,» is what I say.
I know good dim sum as I’m from Vancouver and we have excellent Chinese food. I grew up with dim sum and can honestly say the only great thing about the meal we had at Tim Ho Wan were their barbecue pork pineapple buns. We had five people in our group so we were able to get a good assortment of items to share. The only very memorable items were, again, the barbecue pork pineapple buns and they were very delicious. Something that I’d go again to eat just that. In fact, there was a single granny sitting next to us (in our shared table) that had just ordered the buns and something else for just herself.
The sui mai were very below average. I compared it to something you can get in the frozen section of a grocery store and re-​heated at home. The chicken feet were not good either. I can usually eat unlimited amounts of chicken feet done up dim-​sum style, but this was cooked differently than what I’m used to (from all other dim sum places I’ve had in my life!). The skin was not fall-​off-​the-​bone and loose. The skin was still tight and had the consistency of the method they cook it when it’s the white-​chicken-​feet style that you dip in red vinegar. If you know your dim sum chicken feet, you know what I’m talking about.
The fried radish cake was a top contender too, except the worker didn’t see that we had checked it off. We didn’t notice until near the end and the dish didn’t come until 15 minutes until we were stuffed and done our meal.
Overall great for the buns, and ²⁄₅ stars for everything else. Service is typical for any dim sum establishment — which is non-​existent.

Hidden on the lower level of Hong Kong Station (almost immediately below the In-​Town Check In Counters), this Tim Ho Wan proved to be extremely popular. We waited 1.3 hours or so for a table!
Food: exceptional, truly exceptional. I recommend the roast pork buns that happen to have a layer of crusted sugary powder on top, obviously, but the other «less famous items» were also great! It is no wonder the original in Sham Shui Po was awarded a Michelin Star. I heard from friends who went to both the original and this location it’s replicated quite well here, also. Do get the pork intestine vermicelli roll. Yes, it sounds odd, but yes, it’s good.
Service: extremely efficient — you enter your order by paper even before you are seated. By the time your number is called, your entire dim sum order is flying at you at lightning speed. Enjoy it, even though 80 people are staring at you eating, waiting for a table. (I stared for over an hour lol).
Tip: listen carefully for your number! It pays to understand Cantonese!

The queue at this place tends to be long. As I was talking about at around 4pm for a late lunch, there was not queue, so popped it for a bite.
The food and ambience is ok for a fast food place, which, in the final analysis, is what this place is. I ordered chicken feet, liver cheong fun, prawn dumpling and glutinous rice chicken. The quality is OK, but not great. They tick all the boxes, but somehow they each lack something to stand out, whether it is the quality of ingredient or taste. One can definitely have better quality dim sum in many other places in HK.
It does have the novelty factor of being a cheap Michelin place. However, if you ask me whether it is worth it to wait in a long queue. Not for me.

Je suis fan cette peu de place pour s’assoir mais le repas vaut la peine d’attendre. Attente le soir toujours longue mais après c’est un regal. Tout ces dim sum viandes, légumes, et autres saveur pour un prix au final qui est juste.
Venir à hong kong et rater celui la dommage. Si vous recherchez la perfection un Dim Sum avec etoile michelin vous avez aussi à hk avec le prix qui va avec.

My god.
MY. GOD.
They say this is the cheapest Michellin Star in the world, and it may be. Because it has one. And they have cheap food. Cheap dumplings.
CHEAP AMAZING DUMPLINGS!
These were, by far, the best dumplings I’ve ever had in my life. They were lightly fried on the outside and warm and amazing and filled with sweet meat on the inside. We came and ate here and then ate here again and then I took some home to eat on the plane because they were that good.
It’s hard to find, underneath the giant mall like building. If you’re in a food court, you are in the right place.
Ok, do not be tricked. A few spaces down from this spot is another dumpling place with a similar looking green logo. It is not this. This is this. Be here. Go here. Come here many times like I did.

Das Tim Ho Wan ist laut meinen Kenntnissen des einzige Dim Sum Restaurant mit einem Michelin Stern. Da die kleinen cantonesischen Leckerein ganz oben auf meiner Favouritenlisten stehen habe ich den Laden gleich nach meiner Ankunft aufgesucht. Es gibt mitlerweile mehrere in Hong Kong. Die Bekanntheit führt leider zu einer gewissen Wartezeit vor dem Restaurant. Drinnen ist der Laden eher schlicht und funktionell. Wir mussten uns an einen Tisch mit anderen Gästen setzen. Man erhält wie üblich einen Bestellzettel auf dem man seine gewünschten Speisen ankreuzt, leider gab es zu meiner Zeit nur einen auf Chinesisch.
Nach dennoch gelungener Bestellung kamen die Dim Sum frisch und lecker trotz des grossen Ansturms recht schnell.
Alles in allem muß ich sagen, daß sie sehr gut schmeckten, ich konnte jedoch keinen Unterschied zu allen anderen Dim Sum Restaurants in Hong Kong entdecken.
Fazit:
Die Dim Sum sind sehr gut, so wie fast überall in Hong Kong.