Hong Kong: My attempt to out-eat a local at a dim sum restaurant

Tim Ho Wan is the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world. The Hong Kong dim sum gem can deservedly be found in any tourist brochure or ‘Top 10 things to do in Hong Kong’ list from a blog post.

As a poor student-come-a little less poor-English teaching expat, eating anywhere that’s been awarded anything never really came to be a regular affair for me. So you can imagine the excitement on this frugal millenial’s face when I heard about the prospect of eating delectable dim sum dishes for under £2 ($2.6). And knowing that I could from then on always casually drop in conversation that I had been to a refined Michelin-starred restaurant. Well, as it turned out, refined ended up being the last thing I was that evening.

My First Afternoon in Hong Kong

It was my first afternoon in Hong Kong. So far, I had been, essentially chased by unsavoury men trying to sell tailoring services, gotten lost in the rat maze that was Chungking mansions, and gawped in awe at the pink sunset sky searching for escape through the very occasional gaps between omnipresent skyscrapers. Immediately, I felt a strange uncanny feeling with the city’s personality that blended British grit with Asian restlessness. Everywhere people moved and talked and ate and thumbed their state of the art phones. Hong Kong is the kind of place where you see lonely people everywhere amongst the crowds. People-watchers smoking on curb sides or leaning out windows. Businessmen with polished shoes, ever running for the subway. Couples in restaurants eating in silence. Heavy make-upped, high-heeled women in speak-easy bars. As a solo traveller; lonely and wistful, I felt a unique connection with the city.

The Western-Eastern Straddle

While wandering the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui and snapping high contrast photographs full of saturated colours, I couldn’t help but notice how Western-influenced the place seemed. There were countless malls, Western fast-food restaurants and overpriced sports clothing retailers everywhere. The consumerist culture even towered to 3 or 4 stories high; neon signs jig-sawed on top of one another. I wanted to find something a little more traditional so I headed to Sham Shui Po. Sham Shui Po, no less a shopping mecca, has long been a working class area where traditional industry still thrives. Bargain electronics, traditionally tailored clothes and traditionally made food make this area a trendy hipster spot for locals and tourists alike.

Due to having been travelling all day and walking around the city, I had not yet had a chance to eat anything. Therefore I was eager to tuck in to my first Hong Kong meal at Tim Ho Wan. The joint was placed haphazardly on a street darting diagonally from a busy main road, about 500 yards away from the loud Sham Shui Po markets further in. Opposite, an old lady was shuffling through hoarded items, such as old tools and small electronics as people filtered down the street slowly, looking for the famed Tim Ho Wan.

The place was busy but shuffled people in and out quickly like a conveyor of customers. I took a ticket and asked how long the wait would be. The waiter took no notice and I thought perhaps the place was too disorganised for anyone to really tell so I wandered around for a while before returning after 20 minutes. Looking at the list of table requests, I saw my table had been ready a while ago. I was quickly ushered into the restaurant and took a seat at a small table where two other parties were already sat.

Meeting a Local

Though there was no candlelight table or refined jazz playing in the background, I was adequately mesmerised when I began to devour the deliciousness that was Tim Ho Wan’s pork buns. The fluffy, light and surprisingly sweet pork buns are what Tim Ho Wan are most famed for and boy, they did not disappoint. Then came the shrimp dumplings and the chicken feet and bean curd skin roll. I was alone, hungry and had no one to judge my gluttony so I made no reservations when ordering.

The steamer baskets towered high enough to obscure the view of the man sat diagonally across from me. To my surprise, he mischievously peered around at me with a chicken foot half hanging out of my mouth. “You must be hungry!” he laughed.

“Yea, I guess I went a little overboard.”

His friends laughed as they watched the waiter bring 3 more dishes to the table. We got chatting. They learnt how I taught English in Korea and this was my first night in Hong Kong and I learnt that they were born in Hong Kong but had just come back from working a few years in Australia. We celebrated the cheap cost of great food in Hong Kong and they told me how one time they ordered everything on the menu here in one night. I almost couldn’t believe him but then I glanced at the table in front of me completely covered in plates, ashamedly.

The Challenge

To my surprise, the man sat opposite challenged me to do the same. I said, as much as I was now fawning over the dessert items, I wasn’t sure my stomach could handle it. Without waiting for me to accept the challenge, he concluded that he would join me in the effort and if I ate more than him he would give me 20 bucks and consider me a legend.

I ordered the pan fried turnip cake and Tonic Medlar petal cake. We gorged together shamelessly and joyously. He soon caught up with the ambitious 10 dishes I had already consumed and as he approached his 16th, I saw the struggle on his thinly sweating brow. We bonded over our shared plight but ate on in earnest. I caught up with him at the 17th dish and people began to stare, most noticeably the tutting waiters. He was obviously just being playful but I could see he had a keen competitive streak. He ordered the steamed eggplant; his 18th dish. He was now employing the technique of quickly stuffing it down in one go, which was lost on me. His friends were taking pictures and urging me on, “c’mon, just a few more to go, you can do it!” In that moment, I considered giving up.

Keeping my Dignity in Tact

However, I couldn’t give up yet. I ordered the vegetable dumplings and took a nibble. I felt my face reddening and a lump fill my throat. Fear struck me. I may have also had quite a competitive streak but I decided to keep my dignity rather than risk an unhealthy display of the 17 purged dishes all over the table. I bowed before his greatness and we shook hands. He said, despite my defeat he still considered me a legend and with that I was ready for sleep.

He offered we all go for a drink but even if I wanted to, my stomach could not handle the thought of anything more in my mouth. We parted ways, sufficiently entertained by the unexpected turn of events found amidst this unique city of lonely people. People always brushing shoulders as they rush past each other or sit in crowded restaurants but never really stopping to take in the exquisiteness of what they’re doing, the strangers they sit with or of course, what they’re eating.

I fully recommend experiencing the amazing, though not what you would expect from a Michelin-starred restaurant, Tim Ho wan. The food is cheap, the people colourful and experience authentic. For more information, visit their website: http://www.timhowan.hk/index.php