Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum

January 4, 2017 2 Comments

Every year my hubby and I head to NYC during the Christmas season. We love to see the tree in Rockefeller Center, take in a broadway show and have a fantastic meal somewhere. So when we heard about Tim Ho Wan opening on the lower east side it became our mission to eat there. I already knew about their Hong Kong main location. It has the distinction of being the cheapest Michelin star restaurant in the world with its delectable dim sum and equally wonderful prices.

We knew we were in for a wait but we had no idea how much. We arrived at 11 am hoping to get in for lunch by 1pm. It turned out that the buzz around Tim Ho Wan was so great that people lined up for lunch at 8:30 am. The waiting list for lunch had closed by 10 am. We were out of luck but not deterred. The dinner line started at 2pm to sit for dinner at 5pm and we were determined to be on the front of it. So we had a quick lunch and walked around before coming back.
We were at the very front of the Tim Ho Wan dinner line when we got back! Passing the time was easy chatting to passers-by and the hostess who kept having to disappoint people who wanted to get in for lunch. We were old friends by the time we sat down. Ordering was easy on their paper selection sheet. Soon the food was coming out and I couldn’t contain my excitement! This photo is of their pork sticky rice in a lotus leaf. It was amazing.
The shrimp dumplings were insanely good. There was not one pleat out of the place in the dough and it was so delicate. The filling was generous with the shrimp. I was in heaven since shrimp dumplings are my favorite dim sum. I’m not good at sharing them so I needed my own order…or two. Whatever.
The pork buns are definitely the star of Tim Ho Wan though. It’s what the restaurant is most noted for and rightly so. I’ve never had anything like them in my life. Pork buns are normally too doughy and lacking in flavor. That was not the case at all here. They were like little pillows of pure, amazing flavor. The pork was insanely tender as well. As one fellow diner put it, they were “heaven in the mouth”.

The real story here though is that we had Michelin star level food for dinner in NYC for under $50, including the delicious tea. It was unpretentious, purely amazing dim sum in a very relaxed atmosphere at a fantastic price. We had plenty of time to leave and get to Midtown before our 8pm broadway show, so the day worked out perfectly! People thought we were silly for waiting 3 hours but let me tell you it was worth it.

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2 thoughts on “Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum”

  1. Wow this food looks awesome! I can’t believe so many people were waiting for hours! Next time I’m in NYC I’m definitely going to try it! Thx for posting, I can’t wait ?

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