Featured as MEGA FASHION HALL: 10 BEST New Restaurants @SMMegaMall in 2014!
TIM HO WAN MANILA 添好運 finally opens in Manila! It is the first international expansion after the Singapore branch, which owns the Asian franchise of this Hong Kong original. The Manila franchise is a partnership between Ricky Dee of Mesa Filipino Moderne and Todd English Food Hall, and Felix Ang of Cats Motors.
I love the clean and high quality taste of their dimsum, which are priced unbelievably well. Check out the Tim Ho Wan flagship branch in SM Mega Fashion Hall…
TIM HO WAN MANILA 添好運
Ground Floor, SM Mega Fashion Hall, SM Mega Mall, EDSA Mandaluyong City
Facebook: Tim Ho Wan
Website: http://www.timhowan.com/
Note: Strictly No Reservations Accepted, No Take Out
Tim Ho Wan will host private tastings through this weekend and will open to the public on May 20, 2014, Tuesday.
Congratulations to Felix Ang for his first restaurant venture!
The ambiance is bamboo, wooden, with dimsum baskets as overhead lamps.
(click here for a bigger version)
The opening menu is limited, with the best-selling dishes priced at less than P200 per dish (yes, they have Osmanthus Jelly on the menu :D).
The iconic signature dimsum is the baked buns with BBQ pork filling.
✮ Baked Bun with BBQ Pork (3 pcs. – P145)
The bun is pillowy soft, not oily, and as big as a fist. I like the crumbly pastry crust which is served freshly baked.
The char siu is house made, with just the right sweetness and saucyness. Best eaten directly with your hand. Savor the flavor while it’s hot!
Pan Fried Turnip Cake (P145).
You can really taste the individual flavor of the ingredients without the additional flour or extenders used in other Chinese restaurants.
✮ Prawn Dumpling (P160).
Their Hakaw is one of the best I’ve tasted. It has a thin and chewy wrapper and the fresh-tasting plump shrimps are imported from Vietnam.
Note that they don’t serve calamansi since Tim Ho Wan Hong Kong insisted on sticking with the HK sauces and chilis only.
✮ Pork Dumpling with Shrimp (P150).
The siomai is very meaty, with a clean taste of shrimp and pork, and a very thin wrapper.
Tim Ho Wan Hong Kong also insisted on using the siomai wrappers from HK because the local ones are very thick.
Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling (P140).
This was good too but is a departure from the classic interpretation, using a wasabi mayo sauce. I still prefer the non-fried dimsum.
✮ Cold Barley Water (P50).
This was refreshing and tasted like white gulaman.
Rice with Beef & Fried Egg (P180).
Ricky Dee ordered for all of us his favorites, including this beef topping rice.
The beef was really soft. It’s like tapsilog but prepared the Hong Kong way.
✮ Glutinous Rice with Lotus Leaf (P190).
This came highly recommended and is my personal favorite — machang!
I enjoyed the umami flavor and just the right stickiness of the rice, with generous chunks of meat inside. A complete meal indeed! (But sorry to say, ketchup is not available.)
Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce (P120).
This is my wife’s favorite. It’s cleaner-tasting than the ones we usually get here in Manila, with lots of black beans and dark colored sauce.
Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver (P150).
This is a signature Tim Ho Wan dish and a favorite if you like liver.
Congratulations to Ricky Dee and the management of SM Mega Fashion Hall for a successful Tim Ho Wan opening in Manila!
I love the clean and high quality taste of the dishes! It’s great that they import almost all their ingredients or create them in-house to make sure there’s no compromise in the taste. They had 10 Hong Kong chefs in the kitchen during the opening to ensure authenticity of Tim Ho Wan Manila’s food quality. Most of all, I love their awesome pricing of less than P200 per dish, which is quite competitive.
Order the Baked Buns with BBQ Pork, Prawn Dumpling, Pork Dumpling with Shrimp, and Glutinous Rice with Lotus Leaf. Try the Cold Barley Drink for something refreshing. A lot of people recommend the Osmanthus Jelly. Budget is less than P500 per head.
Thank you, TIM HO WAN MANILA, for elevating the quality of the Chinese food experience in Manila at the right price! 🙂
So what’s your favorite at Tim Ho Wan? Please let me know in the comments.
TIM HO WAN MANILA 添好運
Ground Floor, SM Mega Fashion Hall, SM Mega Mall, EDSA Mandaluyong City
Facebook: Tim Ho Wan
Website: http://www.timhowan.com/
Note: Strictly No Reservations Accepted, No Take Out
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Disclosure: Our meal was courtesy of Ricky Dee. Read Our Awesome Planet Complete Disclosure Policy here.
P.S. Read: #MegaFoodTour2.0: 9-Course Degustation Walking Tour of @SMMegaMall’s Latest Restos
I;m happy that the prices are affordable! That means LINES will be neverending which is good for business!! 🙂
Yehey!! 🙂
I’m not expecting for the dishes to taste exactly the same as the one in HK but I think the essence of the selections being available locally is enough reason to visit!! 🙂
Excoted for this!! 🙂
Love, Didi
Regards to Rache and the kids!!
Someone should tell the restaurant to check and replace the printed-out placemat/menu… It spelled Michelin Star as “Michen Star”. It would reflect badly on their level of quality if this go unnoticed until the opening day.
Wow, prices are quite expensive for dimsum! Isn’t it that the usual prices for 4 pcs of siomai, hakaw, spare ribs, are in the 80-110 range? eg Mann Hann, Gloria Maris, Emerald Garden, King Chef, etc. In fact, restos in Ongpin like Presidents are priced even lower, eg 55 – 75 peso range.
Hi, Anton. Were you able to take note of the veg options? If yes, please let us know what the meat-free options are–we look for them in all of your restaurant reviews.
Thanks in advance!
Ok thanks for this feedback. Will try them the next time around. Salamat!
ANTON
Not really, Hakaw from Gloria Maris is P160. https://www.flickr.com/photos/diaz/9089664431/in/set-72157634223015517/
The P80-P110 range was years ago na.
ANTON
Very disappointing dito. There’s nothing exceptional sa taste and yung baked buns lang ang mainit.
One Michelin star was awarded to its original branch in Mongkok in 2009. That branch has since closed. But it’s Sham Shui Po branch now has that one star. Tim Ho Wan has several restaurants in hk, Singapore and now Manila.
Not to say that Tim Ho Wan isn’t a good restaurant chain/franchise. But Michelin stars don’t apply to a whole restaurant group. Which misleads a lot of people. Especially when they put a sign during construction that a Michelin star restaurant will open in that particular site.
Nevertheless, having quality dimsum at reasonable prices available in Manila is a positive thing. I have not braved the lines yet but I’m hoping quality remains after the hk,chefs have gone.
Congratulations, boss Felix Ang!
The dimsum are not great at all. I would just recommend the pork buns.
Tried their branch in Glorietta. There’s nothing special about this place. Their prawn dumpling is so disappointing, it only has a small shrimp and shrimp ball. I’d rather to go Wai Ying in Binondo, at least it’ll be worth the money and the hassle.
Can’t wait to try this shop in Manila once I’m back home. I’ve tried it in Hong Kong and it’s great.