Tim Ho Wan just opened up their second location in Manila, at the SM Mall of Asia.

The restaurant is on the smaller side.

There was a very short wait before being seated.

Service wasn’t the most attentive. You had to flag down a waiter or waitress, or yell loudly in Tagalog to get any service.

The Baked BBQ Buns (P145) were crunchy on the top as expected, but were much, much sweeter than I remember.

The Sui Mai (P150) were on the larger side. They were plump and full of pork and shrimp. The skins were a little chewy, but good overall.

The Vermicelli Roll with Shrimp (P190) come three to an order. The vermicelli was nice and chewy, but the shrimp were on the smaller side. The sauce was also on the sweeter side.

I am sure that people in Manila are happy that there are two Tim Ho Wan locations, but they certainly don’t live up to the Hong Kong locations, especially the North Point and Sham Shui Po branches, which each have Michelin stars.