Chopsticks at the ready, dim sum fans. Tim Ho Wan, often described as "the world's cheapest Michelin-star restaurant", will unleash its long-awaited pork buns on Melbourne next month.
Known to trigger food blogger FOMO, Tim Ho Wan's pork buns are baked rather than steamed in a specially imported oven, resulting in a pastry with a crisp, golden crust, and a light and fluffy centre enclosing a pocket of rich, sweet barbecue pork.
The buns can be ordered on their own, three to a serve, or as part of the Big Four Heavenly Kings, a dim sum selection that includes vermicelli rice paper roll, pan-fried turnip cake and steamed egg cake.
Chef Mak Kwai Pui's dim sum chain began with a modest 20-seat restaurant in Hong Kong in 2009. Restaurants in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand swiftly followed.
The first Australian outlet opened in Sydney in March 2015 and a Melbourne branch was set to follow last May until it was beset by complications transforming the Bourke Street retail premises into a 105-seat restaurant.
Chef Mak began making dim sum at 15 and has worked at three-Mitchelin-starred Lung King Heen restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel. He is expected to fly in for the opening in mid-March.
206 Bourke Street, Melbourne, timhowan.com.au
