[Photo Saturday by Bayou]
As previously noted, the first U.S. location for the Hong Kong-based, Michelin-starred dim sum parlor Tim Ho Wan opened on Friday... and, not surprisingly, the opening here on Fourth Avenue and 10th Street attracted dim-sumgoers who waited in line in single-degree temps that day for the cheap goods. (Rather inexpensive — every dish costs less than $5.50.)
Eater and Gothamist both reported on the lines.
Per Eater:
Chef Wai Chan will be running the kitchen here. He’s a Chinese immigrant who’s been living in New York for years, and before getting going in the kitchen, he went to Hong Kong to train for several weeks. Tim Ho Wan’s quality is what must set it apart from other dim sum restaurants, Pui says. The team’s been working on the location since last year, and they’ve tried many of the dim sum restaurants here since then.
During the soft opening phase through Jan. 17, Tim Ho Wan will have limited hours. Lunch service will be from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. with dinner service from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. The grand opening is Jan. 18.
The world famous #TimHoWan pork buns will be available at #TimHoWanUSA. pic.twitter.com/I7OlIzRaCy
— Tim Ho Wan USA (@timhowanusa) December 10, 2016
Updated 5 p.m.
Eater declares that Tim Ho Wan "Has NYC’s Most Maddening Food Line."
Eater senior critic Robert Sietsema shared this long-line dispatch:
After a further wait of 50 minutes, during which the queue crept along steadily in a way that encouraged us to remain, we finally reached the front door, where a woman with an iPad stood.
She was very nice, but told us that our further wait would be 2.5 hours, and offered to take our cell number and call us back. I objected, "Normally, when you stand in line, you expect to get in when you reach the front of the line. Couldn’t you have taken our numbers when we arrived so we didn’t have to wait in the sleet?" She shrugged, and didn’t answer. My guess is that the spectacle of dim sum devotees shivering in line for hours was an important element of the opening publicity campaign...
