Instead of reinventing the wheel, Hong Kong dim sum chain Tim Ho Wan is doubling down on the basics.
Restaurants have had a tough few years. By 2024, Singapore saw the highest number of F&B business closures in 20 years, with more than 3,000 establishments closing their doors. In 2025 there was a similar trend, with the Department of Trade and Industry reporting that 2,431 businesses closed in the first 10 months of the year.
Apart from local workers, international chains have also shrunk and even succumbed to this rapid pace of closures, such as the US’ Eggslut, England’s PizzaExpress and Taiwan’s Hollin proving that scale and recognition are no longer a safety net in Singapore’s F&B scene.
So when Vulcan Post received a special invitation for a press tour and to see the opening of Tim Ho WanThe tenth store in Hong Kong last week, it was easy to dismiss this offering as “another store opening.” However, through the tour, we found out how their strategy can be the perfect solution to Singapore’s tight F&B scene: it starts by introducing new products that pay homage to the old ones.
Vulcan Post caught up with Yeong Sheng Lee, CEO of Tim Ho Wan, for an exclusive interview to understand how the business plans to continue to thrive in Singapore’s F&B scene, starting with their brands.
Why Singapore is a tough nut to crack for international brands
Having managed many F&B brands in Southeast Asia for almost a decade, Yeong Sheng Lee knows how challenging the food scene really is, especially in Singapore.
While Singapore presents itself as an open market for foreign products, many factors can lead to costly miscalculations that make even large brands difficult. Lee acknowledged that the market has seen an increase in challenges in the wake of COVID-19, including rising operating costs, labor shortages, and meeting customers with high standards for both quality and food.
“Actually what I mean by value is that not everyone wants cheap things, and there is a clear difference. Cheap is where I always want to get the lowest prices, but the value is there for the price I pay, am I getting more than I should really expect?”
When asked if the mistrust shared by Singaporean netizens and entrepreneurs is affecting the local market, Lee remained optimistic that the brand will continue to grow its presence in the country for a long time rather than retreating like many other chains.
“Actually, I wouldn’t say it’s despair. It’s just a phase we’re going through, like all other markets can actually have their ups and downs. There’s no doubt that, although it’s challenging in Singapore for our team, we remain positive and confident about the Singapore market.”
But what is the secret of his confidence? It turns out to be easier than one might expect.
Redefining Singapore Market Value
As the food industry is a trend-sensitive sector, Lee emphasized the importance of constant innovation to keep up with short attention spans, and this comes from introducing seasonal items, from limited-time only menus to high-end versions of bestsellers.
For example, the success of Tim Ho Wan’s signature pork served as inspiration for the new item. Lee shared that the chefs started working on creating a cousin to their baked pork bun, and were experimenting with ingredients that could create a dark-colored crust. They decided on truffle, following the success of truffle food offerings around the world.
“For the price I’m paying, I’m getting a black truffle chicken bun, something that can be a strong signal to many consumers. So the value in this is what we put in our products? What ingredients do we use?”
This ethos also translates to their festive menus. For this year’s Chinese New Year menu, Tim Ho Wan introduced limited-edition dishes, such as crispy scallops—an ingredient rarely found in mainstream chains—deep-fried. that’s it (rice cake) and minced chicken in wine broth. Local donations, incl Bak Kut Teh dumplings and Musang Wang durian sesame balls, also help maintain relevance in the local market.
Lee also added that the chefs play a major role in menu creation, and are always trying out new seasonal products based on hands-on customer research. This allows them to avoid launching products that don’t resonate with the local crowd, which reduces risk in a market where failed launches are costly.
Besides the innovation of the menu, the functions are also important. Lee pointed out that food delivery has been growing in Singapore, and the business has been working to revamp its menu with products—including bento sets—that last longer. Tim Ho Wan has been introducing renovated buildings for their stores, such as the Westgate outlet, with more open layouts and brighter lighting.
While these plans may seem odd at first, they are also essential to the brand’s survival in a time when many restaurants have been experiencing declining traffic.
Ensuring consistency as the business grows
As the brand continues to increase its offerings, consistency was another thing that Tim Ho Wan needed to address, especially after the brand was acquired by the Jollibee Group in Jan 2025.
Instead of giving Tim Ho Wan a complete overhaul, the first thing Lee focused on was building on the strength of the brand, working with chefs and backend operations teams to understand how the brand grew and prospered over the course of ten years: from getting their first Michelin Star a year after opening, expanding to 11 markets in Asia, Australia and the US.
Using Jollibee’s expertise, Lee helped the company to organize its operations across the company’s subsidiaries, joint ventures and franchises. He also launched the Professional Cooking Program: a training program where chefs from all markets will come to Hong Kong to learn Tim Ho Wan’s recipes and replicate them at the same level.
To confirm this down, Vulcan Post also spoke with Chef Cheung Yit Sing, who is also Tim Ho Wan’s Global Product Development Director, to learn more about the training process and how the business foundation is maintained.
From working in pushcart restaurants to cooking in hotels and conventions, Chef Cheung has been making a fortune since 1982 and is now in charge of teaching Tim Ho Wan’s recipes to other chefs. He revealed that as the creator of a certain meal, he starts all the training with a speech, followed by a demonstration of how it is made.
Chefs will get to taste the dish to understand the standard they need to hit before making it. After learning the recipes, the chefs will be tested for points to maintain their performance ratings.
“Currently, our pass rate is 90 out of 100, because the level is really high to ensure that if they can match the level when they go,” Chef Cheung shared in Mandarin, adding that it will take at least a day for the chefs to learn two recipes.
Don’t fix what doesn’t need fixing
Globally, Tim Ho Wan achieved a 5.2% increase in revenue in Q3 2025 compared to the first half of the year, with encouraging results in new market entries in the United States. After the opening of their first company-owned store in Irvine, California, Lee shared that the country will be an important market for the brand and expressed his desire to open 20 more stores by 2028.
In Singapore, Tim Ho Wan saw a growth of 7% during the same period, and the brand has nine stores in the country since entering 13 years ago. While Lee revealed that the company is always looking for new opportunities to introduce more locations, he also emphasized that the team is not rushing to open new locations to meet deadlines—a move that differs from other large chains that are overextended after aggressive expansion.
“We will continue to look for opportunities, but at the same time we are investing in building our organization’s capabilities and strengthening our systems and processes,” he explained. “It is a combination of these factors that we continue to look at how to accelerate our growth in Singapore in a sustainable way, because we are not in this for the short term.”
In a market where even well-known international names are struggling to stay afloat, Tim Ho Wan’s strategy stands in contrast to churn. Rather than aggressively expanding or reinventing its identity, the brand focuses on serving classics and modern versions of dim sum, while remaining open to expansion.
- Read more about Tim Ho Wan.
- Read more stories we’ve written about Singapore businesses here.
Featured Image Credit: Tim Ho Wan
