After months of waiting, in the hopes that the crowds would die down gradually, I finally got to eat this Hong Kong style dimsum at Michelin Star Tim Ho Wan located at 68 Orchard Road #01-29A / 52 Plaza Singapura, Singapore 238839. The number to dial is 6251 2000.
Even though there was a long queue filling up all the seats at the waiting area, as well as beyond the queue-line set up, the line moved pretty fast and soon Edwin* and I were ushered to a table. In fact, we already selected the items we wanted on the order form while waiting in liine. The interior of Tim Ho Wan is brightly-lit with a very open dining concept, filled with diners happily digging in over chatter.
The first item was served shortly after we sat down - the Baked Buns with BBQ Pork. In fact, we looked around, nearly every table ordered this signature item. The exterior of the bun was somewhat crumbly and fluffy, and the sweet-salty pork oozing out from the bun's centre was tender and simply lovely.
Next, another item from the Big 4 Heavenly Kinds list - the Pan-fried Carrot Cake - which was crispy on the outside and fine on the inside. The carrot and radish flavors were very prominent here and one could actually find tiny bits of carrot and radish within the pan-fried pastry itself.
We had the Glutinuous Rice Dumpling - it smelled so good when it was being served so *Edwin and I eagerly tore the pandan leaf apart to attack the delicacy. While the dumpling was filled generously with tender pieces of meat and shiitake mushroom, we were a little disappointed that the rice was a tad soggy and the entire dumpling tasted rather bland.
Nonetheless, we moved on next to the Vermicelli Roll with Pig's Liver - basically velvety chee cheong fun with fresh liver within, a unique combination. The vermicelli roll was smooth, and the liver was soft; however the flavor-wise it would have been stronger with shrimps or BBQ pork.
Next, we had the Prawn Dumplings (har gow) - fresh shrimps within melt-in-your-mouth paper-thin rice skins; the entire combination was a bouncy delicacy that danced in one's mouth. Being a shrimps lover, I enjoyed this a lot.
Then we tried something rather unique - Phoenix City Quail Eggs - delicious meat dumplings with tender minced pork fillings and the most scrumptious hard-boiled quail eggs with black sesame seeds atop. Being a lover of quail eggs, this was another item that defnitely captured my attention.
Our next bamboo basket brought about the Chicken Feet with Black Bean sauce - another delicious dish of tender, steamed chicken feet with crispy skin and hints of spiciness that gave the chicken feet an extra tasty boost.
Following that, we savored the Beancurd Skin Roll with Shrimp. The beancurd skin roll was crunchy, and the bouncy shrimps were very fresh, so this dish was very easy on the tastebuds and left me clamoring for more.
We were served the Pork Dumpling with Shrimps (siew mai) next. They were rather generous with the shrimps - plonking one on top and more within the dumplings. The minced pork was tender and sumptuous, and the unique addition of wolfberries was a plus.
The Beef Balls with Beancurd Skin was our next indulgence. These gigantic meatballs were tender and the raw flavor of beef was respledent. The touch of beancurd skin was a smooth touch in accompaniment to the chewy beef balls.
Finally, we came to the end of the meal (we were very full!) with these cold squares of pretty delicacy- the Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake. We really liked the delicate flower patterns carved onto small desserts. The sweet and acquired fragrance of osmanthus gave this dessert a very enticing flavor, and the combination with wolfberries was just brilliant. Every mouthful was a cold slice of heaven.
We spent SGD$32.00 each on our fulfilling dimsum dinner. Some items were very lovely, but we had expected the standard to be better. Also, while the service crew provided good service in the midst of hustle & bustle, we thought the food was served too fast. They kept asking if we were ready for dessert to be served even way before we finished the rest of the food- in an attempt to chase us away for other diners or so we'd eat faster (when you eat fast, you get full very quickly) and leave sooner too?
Just my speculation.
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