Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan at first might seem intimidating to a visiting tourist. From the consistently long lines that wind down the street, the rude & pushy staff, or the somewhat unfamiliar menu. I absolutely get it. Putting that aside, this place is worth venturing outside your comfort zone for.
Originally finding my way here due to the hype around it’s Michelin Star, I must admit it took me a handful of visits to actually make my mind up about whether I liked the food or not. After eating here a few times I was able to perfect my order & eventually hit my stride with what appealed to my palate & what did not; as a result, I always rave about this place to people visiting Hong Kong.
So what’s on my ‘Must Eat List’ here? Well the Pork Buns are what they’re famous for & while they’ve yummy & innovative (the requirements of obtaining a Michelin Star) they’re by no means my favourite dish on the menu. Some of my favourite dishes here include the delicious Har Gow Prawn Dumplings, the meaty Shu Mai Dumplings & the delightfully spicy Wonton’s in Chili Sauce. Finally, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t mention the weird looking Steamed Beef Ball in Been Curd. This dish is loaded full of fresh coriander & without question, my favourite thing on the menu. I could eat these meaty offerings all day.
It’s also worth noting that this place is cheap. Like, ridiculous cheap. Whenever I dine here I have a terrible habit of over-​ordering to the point of embarrassment & it never costs me more than $ 12 AUD.
Tips? Arrive at 9.50am before the doors open at 10am to avoid waiting in line. They also stash English menus behind the front desk, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Stretchy pants also come in hand here!

Tim Ho Wan the ‘dim sum specialists’ is so overrated. I visited the North Point branch for brunch, 1 of 2 branches that have been awarded a Michelin star? Apart from the baked BBQ pork buns all the dishes I tried were distinctly average.
The place was not busy when I arrived around 11.30am but quickly filled up soon afterwards with a long queue forming by the time I left. Why waste precious time queuing for mediocre dim sum when there are many dim sum restaurants serving superior dim sum? I wouldn’t bother dining at Tim Ho Wan again but might perhaps order a takeaway portion of BBQ pork buns when it is convenient. Prices are very low at this place which might explain why some locals eat here, it can’t be for the quality of the food. My bill came to around 130HKD for enough food to feed ²⁄₃ people.

The dim sum here is pretty good, and the price is relatively cheap, but the service here alone doesn’t warrant a Michelin star in my opinion. We practically had to drag someone over to place an order, and the seating arrangement is a mess. They do have a bilingual menu, but the English translations can be difficult to decipher, so I feel a picture menu would be helpful.
While the sui mai is the best I’ve had, some of their dishes were just far too sweet for my taste, and not well balanced. All in all, it’s worth a visit if you’re a dim sum enthusiast, but don’t expect Michelin star level service.

I can’t begin to say enough of this place. I was by myself but that didn’t stop me from over ordering :) They have an English menu/​checklist so it’s not all that intimidating… just line up outside, fill out the form, take a seat, submit your order and let the goodness begin. You truly haven’t had dim sum until you’ve eaten here… nothing is heavy. Light and airy like a butterfly. I order 6 dishes: pork buns (highlight of them all) and my total…$ 12 USD… GET THE F* out! Run (don’t walk) to this place!

t lived up to the hype. Having dim sum in the SF Bay Area for the last 40 years, this place is better. Yes, the menu is limited and it can be crazy busy, but then again isn’t it always about the food? Taro leaf rice was wonderful, the cheng fun was delicate and silky, and the pork buns were very different and very good. I usually judge a dim sum house by its Phoenix Claws, they were tender and chewy, flavored to perfection. These may not fit western tastes but I know of a German from Hamburg that make these destination when in Asia. Funny story, as I was dining solo, an elderly gentleman got seated across from me, he ordered a plate of vegetables and a rice bowl, then comes my 4 dishes, I swear he didn’t think I was going to finish all of my dishes… I did… I could swear he was shaking his head as I paid and left.

One of two branches still possessing a Michelin star, Tim Ho Wan most definitely lived up to its reputation as the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant in the world! The trek out here from the North Point subway stop was a bit lengthy in the rain, though worth every step.
There’s nothing special or fancy about the dim sum here. Rather, all the staples are prepared simply and properly to the point of near flawlessness. Siu mai and har gao were just unadulterated porky, shrimpy goodness while the turnip cake exuded, well, turnip-​ness through and through. Same went for the steamed beef balls. Admittedly, some dishes like the lotus wrapped glutinous rice and pork liver cheung fun were less than stellar. However, they were quickly forgiven with one bite of the heavenly baked cha siu bao — the most perfect of sugar crusts broke away to a bun that possessed the lightness of air and derricious, sweet pork filling.
The inside? Clean though no frills. Tables are communal and the entire menu is in Chinese so try either match the characters to the pictures, bring a friend who can read it or just be daring and order everything.

The pastry here is on point and lives up to the hype. We came on a weekday morning, managed to avoid all the madness and got a table immediately.
The shrimp rice noodles, shrimp and chive dumplings and sponge cake all had very well-​done pastry. It was so good, in fact, that I tried the top of the BBQ pork bun (I don’t eat pork) and it was perfectly crusty! Those dishes deserved the praise.
Everything else including the daikon cake and the sticky rice was good, but I’m not sure if it was a mind-​blowing 5-​stars Michelin quality for me. It was a very good meal that came to about $ 13USD per person (for 3 people). You can’t beat that!

Unbelievable, it certainly lives up to the hype. They have the most delicious hand made dumpings I’ve ever had. It’s pretty easy to find on Wharf street, just don’t make the mistake I did looking for an English sign. It’s all in Chinese so look at the pictures in the reviews and match it up with the shop front. It’s super cheap and super delicious.

We stay at North Point everytime we travel to HK. The dim sum a little more costly than the typical dim sum houses. Worth every penny. My personal favourite is the 叉燒包. The best.

I am very fortunate that my Dad lives near here and when I visit him I try and eat at THW as often as possible. Frugal Dad loves that it’s a really good deal. Who doesn’t want the world’s cheapest Michelin meal!!!
I am addicted to the BBQ Pork Buns (BTW those who aren’t addicted need to revisit their taste buds). I also love the Chiu Chow style steamed dumpling. Every dish here is solid and most importantly, consistent.
Their queue isn’t too bad but it’s all worth it in the end. Service is loud and most importantly, efficient. No dilly dallying over your dim sum — scarf down your meal and get out of there ASAP!

Woke up early craving delicious dim sum… Read review after review until we found this place and it was great!!! The service was fast, the dim sum was delicious!!! At first were a little concerned when the menu had no English, but they quickly provided us with a menu with English translation. Anyways, if you are in the neighborhood and craving dim sum this is a good place to try.

Disappointed for this chinese dimsum place, tea taste like shxx. Dim sum just taste so so, not good as those people give good reviews and compare with normal chomese tea house, tiny space to sit. I’m not recommand for place.

We love this Tim Ho Wan. Easier to get seated or take out than the one in Central, and the food quality is just as good. Service is just the same — curt and no frills; but you get what you pay for… And the dim sum is dirt cheap compared to the norm in HK.

We heard about Tim Ho Wan before our trip to Hong Kong and knew that we had to dine there to experience this popular dim sum restaurant. On a Saturday morning, we got to the restaurant 20 minutes before they opened because we knew there would be a line formed outside. As soon as they opened the doors, we were seated right away and given a dim sum paper menu. We ordered several dishes that were considered popular and a few others that we knew we wanted to try. A popular must-​have food item from Tim Ho Wan is their Baked Bun with BBQ Pork. The pastry had a soft and flaky crust that had a hint of sweetness, and inside the bun contained a delicious BBQ Pork filling that was rich and saucy. Absolutely wonderful! I highly recommend these baked buns.
Overall, we agreed that Tim Ho Wan is the best dim sum restaurant we’ve ever dined at. From their delicious food to their affordable prices, this restaurant offers diners a great experience in trying the freshest, high quality dim sum with great service. For a total of 10 dishes, the price came out to $ 204 HKD which is around $ 33 CAD. What a great price! We loved the restaurant so much that we ate there again for lunch on our last day in Hong Kong. If you’re visiting Hong Kong, you definitely don’t want to miss checking out Tim Ho Wan for their dim sum!

Hubby and I came here last week after our friends back home told us that we had to try the cheapest Michelin starred restaurant.
We arrived at about 9:50am and there was already a line up for their 10am opening. The restaurant is quite large and we were easily able to get a seat despite the long line.
We ordered 10 dishes between the two of us (which in hindsight was WAY too much food especially since next to us was a family of 4 who ordered 8 dishes).
Our favourites were:
1) Sui mai — we particularly enjoyed this as the taste of the shiitake mushroom really shone through.
2) Spring rolls — the ingredients inside this dish tasted so fresh. Sometimes spring roll fillings can be a big mush but this definitely didn’t taste like a mush of meat/​veg.
We also tried their BBQ pork buns which were good but perhaps our friends hyped this up a bit too much for us. It was good but not amazing. My husband felt that the outer sweet topping was too sweet and actually overpowered the taste of the BBQ pork. He could easily pick out that cooking wine was used to make the BBQ pork as well which I think then biased my taste of the bun because I could then easily pick up the slightly bitter note of the cooking wine. Still, a really good bun but I wouldn’t say it’s the best thing to eat in the world.
The price for 10 dishes was $ 190 HKD! Amazing! We easily spend way more than that for dim sum in Toronto and the quality isn’t as good so this was definitely a steal!

Good dim sum served very quickly! Your whole party must be there before they seat you. Reasonable price and their signature dish is the baked BBQ bun. Slight changes to menu and their fried stuffed tofu sheet wasn’t available.

Best dim sum I had in Hong Kong. The BBQ pork buns have a sugar coat which makes them really unique and delicious. My other favorite was the Shao Mai, or the steamed pork dumpling with shrimp. This restaurant is the cheapest Michelin-​star restaurant in the world. The atmosphere feels casual enough but if you would like to dress up, it is also appropriate. Service was good and the food came out quickly. A definite must in HK.

Tim Ho Wan is the world’s cheapest Michelin-​starred restaurant in the world — and with good reason. The food here is pretty phenomenal, comparable even to Chinese restaurants at five star hotels like Four Seasons and Conrad.
When I used to live in North Point, I went to Tim Ho Wan pretty often. My mother and I always went to Provident Centre near City Garden, and Tim Ho Wan is right opposite Provident Centre. This place is normally pretty packed, so I usually come late — at around 2 — to avoid the lunchtime crowd.
When it comes to dimsum, I’m fairly monotonous. I order the same things every time — shrimp dumpling, shrimp rice rolls, spring rolls etc. Even though the restaurant is usually busy, you can expect for at least your first dish to arrive within ten minutes. The dimsum here is all extremely well executed, and is not too salty or oily. Their spring rolls are the stars of the show — the crispy outside is loose and crunchy, but doesn’t taste very oily, and the shrimp inside is really tender.
If there’s anything to complain about at Tim Ho Wan, it’s certainly not the food. Tim Ho Wan does have kind of a ‘cha chan teng’ setting, so the tables are packed close together, the restaurant is loud and the waiters are always rushing here and there, sometimes making it hard for them to notice you. But I think it is this kind of eat-​up-​and-​go environment that makes Tim Ho Wan what it is. To be fair, it’s typical of any inexpensive Chinese restaurant so it’s nothing to frown about.
Overall, I can’t think of a restaurant more deserving of this ‘cheapest Michelin-​starred restaurant’ title than Tim Ho Wan. The dimsum here really is very good and I guarantee you’ll leave full and very satisfied. A tip — after your lunch here, I suggest you head to your right and have some afternoon indulgence at Clover Cake and Coffee House which is just along the same street!