Tim Ho Wan - Waikiki — Restaurant in Honolulu

3.5 stars for my overall experience not factoring in the waiting time since it was already a given.

I love dim sum so I was excited when I saw that they were opening in the Royal Hawaiian Center. Since it’s new and touted as the one of the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant, be prepared to wait. Also the place isn’t very large with indoor and outdoor seating.

We went on a Sunday for lunch (busiest time ever) and were quoted a 2 hour wait which is what I expected and given a pager. Dim sum is served all day long so maybe later afternoon and evenings may have a shorter wait.

We wandered around other parts of Waikiki but made sure we were back around an hour half later in case the pager buzzed and most restaurants usually give a more conservative wait time.

The pager buzzed after about and hour and 45 minute wait. Luckily we were seated inside and not by a window since onlookers would frequently stop and stare at the diners out of curiosity.

The server was quick to take our drink order. Please note that this is not a dim sum place with carts and you do pay for tea. The nice thing is that you can select a type of tea. We got jasmine green tea which was really light and mellow.

Once we filled out the small paper with our order, we called the waitress over to put the order in. They don’t have a very large menu, but will expand their menu later in the future.

This location will have 2 exclusive items but they aren’t ready yet.

Steamed Fish Bundle with Pineapple Pan Fried Black Rice Mochi with Pineapple

The food came up pretty quick. All their dishes are made to order and their dim sum is all handmade every day to ensure freshness. Most dim sum come with 3 pieces except the har gow and siu mai come with 4 pieces.

Likes

Steamed shrimp dumplings (har gow) Steamed pork dumplings with shrimp (siu mai) the pei (skin) was good. They didn’t break or were too thick. These steamed dumplings are usually my favorites at dim sum and I’m glad they were my favorites here too. They had good flavor and the right amount of ingredients.

congee with pork and preserved egg the congee had a good amount of flavor but I wish it had more pork and egg pieces in it

Just ok baked bbq pork buns this is one of their signature dishes I heard and honestly I loved the bun. The bun was a great texture and just a little sweet. I didn’t care for the filling since it was a little too sweet for my taste

Steamed shrimp and chives dumplings like full but not a lot of shrimp but good pei again

Deep fried eggplant filled with shrimp interesting dish but fell apart really easily and the eggplant part was still scalding hot when I ate it

Pan fried noodles good but basic and nothing special

Fried silky milk sticks interesting fried dessert dish. I really liked the inside, it reminded me of a white rabbit candy. The fried part was a bit thick and greasy

Dislikes steamed beef ball with bean curd skin good size and consistency but not much flavor

Deep fried spring roll with egg white and shrimp -very greasy and the filling was not flavorful. The grease overshadowed everything

Signature Milk tea You can’t adjust the sweetness so it was a bit sweet and it came with grass jelly which luckily I like but it didn’t say that the milk tea came with any toppings in the menu. Overall it was just ok.

Overall, the food was good but nothing super amazing. The steamed dishes seemed to be better executed and more tasty than the fried ones.

The waitress was friendly but very busy so we it took awhile for us to flag her down for bill. For the two of us, we spent about $60. This is more expensive than your average Chinatown dim sum but not as expensive as Yauatcha, the other Waikiki dim sum option. You also didn’t have go into dingy Chinatown, park in sketchy lots or eat in a restaurant that honestly felt unclean like how most dim sum places are. This restaurant is bright and clean with easy parking.

Would I come back? Yes. I want to when they have all of their menu items. Would I wait 2 hours again?...

So this place finally opened a few weeks ago and like any self respecting islander, I had to go check it out before the word gets out. I mean hawaii folks get excited when a new Walgreens or Safeway opens up. Call it deprived for new places that other regions have at every block. I've been to the Sydney and Hong Kong Tim Ho Wans and found it to be a little different than the typical Chinese seafood restaurants. It's more of a quick service with limited selections of dim sum I'm one of those that judge quality along with quantity and the portions here are on the smaller size which I recall from my previous visits.

We got in right about 5pm and before the Friday dinner rush. The menu is a place holder on one side along with a drink menu. All drinks are priced with the exception of water which was ok for me since that's my normal choice. You mark your selections on a printed sheet at your table which you then hand off to the servers. Each of the dishes average about $4 to $6. They appear to have servers that can speak fluent Japanese, mandarin and the popular Cantonese which I is where I fit in.

The food was served within 10 to 15 minutes but I can imagine that they are constantly making the dishes continually to fill the common orders. All the food was served at a good temperature and presentation was also nice.

Some of the noteworthy dishes are the baked cha siu bao and the fried milk stick which is very similar to a fried haupia (coconut jello for my mainland friends). The buns came in a dish of three which two were burnt and one undercooked. Another dish ordered was the steamed minced beef rice which came with a fried egg. The authentic and typical preparation is with a salted egg yolk. What's up with subbing using a fried egg?..? Michelin star rating!..? Seriously?

Note that dim sum is typically eaten for lunch or brunch so having this at dinner might have taken a few hits off since I was still hungry after the meal. Each of the servings including the rice and noodle dishes are small and single serving unless you are tweety the bird.

I'm glad I did come and try their first Hawaii location but I will not be back anytime soon. I think there are other establishments in town with a much larger selection and appetite satisfying portions.

There was a huge crowd when we left at 6pm and I can just imagine when the Chinatown wireless network gets out and it will be packed. I would suggest to let the hype settle down as you're not missing out on anything really special. I'll keep my dim sum appetite for Jade Dynasty or options in Chinatown. In a nutshell...higher prices, small location, small portions and mediocre taste...

TL;DR: Average dim sum. Get the Lava Custard Sesame Ball! Sit indoors if windy. Helpful food allergen menu.

Located inside the shopping mall on level 3.

Parking: resort/hotel garages or lots outside the shopping strip only. Minimal street parking if any. If you have a stroller, you can park it near the entrance by the register.

Atmosphere: typical restaurant feel. We dined outdoors, was a bit windy and we had to hold on to our napkins. I recommend dining indoors if it's windy out.

Menu: lists item names with images and minimal or no description. It is vegan friendly and has a very helpful allergen menu upon request. Expect to order several dishes to fill your belly.

Service: wait to be seated, you will be given an order slip to fill out, check brought to you and you will be watered.

Lava Custard Sesame Ball: who wouldn't love a deep fried mochi ball rolled in sesame seeds and filled with a slightly salted but sweet egg custard filling?! Be careful though, they don't call it "lava" for nothing -- it is really hot!

Baked BBQ Pork Buns: a bit on the sweet side

Pan Fried Turnip Cake: surprisingly savory! Not too salty but still has a nice gooey texture with a slight pan-fried crisp.

Steamed Beef Balls with Bean Curd Skin: tasted ok but I probably wouldn't order it again. The flavor was fine but it was a bit soggy for me.

Steamed Rice with Chicken: tender chicken and lightly flavored. Perfect for a palate cleanser in between dim sum plates.

Steamed Rice Roll with Minced Beef: I personally always go for this dish at dim sum restaurants. I love the texture of the noodle roll and the meat filling is tasty.

Rainbow Mango Slush: realllllllly sweet. The cream on the top is a nice touch but man this drink is pure sugar -- maybe it's just me but I would have preferred some tang and less sugar.

Overall, average dim sum to satiate your tastebuds if you are really craving some but I wouldn't go out of my way to come here on a regular basis. Nothing really wowed me except for the Lava...