Tim Ho Wan Singapore: Living up to the hype!

PUBLISHED June 17th, 2013 02:13 am | UPDATED February 2nd, 2016 06:49 am

I might just flip if another review of Tim Ho Wan has the word ‘queue’ in it. I’d be perfectly fine with clichés like ‘delicious’ and ‘mouth-watering’, and more than agreeable to ‘expertly executed’ and ‘delectably fresh’.

I was slightly taken aback by how the heftly-publicised ‘Big 4 Heavenly Kings’ actually delivered, with promise and oomph in equal parts. Confidence in the Michelin star rating system was considerably restored – the one-star Hong Kong export at Plaza Singapura was quite a stunner.

I finally got why its Baked BBQ Pork Bun ($4.50 for 3 pcs) is so revered. It’s got a crusty roof like the exterior of a salt-baked fish, which crumbles into a stretchy dough drenched with a gooey-sweet sauce. Spiked with small slices of savoury BBQ Pork, the buns are domes of ambrosia. A limit of three orders per diner makes the buns all the more alluring, doesn’t it?

Pan-fried Carrot Cake ($4.50 for 3 pcs) is the unlikely candidate that, for me, upends the pork buns. Little white rectangles collapse easily into heaps of sweet shaved radish as if our fork was a magic wand. They are studded with ham bits, the suspect behind the aromatic and gratifying fattiness of the radish. While Steamed Egg Cake ($3.80 for 1 pc) jostles for top spot amongst the quartet with its cotton candy-like mouthfeel, the Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver ($5.50 for 3 rolls) is an acquired taste of chewy innards with a lasting gamey funk.

Outside of the Heavenly Kings, the eatery’s order chit is littered with outstanding dim sum and mottled with a few duds. A Glutinous Rice Dumpling ($5), when peeled of its tapioca leaves, reveals a steaming hot round of wet, sticky rice that is just such a pleasure to bite into – the soy-marinated chicken plays second fiddle. Teochew Dumplings ($4 for 3 pcs) are dainty treasure troves of peanuts, cabbage, turnip and pork, mixing crunch, sweetness and saltiness in fine measure. The same translucent dumpling skin holds together another juicy blend of garlic, mushroom and spinach ($3.80 for 3 pcs), making a mockery out of local vegetarian cookery.

Tim Ho Wan’s Vermicelli Rolls, while chewy and great on their own, are often stingy with their fillings, whether it’s traces of BBQ pork or flecks of oddly-textured shrimp (both $5.50 for 3 rolls). The ground beef in both a Vermicelli Roll and Meatballs with Beancurd Skin ($4.20 for 3 pcs) is hacked finely to the point of dubious. The meat tastes like umami glue, but it could be a widely accepted norm in Hong Kong where Chef Mak Kawi Pui’s four branches of Tim Ho Wan continue to dazzle. Who knows?

But dim sum is one of those things that is appreciated not quite for its hit rate, but its way of communal conviviality. While this one doesn’t exactly sport pink table cloths or rolling meal carts, the vibe walks the fine line between bustling and frenetic in what is surely a shoulder-to-shoulder, intimate dining experience.

Now, the taboo question that I will risk flipping over: To queue or not to queue. Short of tipping you off that the downtime of 4-5pm on weekdays is your best bet, the answer is a resounding yes.

On this occasion the meal was compliments of Tim Ho Wan