Tim Ho Wan at Hong Kong Fortress Hill

Tim Ho Wan Hong Kong (添好運 / 添好运)- The One Michelin Star Dim Sum

English Address (Google Map): 2-8 Wharf Road, Seaview Building, North Point

Chinese Address: 北角和富道2-8號嘉洋大廈地下B,C及D鋪

Opening hours: 10am to 9.30pm

Scroll to the end for address and opening hours of other Tim Ho Wan Branches

Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture

Introduction

Firstly, i will bore you with a little bit of history of Tim Ho Wan (添好運/添好运). The main chef Mak Kwai Pui (麥桂培) of Tim Ho Wan was originally from a well established restaurant  under the Four Season group – Lung King Heen (龍景軒). He later opened Tim Ho Wan in year 2009 that offers 5 stars hotel Dim Sum at street price.

In less than a year, Tim Ho Wan was awarded one star by Michelin. By then, it already has a reputation for selling the best dim sum in Hong Kong. As we know, it had created a storm when they opened their first branch in Singapore.

I used to visit their branch situated between Prince Edward and Sham Shui Po station and that is the branch that was awarded the Michelin star. I remember it was not exactly a great experience. The place is really really cramped and the waiting time is crazy, and service is below average. My conclusion then is they are great for the Polo Char Siew Bao.

When i visited Hong Kong this time, I didn’t have the intention to visit Tim Ho Wan but i got some free time on hand and the location is rather near my hotel so i thought , “Ok I’ll give it another shot”. I visited their Fortress Hill branch for supper at around 8.45pm.

This branch is at least 4 times bigger than the one that I visited and it’s much more spacious and well decorated. It was almost full house but i still manage to get a table instantly. I only ordered a few items, and surprisingly, all of them hit the right spots.

Tim Ho Wan’s Menu: Click to enlarge

Char Siew Polo Bun (酥皮叉烧包)

The Polo Char Siew Bao is fluffy soft and topped with a thin layer of not-overly-sweet sugar crust. The Char Siew is covered in a warm thick and rich gravy. The bun’s crispy texture complement the Char Siew perfectly.

This is the exact item that was awarded with one Michelin Star and just one serving is always not enough. This is still the best item at Tim Ho Wan Hong Kong. However, i do hope that they can be more generous with the Char Siew fillings though. This dish cost HK$18 (S$2.90) while it cost S$5.25 in Singapore.

Beef Ball with Bean Stick (陈皮牛肉球)

This dish is pretty good as well for it’s soft steamed and well marinated minced beef. There is a well balance of fatty and lean beef in this combination and the steamy hot beef ball taste really fresh.

There are also Bean Sticks (Tau Kee) placed beneath the meat ball and they absorb the natural sweet meat sauce during the process of steaming. This meat ball is my second favourite dish of the day. This cost HK$16 (S$2.60) while it cost S$4.90 in Singapore.

Steamed Malay Sponge Cake (香滑马拉糕) 

This is one of the four heavenly kings of Tim Ho Wan and it’s well known for it’s soft fluffy texture. I had this in Singapore’s Tim Ho Wan and i actually like it, but it comes at a costly price tag of $4.45 nett.

For the same item, it only cost HK$15 (S$2.40) and therefore makes this dish much more enjoyable than having it in Singapore. The steamed cake is served piping hot and i enjoy the fluffy spongy texture with a eggy light brown sugar taste.

Beancurd Skin Roll with Meat and Prawn (美味鲜竹卷)

The ingredient of the Beancurd Skin Roll taste very fresh and flavourful and the shredded vegetable wrapped in the chewy Beancurd Skin actually enhances the overall texture.

The gravy that comes with it has just the right level of saltiness and does not overpower the main lead. It cost HK$20 (S$3.20) while it cost S$4.65 back in Singapore.

Conclusion

Actually I myself was quite surprise that the experience of visiting Tim Ho Wan’s Fortress Hill brand is vastly different from the previous visit (5 years ago) of the Sham Shui Po Branch. Comparing Hong Kong’s price to Singapore, their signature Polo Char Siew bun is mark up by a whopping 80%. I always have this philosophy that the taste of food is somehow link to the price and waiting time. For this visit, there is zero waiting time and realising Tim Ho Wan’s affordable price, everything appears to be better.

Their century egg congee is not the most flavourful. Those who enjoy something light may enjoy this porridge much.

For those who are already a fan of Tim Ho Wan, then this is a must-visit for you. And for those who think that Singapore Tim Ho Wan’s price is too exorbitant, this will be your chance to enjoy a better quality Tim Ho Wan at a much cheaper price.

Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture

Map and Directions

Actually Tim Ho Wan is between the Fortress Hill and North Point Station but it’s more straight forward to walk from Fortress Hill.  It’s about a 7 to 10 minutes walk.

1. Come out from Exit B of Fortress Hill Station

2. Walk straight and turn left at a junction to Power Street

3. Continue walking straight until a T Junction and turn right on City Garden Road

4. Continue walking straight. City Garden Hotel will be on your left.

5. After passing City Garden Hotel, walk a little bit more and Tim Ho Wan will be on your right.

Scroll to bottom to see address and opening hours of other Tim Ho Wan branches

Other Tim Ho Wan Branches

Olympian City Branch

Shop 72, G/F, Olympian City 2, 18 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui [大角咀海庭道18號奧海城二期G樓72號舖]

Opening hour: 10am to 9.30pm

Sham Shui Po Branch

11 Fuk Wing Street, Sham Shui Po [深水埗福榮街9-11號地下]

Opening hour: 8am to 9.30pm

Central Branch

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

Opening hour: 9am to 9pm

Tseung Kwan O Branch

Shop 49, G/F., POPCORN 2, 9 Tong Chun Street, Tseung Kwan O [將軍澳唐俊街9樓POPCORN 2期地下49號] O

pening hour: 10am to 9.30pm

The most popular Ji Dan Zai – North Point Egglet

利強記北角雞蛋仔 Bei Jiao Ji Dan Zai (North Point Egglet)

English Address (Google Map): King’s Road, 492, Hong Kong

Chinese Address: 北角英皇道492號

Opening hour: Mon to Sun 10.00am to 11.00pm

Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture

Introduction

Egglet Ji Dan Zai (鷄蛋仔/鸡蛋仔)  is one of the most popular street snacks in Hong Kong that is mainly made from sugar batter made with egg, sugar, flour and evaporated milk. This batter is poured into a special two-sided pan and the batter is heated to crisp in the shape of mini egg. Egglet (Ji Dan Zai) literally means mini chicken egg as what the appearance suggest.

Having tried a couple of Egglets off the street, i decided to search for one that is popular among the locals. There are many stalls selling Egglet in Hong Kong and one of the more reputable one is the 利強記北角雞蛋仔, or people just simply calls it North Point Egglet (Bei Jiao Ji Dan Zai).

It’s quite easy to miss but the smell of the egg fragrance helped me to locate this stall

They have a few branches (nine as per openrice), but i read that their Tsim Sha Tsui and the main branch at North Point are the better one. There is a short walking distance from the North Point MTR to this stall and the egg fragrance can be detected even before reaching the stall. If not for the queue, this Egglet stall is almost unnoticeable. If you look closely, you can see that the the whole wall outside the stall is decorated with newspaper articles on North Point Egglet, with some labelling this little stall for selling the best Egglet in Hong Kong.

Stall full of newspaper articles

The Egglet

Every piece of Egglets are freshly prepared and each piece is served piping hot from the pan. Their Egglet is exceptional crispy while the interior remains fluffy and soft.

Each and every piece of eggette is freshly made

One thing to note is it’s noticeably less sweet than a typical Egglet found in Hong Kong which one gets to savour the natural fragrance of the eggs. In fact, some people complained that the Egglet can be sweeter.

Fresh and hot

There are no fanciful flavour and everyone just simply state the quantity of Egglet when they order. I was actually really stuffed then and i told myself that I will not finish the whole thing but It’s so addicitve and before I know it, the paper bag is already empty. To me, the texture of the Egglet is more important than anything else and North Point Egglet hit that right on the spot.  It’s priced at a still-reasonable HK$15.

Top and bottom exterior is cripsy while the center is fluffy and soft. Some said that it can be sweeter though.

Conclusion

Although preparing an Egglet looks easy, the control of the timing and the temperature of the pan is much tougher than it looks. It simply takes too much effort and requires a lot of experience to do up a good Egglet. If i compare Bei Jiao Ji Dan Zai to Singapore’s Eggette, none is even close.

One of the headers said it’s voted number one among 137,000 primary school kids of Hong Kong

My favourite Egglet was from a stall at Mongkok’s Garden Street. It’s not very well known but I thought their Egglet is the best I had so far. To be honest, the taste between that and North Point Egglet is actually comparable in term of texture and taste.

Bei Jiao Ji Dan Zai was also reported on CNN, Shenzhen and Taiwan Media

Bei Jiao Ji Dan Zai is slightly better in term of the egg fragrance and each piece is piping hot and freshly prepared only upon ordering, while the one i had was already pre-made and placed at their counter.

If you are at the Hong Kong Island area already, why not pop by this stall to have a shot of Hong Kong’s local taste.

Click here to view my full Hong Kong Food Itinerary and the 8 must-know about Hong Kong Cafe Culture

Map and Directions

The direction is very straight forward:

1. Exit from North Point Exit B3.

2. Walk straight against the traffic until you come to a cross junction

3. Do not cross the junction and turn to you right and you should see  Bei Jiao Ji Dan Zai (North Point Egglet)

Click to enlarge