Scribbles in Hong Kong - 1 Michelin Starred Dim Sum

How often do I get to dine in a Michelin starred restaurant?  Not very often!  Actually, I've never dined in one until I went to Hong Kong a couple of months ago.  I've been to Hong Kong several times before so this visit was quite short and I wasn't planning to do much sight-seeing.  Instead, there were a few places I wanted to check out - the 1 Michelin Star Dim Sum restaurant "Tim Ho Wan" was one.

I'm not one to really be caught up on Michelin Stars but I've enjoyed dim sum my whole life and wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so I had to go and taste for myself.

Tim Ho Wan, the Dim-Sum Specialists 添好運點心專門店

Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall) Central
中環香港站12A鋪(IFC地庫一層)

There are several locations, we just happen to choose this one since I wanted to go shopping in Central afterwards.  But, the location is a bit hard to find since it is near the airport express train and doesn't really have that "dim sum" atmosphere.

The menu is not very large and prices are decent for Hong Kong, however we found prices in Toronto could be better for some dishes.

Here is what we had:

Glutinous Rice and Chicken Wrapped in Lotus Leaf

Savoury chicken and shitake mushroom filling inside, meat was abundant, and glutinous rice was soft but held it's shape.  One of my favourite dishes.

Abalone Chicken Feet - Flavour was subtle but the texture of the skin was more "qq" or has a bite to it which is not the normal texture we're accustomed to in Toronto.

Siu Mai or Pork dumplings - Flavour was subtle, not much going on here though.

Vegetarian Bean Curd Roll - Savoury and had enough sauce.  Filling was fresh but wasn't outstanding.

Haw Gow or Shrimp Dumplings - Skin was thin and filling was fresh and sweet but it's not the best that we've had.

BBQ Pork Buns - What a lot of people rave about when they come here.

Baked BBQ Pork Bun - Inside the filling was saucy, did not have excessive red food colouring, good balance of salt and sugar.  Amount of filling was just right.  If you like sweet and savoury, this will also be a hit as the sweet crumbly crust on the top complemented the meat inside.  Tops in my opinion!

Steamed rice roll - Skin was thin and held together well, there was enough filling but it didn't "wow" me.  Well made but maybe I was expecting too much. 

Overall, the dim sum was very good.  There were some exceptional dishes (like the chicken and glutinous rice wrapped in a lotus leaf) but also some that were so-so in my opinion.  Ambiance, unfortunately because of the locale that I chose, didn't have any...really like a food court but with servers.  Am I glad I went, of course!!

Worth a try, but I would go to a different location unless you are just getting off the airport express train or going to board it to catch a flight.