Hong Kong Dim Sum

Tim Ho Wan, 2-8 Kwong Wah St, Hong Kong, China

Images from top to bottom and left to right: steamed vegetables and crispy BBQ pork bun (cha siu bao), steamed dumpling Chiu Chow style, eggplant, spinach and mushroom dumplings, prawn dumpling (har gow/xia jiao), crispy BBQ pork bun (cha siu bao), pan fried turnip cake, pork and prawn dumpling (siumai).

WARNING: Be prepared to wait for a table! We came early one Saturday morning (or so we thought) to have dim sum for breakfast, we were there by 9:40 am and the restaurant opened at 10:00 am. By then there was already a line up that went down the block and around the corner. Mr Mi collected at an order form and we ticked off the dishes we wanted, seemed easy enough. When we finally arrived at the front of the line we were given a number (36) and asked to come back two hours later. What? Did I hear that correctly, two hours? Yes, two hours. According to Lonely Planet and a number of other review articles, this place has the best dim sum in Hong Kong so we thought to ourselves sure let's just wait it out. Meanwhile, we head down the road for a couple of egg custard tarts to see us through. Two hours later, they were only up to number 23...waiting, waiting finally sat down at 1:30 pm! By then, I was thinking these dumplings had better be the most amazing dumplings I have ever tasted.

So, how did the dumplings measure up? Yes, they were delicious and the dumpling skin was especially good, nice and thin. The pork/prawn dumplings were juicy and moist. But in all honestly, I would not wait that long again for those dumplings. The BBQ pork buns however, were another story altogether. They had a light crispy outer layer, with the most amazing crumbly sugary topping balanced with a salty BBQ pork filling. We would definitely come back for that! All up, yes it was very delicious and great value only HK$127 (about A$15) for everything you see above but too long a wait. If you decide to come here, I would recommend you order take away or come at an off peak time perhaps late afternoon from 3:00 pm onwards. Or else take a ticket in the morning, have a light breakfast and come back for lunch. Mi xo