I suppose that they didn't foresee this madness because in the early days they had a takeaway counter but today it's all plastered up - I guess they couldn't handle the crowd. They currently also have a no takeaway rule in place but there is always a way around this ("accidentally" over order and ask them to doggy bag the leftovers).
You absolutely cannot go to Tim Ho Wan and not try the "Big 4 Heavenly Kings" - after all that effort and sweat in the queue, you have got to at least try all 4 signature dishes!
Baked bun with BBQ pork (3pcs for $4.50)
Signature item #1. This would be more known as "polo bun" to us. The legendary buns are limited to 1 order (3pcs) per person - that's how popular it is.
BBQ pork bun innards
Biting into it you'll notice how light and fluffy the bun is. The top is slightly sweet and crumbly which makes it easy to eat more than just one! The BBQ pork (char siew) however was lacking that char taste and I found it to be just a little too sweet.
Vermicelli roll with pig's liver ($5.50)
Signature item #2. Chee cheung fun would be the common name. Apparently a lot of trial and error has gone into this - Chef Mak Kwai Pui is determined to get the texture of the liver similar to the ones in Hong Kong. I've got to say that liver is a very unusual filling and I'm not quite sure if it works. Can't quite help feeling that it was a little bland even when eaten with the sauce. But for the less adventurous, Tim Ho Wan also offers 4 other variations - BBQ pork ($5.50), shrimp ($5.50), beef ($5.50) and vegetarian black pepper ($5).
Pan fried carrot cake (3 pcs for $4.50)
Signature item #3. I absolutely love carrot cake. Gotta be one of my favourite snacks when it's done right. The perfect carrot cake? The taste of the radish has to shine through so that means not too much flour; the little chopped up pieces of Chinese sausage or pork has to provide the contrast of texture and flavour and then pan fried to perfection so that it's crispy on the inside and soft on the inside. Tim Ho Wan's version unfortunately isn't the best I've ever had. It's missing something.. twice I've had this but I still can't put my finger on it. I found myself dousing it in chilli sauce though!
Steamed egg cake ($3.80)
Signature item #4. This, surprisingly, turned out to be my favourite among the 4 signature dishes. If you're a fan of steamed Malay cake, you gotta try this. It had just the right amount of sweetness and although I won't call it fragrant (smelled like eggs), it was so light and fluffy I could easily finish a whole serving myself (;
Pork dumpling with shrimp ($5.00)
A good comparison for any dim sum place would be the pork dumplings (siew mai). Again, it was good but there's definitely better ones in singapore. They tasted meaty and the prawns were bursty - the dumplings help together just fine but still they were just mediocre.
I actually quite liked this. Then again, anything deep fried is good! The egg whites were fluffy and silky in a way which provided great texture contrast to the crunch you get from the deep fried wrappers. Deep fried spring rolls with egg white ($4.20) |
Tonic medlar & osmanthus cake ($3.50)
Dessert! This is served cold and is pretty refreshing! Tasted exactly like sweetened chrysanthemum tea and goji berries/wolfberries in a gelatinous form.
So if you're thinking of having a quick bite and then catching a movie at Plaza Singapura, think again. To be honest I wouldn't really go back unless the hype dies down - I don't reckon it's worth the queue at all even if it's just a half hour queue.
Hits and misses across the menu and while there were hits, they weren't spectacular or mind blowing in any way.
Tim Ho Wan
Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road, #01-29A
+65 62512000
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