I wanted to know what the fuss was all about so I lined up. For about 30 minutes. Was it worth the wait? Find out...
Just like every other "highly hyped up" restaurant that has opened in Manila, the lines at Tim Ho Wan can get pretty crazy. Expect to line up for as long as an hour during peak hours.
From what I've heard, it's best to go when the mall opens. Megamall opens at 10am but I think Tim Ho Wan doesn't open til 11 or 12. Either that or between 2-4pm which is when I went.
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| tim ho wan manila branches |
Price-wise they are neither cheap nor expensive. With a menu largely made up of dimsum, the amount of your total bill depends highly on your appetite.
It may seem cheap at first with an average price of around P130/small plate but when you add it up, things can get quite pricey.
If you don't want to spend too much, stick with 2-3 types of dimsum and get your fill from their rice meals instead which only cost about P190 per order.
I had the Chicken with Mushroom (forgot to take a photo) and it was really good. The chicken was tender and juicy. Although extremely bad for you, the skin was out of this world, slow-cooked to the point that it melts in your mouth. All those delicious juices drop down to the steamed rice and make it extra delicious. Even better when topped with the sauce provided.
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| tim ho wan manila menu |
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| tim ho wan menu |
Aside from the Chicken Sausage and Mushroom Rice Topping, we also had the Deep Fried Beancurd Roll with Shrimp which was okay:
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| tim ho wan beancurd roll |
Although I preferred their Vermicelli Roll with Shrimp (Php190) and their Prawn Dumpling (Ha Kao)...definitely one of the best I've ever tried in Manila. The wrapper was exquisite. Chewy with the right consistency and the shrimps were large and super fresh.
I can imagine them both going really well with a bowl of steaming hotYang Chow fried rice. Sadly, Tim Ho Wan doesn't serve fried rice.
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| tim ho wan shrimp dumpling |
And of course, no visit would be complete without an order of their famous Pork Buns (Php145, 3 pcs per order).
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| tim ho wan manila |
These are delicious. It has a sweet and crunchy sugar crusted shell with asado pork inside. Out of everything I tried, these are what I've been craving for the most. There's something about the bread that makes it memorable.
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| tim ho wan pork buns |
So was everything worth lining up for? Not really.
Tim Ho Wan is good but so are a bunch of other Chinese restaurants in Banawe, Greenhills and Chinatown. I do think you should give it a try but I don't think it is worth lining up for 45 minutes. The food at Tim Ho Wan is not life changing and I have better things to do than spend a good chunk of my day waiting in line for dimsum.
Best to wait til the hype dies down since they don't accept reservations.
Another thing, you don't get to sit down until your entire party is present so make sure you have everyone together before lining up.
Tim Ho Wan is located at the Fashion Hall of SM Megamall
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