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The World’s Most Famous Michelin-Starred Dim Sum Comes to Orange County

Tim Ho Wan hits Irvine hard — and soon

A platter of Dim Sum from Tim Ho Wan in Irvine.
Dim Sum from Tim Ho Wan
Tim Ho Wan
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

Dim sum fanatics, get excited: Tim Ho Wan is coming to Irvine, California. The Michelin-starred Hong Kong restaurant has been in steady expansion mode these past few years, opening up two locations in New York City and one in Hawaii. On Tuesday a jump to Las Vegas was also announced, with Southern California teased as a future location as well.

Conde Nast Traveler was the first to break the Las Vegas expansion news, announcing their plan to land inside the Palms Casino Resort sometime in mid-2019. But luckily, local fans of the self-described “cheapest Michelin-starred meal” won’t need to make the hours-long drive past the Mad Greek just to get dine at the Vegas location, as the Irvine outlet could come online by sometime this winter. That’s per prolific Chinese restaurant chronicler David Chan, who says on the Food Talk Central forum that he’s hearing an opening is just half a year away, or less.

In fact, signage is already up at the new Orange County site. The green and yellow awning sits over the door of the former Capital Seafood location at the Diamond Jamboree plaza off Alton Parkway, which closed in May. That shopping center is somewhat famous in certain dining circles, acting as a hub for Asian-American restaurants and diners in Orange County. The company already enjoys some 50 locations across nine countries, and now eager OC diners will get their own Tim Ho Wan as well, signature barbecue pork buns included.

Tim Ho Wan. 2700 Alton Parkway, Irvine, CA.