Instakitchen Manila E2: Tim Ho Wan

By Oscar Nava

Sep 11, 2014 | 8:34pm Manila time

On this episode of Instakitchen Manila, Coconuts Manila gets an exclusive tour of Tim Ho Wan’s kitchen and an interview with founding chef Mak Kwai Pu, 51, who flew in from Hong Kong to inaugurate the dimsum joint’s first Philippine restaurant at SM Mega Fashion Hall.

The soft-spoken chef learned the art of dimsum at 15 when he apprenticed under his uncle and worked in hotel restaurants before opening his first Tim Ho Wan in 2009. It was located in Mongkok and had only 15 seats, but it was so good it immediately earned one Michelin star.

It is now widely known as “the world’s cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant” and has branches in Hong Kong, Singapore and, now, Manila. The first Philippine outpost opened in May 2014.

At the start of the video, we see Tim Ho Wan chefs from Hong Kong and Singapore rolling the dough for the restaurant’s best-selling baked pork barbeque bun, which is topped with whipped sugar to give the bread a sweet taste.

From 00:50 we show you dumplings Teochew style, glutinous rice with lotus leaf, and the spinach dumplings with shrimp. Also seen here are the vermicelli roll with pig’s liver (01:30), prawn dumpling (01:36) and glutinous rice with lotus leaf (01:39).

Tim Ho Wan’s recommended dishes are called “Heavenly Kings.” The must-trys, apart from the baked buns, are the steamed egg cake, vermicelli roll with pig’s liver, and pan-fried ‘carrot’ cake.

Tim Ho Wan, G/F SM Mega Fashion Hall, SM Mega Mall, Mandaluyong. +63 2 4708836. Daily 12nn-9pm. This story first appeared on Coconuts Manila.

PRESENTED BY CEBU PACIFIC AIR.COM

This episode of Instakitchen is brought to you by Cebu Pacific Air! Flying daily from Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to sunny Manila, where you can enjoy the tasty treats featured in this show.