Love Chinese food? Most, if not all of us Filipinos do. I don't think there's one Pinoy who doesn't love to eat at least one kind of food that's of Chinese origin. Oh we do love siomai, pancit, lumpiang Shanghai and siopao don't we? I could annihilate a plate of pancit bihon and totally destroy an order of siomai anytime! If I may inform you, these two are among my top comfort food and they could cheer me
up on the gloomiest of days.
up on the gloomiest of days.
Good thing there's a lot of restaurants where we could have our Chinese food favorites. They're even on your left and right in Binondo! Even then, newcomers are always welcome. Like Tim Ho Wan. When it came to the Philippines in 2014, it earned raves from foodies for its high quality of food at very competitive prices. After all, it's a Michelin star holder in Hongkong where it came from.
Michelin star, says Wikipedia, "..normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest European hotel and restaurant reference guide, which awards Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a star can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. Michelin also publishes
a series of general guides to countries."
Michelin star, says Wikipedia, "..normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest European hotel and restaurant reference guide, which awards Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a star can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. Michelin also publishes
a series of general guides to countries."
Tim Ho Wan is touted as the world's cheapest Michelin-star restaurant. It is not named after a person, as we might all be thinking ('coz I did!), but is actually a Cantonese
phrase meaning "add good luck".
phrase meaning "add good luck".
Recently, my sister gave us (sis, our mom and two of my kids) a treat at Tim Ho Wan in Robinson's Place Manila. Was I excited to finally
try this raved-about restaurant!
try this raved-about restaurant!
Our orders:
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| Chow Mien Stir Fried Noodle, P130. |
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| Vermicelli Roll with BBQ Pork, P160. |
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| Prawn Dumpling, P160. |
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| Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce, P120. |
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| Spring Roll with Egg White, P120. |
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| Jasmine Tea, P60/pot |
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| Order sheet. It's DIY ordering here. Check your choices, write how many orders and give the form to the server. |
It was one fine lunch that we had. The dimsum, noodle dish and all were flavorful in a subdued way, not so much as to assault the taste buds. The unique taste of everything just blended seamlessly, and consistently until the last mouthful. Also, there was no "sick" feeling afterwards, the way "vetsin"-laden Chinese food in some other restaurants could give you. While I liked everything we had, it was the Prawn Dumpling that I liked best. The white ball of goodness was delicious and fun to chew on.
And yes, we did order rice to go with all our savory food and of all that we had, the steamed rice was the only one I considered quite expensive at P70 per cup. Still, I was surprised that our total bill was only a little over P1,500 (we had two orders each of most of the food and we were 5 persons in the group).
We failed to order, however, what is said to be the bestseller at Tim Ho Wan - the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork. But I remembered that my husband brought us some of it about a year ago. Good thing I was able to take a picture of it before making the " attack". It's much like an asado siopao, only the bun was a bit toasted and flaky as it is not steamed but baked. I knew it would be perfect to have for merienda when paired with the Chow Mien Stir Fried Noodle. I'm saving the idea for next time!
And yes, we did order rice to go with all our savory food and of all that we had, the steamed rice was the only one I considered quite expensive at P70 per cup. Still, I was surprised that our total bill was only a little over P1,500 (we had two orders each of most of the food and we were 5 persons in the group).
We failed to order, however, what is said to be the bestseller at Tim Ho Wan - the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork. But I remembered that my husband brought us some of it about a year ago. Good thing I was able to take a picture of it before making the " attack". It's much like an asado siopao, only the bun was a bit toasted and flaky as it is not steamed but baked. I knew it would be perfect to have for merienda when paired with the Chow Mien Stir Fried Noodle. I'm saving the idea for next time!
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| Baked Bun with BBQ Pork, P160. |
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| Tim Ho Wan at Robinsons Place Manila |
Try Tim Ho Wan if you haven't, folks. Aside from high-quality food,
I promise you to have more bang for the buck.
Happy eating!
