Nov 8, 2013

Tim Ho Wan 添好運 @ Plaza Singapura




I queued from 6:15pm to 7:30pm (1 hr 15 minutes).
The very basic attribute that one should have before patronizing Tim Ho Wan is patience - you can't make any reservation.

An exaggerating advice given by one of my friends, "Go in a group of 4 or 5 and take turns to spend half an hour queuing".

Assuming that you're going with a group of friends, or at least with your partner/spouse, talk to each other to kill time. If you're the pity one who needs to queue alone first before the rest of your friends arrive, play games or read something, but remember, you're only allowed to enter when all of your friends have arrived - Tim Ho Wan is doing big business and they can't afford to have a single unfilled table.

If you're starving really badly, you might want to think twice before putting yourself in the dilemma of continuing to queue or leaving the queue.

Tim Ho Wan 添好運 is a Michelin-starred restaurant originated from Hong Kong, which accounts for its popularity.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, people are queuing for two to three hours for this highly sought after dim sum restaurant.

添好運 is pronounced as Tim1 Hou2 Wan6 in Jyutping (粵拼) or to those who're not familiar with the Cantonese phonetic system, it's Tīm Hóu Wǎn in Pinyin (漢語拼音), although the script tim doesn't exist in Pinyin, but those who speak Chinese and English definitely know how to pronounce tim (which sounds like team).

It's a birthday celebration dinner for one of my housemates Alison, who's turning 24. =P

I took the responsibility of queuing prior to everyone else's arrival as I am the one who ends work the earliest (4:45pm), while Wilsen bought the birthday cake. I boarded one of my company buses which drops me at Bishan MRT, and from there I traveled southwards to Dhoby Ghaut via MRT. The stupid me who still find Dhoby Ghaut MRT a maze took the wrong exit and ended up in Dhoby Xchange, leaving me with no choice but to take an extra couple of minutes to figure out how to get to Plaza Singapura by walking across the road, when I could have taken the right exit and reached Plaza Singapura directly.

I was given an two-page order sheet which is slightly smaller than an A6 paper, so that I can think of what to order in advance.


鼓汁蒸肉排 Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce @ $4.20


香煎蘿蔔糕 Pan Fried Carrot Cake (3pcs) @ $4.50


臘腸北菇雞飯 Rice with Chicken, Sausage & Mushroom @ $6.00


古法糯米雞 Glutinous Rice Dumpling (1pc) @ $5.00


蜜味叉燒腸 Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork @ $5.50
The most colorful Chee Cheong Fun I've ever seen.


晶瑩鮮蝦餃 Prawn Dumpling (4pcs) @ $5.50


鮮蝦燒賣皇 Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (4pcs) @ $5.00


香滑馬來糕 Steamed Egg Cake (1pc) @ $3.80


酥皮焗叉燒包 Baked Bun with BBQ Pork (3pcs) @ $4.50

I'll feel sorry for you if you didn't order this Char Siew Pau during your last visit(s) to Tim Ho Wan.
Don't they look exactly like the buns which most Western restaurants serve together with butter prior to serving the main courses? And these crunchy buns are filled with BBQ pork.
Experience this extraordinary fusion culinary yourself by taking a bite out of the sugary crust, although it does give foreigners the wrong impression of how the authentic Char Siew Pau looks like.

Dim sum are usually expensive, and those in Tim Ho Wan cost a bit more than average. However, the dim sum taste really unique, and you can tell that Tim Ho Wan is trying to make their dim sum distinctive from the exceptionally customized names of the dim sum.

Dim sum cravers, you know where to go now, if you have an extra hour to wait in line.


(From left: Emilia, Wilsen, Harry, Alison, Calvin, me, Shuhui)
Happy birthday to you, Alison (the centermost pretty lady) !
希望你今日食咗嘅點心會俾你多D好運啦。 ^^

Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road #01-29A
Singapore 238839

Javin Tham A master's degree graduate in engineering, a musician at heart, loves playing with soft toys.