Tim Ho Wan

We walked around this busy Irvine center and decided on Tim Ho Wan, where we were able to be seated right away. The decor was nice with a modern look. The servers were efficient and came by our table often. Everything we shared: Pan Fried Noodles with BBQ Pork $12.50 Baked BBQ Pork Buns 3pc $8.00 Steamed Rice Roll with BBQ Pork $7.95 Sweet Coconut Cream with Taro and Sago $7.50 The baked barbecue pork buns is one of my favorites. Textured pillows of pastry that was a little sweet with a pocket of delicious char siu. The Pan Fried Noodles with BBQ Pork was another favorite. The portion was a little smaller than I was expecting. The flavor was fantastic and liked the crunch of the veggies. Visually very appealing! I miss the traditional dim sum carts. I’ll definitely have to come back to try more of their dim sum!

In A Nutshell: -This was the 2nd Tim Ho Wan location I've eaten at. -Compared to the Vegas location, it's not as aesthetically pleasing to the eye for obvious reasons, but it is very clean & bright which is good. -The service here is very, very good, kind & attentive! -The menu options are standard & the food quality is superb. -Every item ordered was very tasty, which is why this dim sum spot always ranks high among other foodies. Overall, I really enjoyed eating at this location in Irvine.

Has a modern look to it. But I drove 1.5hrs for this? I keep hearing their Hong Kong location has a Michelin Star. So far the Michelin board has been disappointing, and this place is honestly not different. Their webpage shows one thing, and then what comes out in comparison looks so subpar. 貨不對板。蝦餃冇十三摺，燒賣冇腰折. Their 鳳爪 (Phoenix Claws) can sit in the marinade, but the taste doesn't really get through, and they didn't cook it correctly to get it puffy and soft. The inside of the 叉燒包(BBQ Pork Buns) was dry as heck. I get not wanting to use the traditional rice flour bread, but that sugar-laden bread has nothing on Lucille's Biscuits, so don't even try! Somewhat passable was the 腸粉 (rice rolls), what was up with the plain rice roll? It honestly looked like it was store-bought. Try some of their other items, but based on the traditional stuff, they're trying too hard to be original, and it's not working for me.

First time visit! We got greeted by a host, got our temp checked and seated. Everything was clean and organized. We ordered a few items from the menu, some steamed, some pan fried, and some other regular dim sum dishes. The food tasted great. Everything was well seasoned, not too fatty or greasy. We miss the traditional dim sum carts. Definitely come back to try the other dishes. 4 stars for now. Hopefully our second trip will turn this into a 5 star review. Ciao!!

Cravings for dimsum? We’re in the area and wanted to get something quick and you can eat take it home. Service was good and the pork bao was so good. Check out the place it’s always busy especially on weekends. 👍🏻