Tim Ho Wan

History

In 2009, Mak Kwai-pui, formerly a chef of three-Michelin-starred restaurant Lung King Heen, opened a 20-seater dim sum restaurant in Mongkok. Tim Ho Wan would eventually earn a Michelin star of its own in the 2010 Hong Kong and Macau Guide, a distinction which some have stated was a move in response to the criticism that the Michelin Guide was "elitist" and "out of touch with local tastes." In 2015, its Sham Shui Po, North Point and Tai Kok Tsui branches had all received one Michelin star. Since then, the restaurant has been dubbed as "the world's cheapest Michelin-star restaurant."

Expansion

From its original Mongkok location, five additional branches were opened in Hong Kong; Sham Shui Po, Central, North Point, Tai Kok Tsui and Tseung Kwan O. In 2013, the original Mongkok branch relocated to Olympian City due to an increase in rent.

Tim Ho Wan began expanding overseas in 2013, with the opening of its first international location in Singapore's Plaza Singapura. It also expanded to the Philippines in 2014 with the opening of a branch at SM Megamall in Metro Manila and in Australia the following year with the opening of a branch in Chatswood and subsequently in Westfield Sydney and 580 George Street. Another branch opened in Jakarta at the end of March 2015. The chain also has branches in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Hanoi and Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok (opened in August 2015), Nakorn Ratchasima (opened December 2016), and New York City (opened December 2016).