Tim Ho Wan - A Dim Sum Experience

For those who are up-to-date with the culinary news around Jakarta, you might know that Tim-Ho-Wan is already here for quite a while. You might also have heard that it holds a Michelin Star Award in Hong Kong. Being a Dim Sum restaurant, it is a rarity to receive such award which has been known to be given commonly to Western fine dining. 

Now the question is, would it be bringing all of its quality from Hong Kong to Jakarta? 

The restaurant is located at Pantai Indah Kapuk, Ruko Crown Golf. While there are a lot of places in PIK to eat, this one is specifically located near Ikkudo. If you still don't know where it is, simply go to PIK and go straight, and go left at the huge roundabout near Yayasan Tzu Chi, and go straight to the parking lot. It will be located near the end. 

In this long Lebaran Weekend, we decided to give it a shot and theorize that we might not have to queue. We were wrong obviously. Typically the restaurant opens from 8.00 AM in the morning, but due to Lebaran, it starts to open from 11.00 AM, and people actually queued from 10.30. Now that's a bit crazy. When we come at 11.00 AM, we have to wait for almost and hour.

We decided to take a picture of the menu just for an easy reference for everyone. 

Pay a Close Attention

Keep in mind that the portioning is typically 3 pieces per portion, therefore if you're that picky about sharing, we suggest just order more. 

To start, we ordered the Kue Lobak / Radish Cake. It is nice and delicious, but might not be for everyone's taste as the taste of radish might put a few people off. For those who like it, it is both crispy and rich at the same time. 

Rp 31,800

Next is the Cheong Fun with BBQ Pork. This taste exacrly like Cheong Fun and Pork, so I don't know what else to describe. It tastes OK but portion is definitely on the smaller side. The plus side is, it is so full of meat unlike what we commonly find in other premises. Again, quite pricey for it's portion.

Rp 36,800

The weirdo of the day would probably the Baso Goreng Udang Seafood w/ Saus Apricot. Now, I am kinda lost with the exact location of the seafood, as this is mainly made with Yam / Talas and the filling makes me wonder what is it exactly, being white and colourful and stuff. Personally I thought this is too bizzare. What a shame.

Rp 38,800

Of course, Dim Sum would not be complete when you're not ordering Siomay and Hakao. 

One of the thing that we notice from both of them is that Tim Ho Wan is really generous with the filling, but still it does not taste way better than other places we have tasted. Somewhat pricey as well.

Rp 38,800

Rp 43,800

Another interesting thing is the Hakao with Prawn and Spinach. This is  one of my favorite - very tasty and rich in garlic. The spinach is really fresh. 

Rp 26,800

We also ordered the fried and steamed Prawn Lumpia. I personally liked the steamed version better as the fried one is a bit too dry to my liking. Again, not too different with what you'll commonly find in other upscale Dim Sum places.

Steamed Lumpia, Rp 33,800

Fried Lumpia, Rp 33,800

Now, the champion of the day, is obviously the famed BBQ Pork Bun / Bakpao Babi BBQ (just imagine how many B's are there). The crust of the bun is rich, flavorful, crispy, and moist at the same time. The inside is also very, very delicious, tasty, and full of flavor. We ordered two of these simply because they're amazing.

Rp 43,800. Amazing stuff. 

Their service is really, really fast. Our food was served less than 5 minutes of ordering. It seems the staffs are well-trained to handle such crowd, so I can safely say you won't wait for too long to get your food ready.

Price wise however, it's quite expensive for a Dim Sum, and there are many other options in Jakarta where you can get similar or even better experience with less price.

 The amount of crowd will also make you less likely to have a nice, quiet time to enjoy your food, as the seating is very tight and environment is noisy.

It's a nice little clean place however, and it seems to be managed well, so for me that's a plus point. Kindly note that you cannot make reservation, so be ready to queue. 

We're not really sure on the overall verdict, because again there are better options in Jakarta with lesser price. Feel free to give it a try though. We would probably only go back for the BBQ Pork Bun.

Tim Ho Wan

Ruko Crown Golf, Blok D No. 8-10

 Bukit Golf Mediterania, Jl. Raya Marina Indah, 14470