Tim Ho Wan - Chatswood

Finally!! The wait is over!!

TIM HO WAN, the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant opened its first Australian store in Chatswood last Saturday (March 28).. It's located in Chatswood Interchange's newest food court, The District..

A little bit of background.. In 2009, Chef Mak Kwai Pui (ex head dimsum chef at Four Seasons Hotel) opened his first Hong Kong Dim Sum restaurant in Sham Shui Po and definitely captured everyone's heart with his now-super-popular-BBQ Pork Baked Bun..

Long before it's awarded a Michelin star in 2010, words had gone around and people had started long queues to get a table in his restaurant.. But now, you don't have to book a ticket to Hongkong as Chef Pui has expanded his THW restaurant to other countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philipines.. and now.. AUSTRALIA~~

We arrived at 10 am when the restaurant had just opened and were welcomed with this scene.. I heard on the second day some people had waited in front of the door since 6 am.. WOW!

So.. We had no choice but to queue as well.. We finally got in after 2.5 hours waiting!! LOL~~

Here's the MAIN star..If you haven't had this one before, I know it might not look that convincing.. but TRUST ME it's really good!! It's different to any other pork buns I have eaten before..

They said half of the ingredients used for the dim sum are sourced locally in Australia and the other half are sent from Hong Kong in order to maintain the authentic taste..

Once you bite into it.. The sweet lightly crunch surface goes really well with the softness of the bun.. It's stuffed with chopped char siew (BBQ pork) with rich, thick, dark, sweet and yet savoury sauce.. It's a true definition of a perfect balance and definitely irresistible.. One is definitely not enough to satisfy your taste bud!

This is just our opinion, but if we compare it to the one we had before in other countries.. The bun here is smaller in size and the surface is not as crisp as the others (the colour is also a bit too pale - not the usual golden colour).. But still we're craving for more!!! Lucky us.. Chatswood is only 15 minutes away from where we live.. LOL!!

This one is also our favourite after the buns.. It's Fish Maw with Prawn Paste.. Fish maw (usually called as Hipiaw/Hipio in our hometown) is the dried form of fish air bladder.. We love fish maw and being topped with prawn is truly a satisfaction~

Pork Dumpling with Shrimp.. We usually call it as Siu Mai.. A staple food you can't miss when you are having dim sum.. The shrimp is juicy and fresh but the size is too small in our opinion.. LOL.. 

Beef Ball with Beancurd Skin.. The steamed beef balls were tender but they're dry and we couldn't see any juice oozing out from the meat..

Pan Fried Carrot Cake.. This one is part of Tim Ho Wan's Big 4 Heavenly Kings.. I don't know why this one is called as carrot cake although the main ingredient is turnip.. LOL.. This one was smooth and soft but I think it'll taste better if the top and bottom parts were crispy..

Look at this Spinach Dumpling with Shrimp!! It has a crystal-look appearance.. The skin texture is elastic and thin.. It rips easily so handle it carefully if you don't want to spill the fillings..

As for the deep-fried one, we chose Spring Roll with Egg White.. We love the creaminess of the egg white and it bursts as soon as we sink our teeth in.. It's fresh, crispy and not oily.. 

They have 4 types of Vermicelli Roll.. The one with Pig's Liver is part of their Big 4 menu, BBQ Pork, Sesame Sauce and the one we ordered was Vermicelli Roll with Shrimp.. 

Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf aka Lo Mai Gai.. I like their style of Lo Mai Gai as this one has more saucy fillings and the rice is soft and gooey.. Inside is Lup Cheong (Chinese Sausage), mushrooms and chicken..

Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling and Prawn Dumpling aka Har Gao.. These two are also a-must-order when we are Yum Cha-ing.. 

FYI.. Tim Ho Wan brought Eric Koh, former head dumpling chef at Mr Wong as their acting executive chef and will work alongside with Singapore-based group executive chef Cheung Yat Sing..

We heard that Tim Ho Wan are set to open another 2 stores in Sydney.. One on George Street is scheduled for an October 2015 opening and the Westfield Burwood one will open in the third quarter of 2015..

They are also planning to open one in Melbourne's Chinatown around April.. and later in Brisbane too.. 

My friends from Indonesia also told us that Tim Ho Wan opened last Saturday (March 28th) with its first store in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) and another one in Grand Indonesia Mall by the end of 2015..

Address:

Corner of Victoria Avenue and Railway Street, Chatswood

Opening Hours:

Monday to Sunday 10am - 9pm