I like to think that when I try new restaurants, I can let you folks know if it’s good or not to save you time. Well, let me save you some time. I don’t think Tim Ho Wan is worth it. There’s a bit of hullabaloo because they are a Michelin-star restaurant. Does that apply to all their chain restaurants too? Not too sure…when I visited Hong Kong in December 2017, I got to try them for the first time: click here for that post. They pride themselves on being the most affordable michelin-star dining experience, I don’t think that translates too well in Hawaii. I’m sure the rent they pay here is high, I personally don’t think the dim sum is that great. You can get better in Chinatown. And guess what? Hot tea, it costs $1.50 PER HEAD. When is the last time you heard a Chinese restaurant charging for hot tea? I was a bit perturbed by that. Well, let’s get to the pictures!

A nice pictorial of some menu items (actually this is almost all the menu items)

Full Menu – You mark off what items you want (click on the picture for full size photo)

Steamed Rice with Pork Spare Rib and Chicken Feet • $5.25

Would the description be better described as Steamed Rice with Pork Spare Ribs and Chicken FOOT? Haha, yes, just one foot. I do actually eat chicken feet dim sum…but restaurants usually cut the nails off. That’s a bit off-putting. This dish was just okay, I was hoping for a deeper black bean flavor on the spare ribs – just a real basic bowl.

Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (Har Gow) • $5.25

Again, another basic dish. I thought it was good, but not $5.25 good. They have a nice skin (pi) for their dumplings though.

Steamed Pork Dumplings with Shrimp (Siu Mai) • $5.25

Okay, I didn’t realize it when I was dining there but it’s looking like each dish is at least $5 each. This was just alright, once again, I prefer the siu mai in our Chinatown restaurants. I feel like the good restaurants in Chinatown have perfected the recipe with juicy morsels of the pork, shrimp, mushrooms that are chunked so I can savor each ingredients with each bite. This one just mixes everything a little too well…with each bite becoming a bit non-descript in textures.

Steamed Shrimp and Chives Dumplings • $5.00

This was one of the better dishes, I really enjoy the skin they make for their dim sum. Look at how translucent that skin is! Perfectly soft, almost melt in your mouth kine skin, I would recommend this dish.

Steamed Rice Roll stuffed with Mince Beef • $5.50

Another dish that was average but not bad. Once again, they make some really soft noodles and so it was enjoyable but not memorable.

Baked BBQ Pork Buns • $5.75

I confess, I’m not a big bao person. Not a fan of char siu bao and if I am, it’s definitely baked over steamed. These buns are supposed to be one of their specialties and I can see why. None of my dining companions wanted to eat it (man, baos get a bad rap huh?). I just had to try the buns so I had to order it…and had to eat it all. Well, it was pretty good! The buns are so light and crispy and flaky, which was messy to eat but so nice to eat fresh. The filling is very saucy and a bit sweet, I think I enjoyed the flakiness of the bun coupled with the saucy char siu. I definitely recommend at least trying this if you’re at Tim Ho Wan!

I have so much pictures to catch up on! I hope you folks don’t mind, there will be a few posts coming with less detail than I’m used to giving because it has been so long. Hopefully you enjoy looking at pictures of food anyhow (who doesn’t?!). This post is from a previous visit to Fook Lam in Chinatown. I have a detailed post from my first visit there, found here. Let’s check out what I had at this visit!

Siu Mai – delicious of course. Can’t go wrong with dim sum pork hash.

Seafood Bundle – one of my favorites. I think it’s all the different elements. The bean curd wrapper, the seafood, the shiitake mushroom – I highly recommend it!

Seafood Chow Mein – this is my absolute favorite noodle dish from Chinese restaurants. It invokes memories of childhood parties in Chinese restaurants. I love the seafood gravy and topping, the crispy noodles that are half crispy and soft from the gravy. So much texture and flavor, still one of my favorites of all time. The one here is okay, I think you can see that the vegetables outweigh the seafood.

Xiao Long Bao – supposedly one of their signature dishes. I didn’t enjoy it, I didn’t think it was great. I assume you can get it better in China but I was not impressed. The concept behind this dumpling is that you bite into it and release the soup contained in the dumpling as you eat. It’s an interesting way to make dumplings. I’ve never made it before but I assume they just freeze broth and stick it into the dumpling frozen and it melts when you steam the dumplings. They serve these dumplings with a red vinegar sauce. I just think the way these dumplings are made are more interesting than how it tastes. I wouldn’t recommend it from this restaurant.

Fook Lam was a 50/50 chance. Why? Any Chinese restaurant that has good ratings on Yelp could be a restaurant that pleases the crowds and not necessarily the Chinese folk. I’ve gotten plenty flack from my friend who insists I take her to authentic Chinese restaurants so the pressure is on. She won’t let me forget a certain Chinese restaurant we went to…which I never claimed was authentic Chinese. Aiya, the pressures of being Chinese. Anyway, I finally got to try Fook Lam out a few weeks ago and I liked it. It’s located in the Chinese Cultural Plaza on the first floor facing River Street. The restaurant is clean and they get plenty good eats. The waitresses are fast and efficient and parking is validated. I haven’t been to Cultural Plaza since kid times so I didn’t realize how nice their parking lot is. I mean compared to the other places I have parked, their parking spaces are spacious! Let’s check out the food shall we?

Shrimp and Chive Dumpling – I prefer the pan fried one to the steamed one

Black Bean Spare Ribs – delish!

Shrimp Dumpling – good!

Seafood Roll – good as always. Always winnas.

Baked Custard Bun – These were fresh out of the oven and heavenly. One of my most favorite sweets…ever.

Siu Mai – I know pork hash isn’t loved by all…but I have always loved it. One of the dining companions commented that the skin on these dim sum dishes were great. Not hard and thick (don’t say it!) – just the right amount of softness.

Deep Fried Shrimp Balls – not bad, not great. I think you pay for the looks…hehe.

Short Ribs Look Fun – I saw this picture repeatedly on Yelp and just had to try it. Eh, it was alright. It wasn’t spectacular. It was just look fun mixed in with spareribs. Nothing special, glad I tried it but I won’t be ordering it again.

Char Hung Sut is located in a super safe neighborhood and serves up awesome food. April Fools! Okay only about the super safe neighborhood part. You gotta admit, Char Hung Sut’s location is in a less than desirable location but the food makes it well worth the trip. Can you believe I have never tried it until about a month ago? I’m definitely a fool for that. Everything I have had here has proven to be awesome. It’s also helpful that I go super early before work so I can just park on the street and jump in…free meter parking! I was amazed by the person who helped me. I think he’s the owner’s grandson. I ordered all kinds of stuff in random numbers and he magically added them all up on a piece of paper manually…then added tax all in his head. I was amazed. Then again, I’m terrible at math so anything would amaze me. He had talent!

Love the packaging. It’s becoming like a theme huh?

Taro Cake. Look at how thick this was! Definitely not the kind of taro cake I’m used to, but I’m not complaining. I thought it was interesting that they had a black bean sauce in it.

Look at all these nummies; pork hash, half moon and yip chai (with pork)!

Here’s the filling of the yip chai. Delicious. It’s also the same filling in the half moon – so good!

Chow Fun – $6.25

The most flavorful “haole” chow fun I have ever had. I call any chow fun haole if its not dark like the Chinese ones. This was SO good…so much flavor packed into these noodles. The garlic chives make a big difference. Definitely winners.