Tim Ho Wan Yongsan Review: Dim Sum, Directions, & Birthday Perks

Tim Ho Wan, famous as a Michelin-starred dim sum restaurant offering incredible value that you absolutely must try in Hong Kong!

It's also landed in Korea, with three branches operating: Tim Ho Wan Samsung, Yongsan, and Gangnam Station. Among these, I got to visit the Tim Ho Wan Yongsan branch, which opened in 2021.

This is my personal review (paid with my own money!), fully enjoying everything from dim sum and crispy chicken (Yuringi) for a birthday celebration, to beef noodles and beer!

How to Get to Tim Ho Wan Yongsan, and Waiting

The Tim Ho Wan Yongsan branch is located in the famously complex Yongsan IPark Mall, so finding it for the first time can be a bit confusing.

First, if you follow the map on the 1st floor of Fashion Park, you'll see a sign like this.

You need to walk past Tartine Bakery, Shake Shack, and Zara, and then head outside the building.

Then, you'll see the Tim Ho Wan Yongsan branch on your left,

but the entrance isn't directly accessible from the outside; you actually have to go back into the building on the left to find the entrance.

Once you come a little further inside the building, you can finally enter Tim Ho Wan Yongsan!

Once I actually got there, I realized there's also a way to get there without going outside the building, by walking through the Zara store.

If you walk straight towards the Zara Kids store, you can find Tim Ho Wan Yongsan right away!

We went around 6:30 PM on a weekday evening, and there were about 7 teams waiting!

We waited for about 15 minutes before we could enter.

Honestly, it was a weekday and it's been open for quite a while, so I didn't expect there to still be a wait like this. 🫢

Operating hours are daily from 11 AM to 10 PM.

(Last order 8:30 PM)

For restrooms, you can take the escalator down one floor and use the ones near the E-Mart entrance.

The interior was clean, and with large glass windows offering a clear view of the 1st floor, the atmosphere was surprisingly pleasant!

We visited as a family of four to celebrate my father's birthday,

and luckily, we were seated at a window-side table for four :)

We each prepared the complimentary doubanjiang and soy sauces, and then began to thoroughly explore the menu.

Tim Ho Wan Menu Recommendations

Tim Ho Wan's menu is quite extensive, so rather than ordering too much at once, I recommend starting with the basic dim sum dishes and then placing additional orders!

We initially ordered beer, 5 dim sum dishes, vegetables, and crispy chicken (Yuringi),

and then continued to add more dishes as we pleased, ultimately eating like this for the four of us!

+Siu Mai ~$5

+Char Siu Rice Rolls ~$6

+Sichuan-style Cucumber ~$4

+Hong Kong-style Beef Noodle Soup ~$10

+Char Siu Bao Buns ~$7

And here's something truly amazing we discovered!

From July to December, they had a special birthday event: if your birthday falls within those months, and you order more than ~$22 on a Monday or Tuesday, you get a complimentary Yu Lin Ji!

As luck would have it, the day we visited was Tuesday, my dad's actual birthday, so we unintentionally received the Yu Lin Ji service for free. Talk about lucky!

The Yu Lin Ji came served with cabbage and a refreshing sauce,

It was incredibly crispy, yet the batter wasn't too thick, allowing the rich, juicy flavors of the meat to shine through. We absolutely devoured it!

When you're here for dim sum, it almost feels wrong not to pair it with a refreshing Tsingtao beer, right? Haha!

The very first dish to arrive was the seasonal vegetables (Gongsimchae).

Also known as Morning Glory, Gongsimchae is fantastic to eat alongside dim sum, so I highly recommend ordering it as an appetizer!

Next up, our initial order of four types of dim sum arrived.

From top left, we had Buchae-gyo, Hargow, Siumai, and Douyupi Rolls!

All dim sum are served in sets of three, which makes them perfect for sharing if you're a group of three or six! :)

Since there were four of us, it felt a little incomplete, so we decided to order an additional round of Siumai, which was the crowd favorite! Haha!

All four types of dim sum were delicious and classic choices, but what was really interesting was that each of the four of us picked a different one as our personal favorite! Haha!

The aromatic Buchae-gyo with its lovely spinach fragrance,

The Siumai, where the texture of shrimp and mushrooms was truly an art form,

The Douyupi Rolls, with juicy meat perfectly complemented by the thin wrapper,

And the crescent-shaped Hargow, boasting plump, succulent shrimp!

I highly recommend ordering as many different types as possible to savor each unique flavor! :)

After all that, we ordered the Sichuan-style Cucumber when we placed our additional dim sum order.

The mildly spicy chili sauce paired perfectly with the refreshing cucumber, making it an ideal palate cleanser!

Curiosity led us to try the Steamed Chicken and Mushrooms, and it turned out to be surprisingly delicious!

Although it was on the dim sum menu, it wasn't a dim sum itself, but rather a pure steamed dish of lightly seasoned chicken and mushrooms.

The chicken was incredibly moist and tender, and the delicate cordyceps flower on top added a beautiful touch!

We also ordered the Char Siu Rice Rolls.

Personally, this dish fell a little short of my expectations.

The sauce felt a bit too strong, so for me, who was hoping for the delicious rice rolls I'd enjoyed in Hong Kong, it was just 'so-so'.

For our meal, we also ordered the Hong Kong style beef noodle soup, and I was so satisfied with the thin egg noodles that had such a delightful texture!

The broth, made with beef brisket slow-cooked for over 3 hours in a special sauce, was absolutely exquisite.

(But even here, there were exactly three pieces of beef. Maybe Tim Ho Wan is best visited by a group of three!)

Finally, we couldn't leave without trying Tim Ho Wan's signature dish, the Char Siu Bao Bun, which we ordered with great anticipation!

With the description mentioning custard cream inside, I initially wondered if it was a dessert, so we saved it for last.

The custard cream, surprisingly, wasn't as prominent as I expected and simply added a subtly soft texture, making it not as sweet as I thought!

In fact, it felt more like a savory dish, with the seasoned char siu truly shining within the warm bun! :)

The bun itself was also surprisingly soft and warm, making it a truly memorable dish that we thoroughly enjoyed!

As we were leaving, I noticed that the origin of ingredients for each menu item was also clearly displayed.

While it was a slight pity that there weren't many local ingredients, I figured it was an unavoidable trade-off given the excellent value for money.

Thanks to the special birthday Yu Lin Ji event, in particular, our group of four enjoyed a fantastic dinner for about ~$73, making it a truly satisfying experience!

So, if it's your birthday, make sure you don't miss out on this event!

Tim Ho Wan Yongsan

Wellness Archive Index

Experience the joy of choosing and savoring a variety of dim sum, just like you would in Hong Kong!

Pre-trip (Anticipation): ★★★★

During-trip (Experience): ★★★★

Post-trip (Memory): ★★★★

*What is the Wellness Archive Index?