Tim Ho Wan - Singapore edition

Only three posts ago, I was lamenting how I still had not gotten the chance to try out the Singapore franchise of Tim Ho Wan since its opening in April. The opportunity presented itself soon enough, when a friend who knew I worked nearby invited me to join him and his family for lunch. They'd queued for about half an hour and were nearly at the front of the queue. Of course I said yes!

I arrived to a long, snaking queue in front of the outlet. I'd kind of expected it but nonetheless was surprised that so many people had the luxury of time to stand in line on a working weekday, before lunch hour. There were tourists for sure, but much of the crowd appeared local.

By the time our party of four got seated, the waiting time totalled an hour. Not too bad, I reckon, given that queues went up to two or three hours at the original Mong Kok branch in Hong Kong.

We'd already filled in the order form while in the queue (similar to how Tim Ho Wan in HK operates), and didn't have to wait long before our food was served.

I'd dined at Tim Ho Wan HK eight times now - four at Mong Kok, and four at Sham Shui Po. I'll get down to business straightaway about how the Singapore counterpart fared against the original.

First item of the "Big 4 Heavenly King Dim Sum (四大天王点心)" promoted by Tim Ho Wan Singapore - baked bun with BBQ pork (酥皮焗叉烧包).

The colour of the BBQ pork appeared redder than the HK version, but apart from that, the taste was just as good. I don't normally like the normal steamed char siu bao, but I love such baked versions for the nice balance between sweet and salty. The price difference? S$4.50 versus HK$16 (about S$2.60), so it's a whopping 40% more expensive in Singapore.

At the moment, the Tim Ho Wan here imposes a limit on the number of baked char siu bao one can order. Each person is entitled to only one plate of three buns, and the quota is shared between dining in and taking away. For our table of four, we had three plates for eat-in and one set for take-out.

The second heavenly king - vermicelli roll with pig's liver (黄沙猪润肠). I tried it but am not a fan of innards, so I shall reserve my comments. My friends enjoyed the dish though. This cost S$5.50 versus HK$17 (S$2.70).

Heavenly king number three - pan fried carrot cake (香煎萝卜糕). One of my favourite dim sum items, this was quite nice. S$4.50 versus HK$12 (S$1.90).

The last heavenly king - steamed egg cake (香滑马来糕). We found this to be slightly on the dry side; it was not nearly as fluffy as what we had in HK. S$3.80 versus HK$14 (S$2.30).

In HK, I rate the prawn dumplings (晶莹鲜虾饺) as one of Tim Ho Wan's best dishes. Here, the prawns were not as succulent and juicy although the dumpling skin was similarly thin. Overall, I still quite liked the dish. S$5.50 versus HK$23 (S$3.70).

Another of my favourite dim sum items - congee with century egg and lean pork (皮蛋瘦肉粥). It was quite nice, though a little on the salty side. The congee was also not as smooth as the HK version, but acceptable.

The glutinous rice dumpling (古法糯米鸡) was ok. S$5.00 versus HK$24 (S$3.90).

The springroll with egg white (赛螃蟹春卷) was the surprise of the day for me. I hadn't tried this in HK before. Despite its less than perfect appearance, we liked how it was crispy and tasty. S$4.20 versus HK$18 (S$2.90).

Lastly, dessert. This was the tonic medlar and osmanthus cake (杞子贵花糕), and it was a tad too sweet for me. I probably will not order it again. S$3.50 versus HK$10 (S$1.60).

The bill came up to S$77 for us, where I would have expected to pay about S$50 for the same order in HK. Prices are on average about 30% more expensive here.

Overall, I enjoyed both the food and the service. Will I be back? Well, I expect to for a few more times, as I have family members and friends who still haven't managed to step foot into the restaurant. But thereafter, unlikely. Unless the waiting time shortens significantly.

For me, one of the main appeals of Tim Ho Wan in HK has been its value for money. The dim sum is really excellent for the price. Unfortunately, this value for money factor is lost in Singapore. Yes, the price tag here is still competitive against similar dim sum restaurants. But that's exactly my point. For the amount I'll be paying, I can easily enjoy dim sum of similar quality elsewhere - without queuing for hours on end.

Here's the order form for reference.