Hong Kong’s Tim Ho Wan wants halal status in Indonesia, starts with non-pork menu

Photo: HONG KONG, Oct 2, 2010: Dim Sum eatery Tim Ho Wan was named the cheapest Michelin-starred restaurant in the world in 2010 / Kent Wang

After introducing a non-pork menu in Indonesia, Hong Kong-based dim sum eatery Tim Ho Wan is now considering opening its first halal branch.

Tim Ho Wan’s Indonesia marketing head, Sambhada, says the eatery decided to take action after listening to demands from customers. “Many of our customers asked for a chicken menu. There are no other countries [where Tim Ho Wan has outlets] that have a non-pork menu [except for Indonesia],” he explained.

Sambhada confirms that the famous dim sum eatery may seek official halal status from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) if the non-pork menu proves successful.

MICHELIN-STARRED

Starting off as a hole-in-the-wall eatery opened in 2009 by a former Four Seasons chef in Hong Kong, the tiny dim sum shop soon earned rave reviews. Tim Ho Wan earned a Michelin star in 2010, propelling it to become the world’s most inexpensive restaurant to receive the award. 

Since then, Tim Ho Wan has opened in several other countries, including Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia, where it has branches in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta, and the Grand Indonesia mall in Central Jakarta.

NON-PORK MENU AT ONE OUTLET ONLY

As of now, the non-pork menu is only available in Tim Ho Wan’s outlet in the Grand Indonesia mall.

According to Sambhada, while Pantai Indah Kapuk has a large Chinese population that is happy to indulge in Tim Ho Wan’s pork-filled menu, halal options were a bigger concern for Grand Indonesia’s more mixed crowd of shoppers.

“Grand Indonesia mall happens to be located in Central Jakarta and thus has a wider segment of customers. But in Pantai Indah Kapuk, the market is more segmented,” he says.

The Grand Indonesia outlet offers 24 non-pork items. Some of these are Tim Ho Wan’s signature dishes reworked for non-pork eaters, such as the chicken version of their famous baked BBQ buns.

Other non-pork items include Yang Chow Fried Rice, Beef Brisket, Tandon Noodle and Wonton Noodle Soup.

NO PORK BUT NOT HALAL, YET

Despite offering a non-pork menu, Sambhada says the eatery cannot claim to offer halal dishes as it lacks an official halal certification from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the national institution mandated to issue halal licences.

“If we want to pursue halal certifications in Indonesia, we have to be fully committed, either by changing our brand or by not offering a pork menu at all. We can’t be halfway about it [by offering both pork and non-pork dishes],” he says.

However, if the demand is big enough, Tim Ho Wan might open a fully halal branch in Indonesia, Sambhada said. “But we can’t say when, because we still have to pitch the idea to our headquarters in Hong Kong and obtain approval from them. It will take time.”

According to Sambhada, it took one year for Tim Ho Wan Indonesia to introduce the non-pork menu. “We were the ones who proposed [the idea of introducing the non-pork menu]. At first, our proposal was rejected. But then, our R&D department in Singapore tried which foods could be offered without containing any pork. Then, we tested the menu in Hong Kong,” he says.

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