Tim Ho Wan
- Sectors Restaurant
- Services Creative Design Editorial Print design
Rapidly earning a Michelin star just a year after opening, and now, 14 years later, Tim Ho Wan remains an ideal destination for Cantonese cuisine enthusiasts.
Marking its second venture in Vietnam at the L7 West Lake Hanoi by Lotte hotel, the brand chose TWS as its partner to design various POSM elements like menus and name cards. To vividly convey information about its dishes, TWS drew inspiration from the brand’s story and its sophisticated interior design, creating a fresh image while preserving the restaurant’s traditional essence.
Tim Ho Wan – Cantonese culinary chain achieving a Michelin star withion just one year of operation
The story begins in 2009, when Mak Kwai Pui – a talented founder with a strong passionate for gastronomy – relinquished a promising position as a chef at a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant to establish his own career with a dim sum eatery in Mongkok, alongside his colleague Leung Fai Keung. With the desire to become a haven for traditional Cantonese dishes, which is increasingly rare in a developing era, Mak Kwai Pui always set high standards and infused much dedication into each dish to continually enhance the tasting experience for customers.
After years of opening its doors to guests, Tim Ho Wan has defined its position and reputation in the culinary world, becoming one of the esteemed restaurants to achieve the prestigious Michelin star with the most reasonable prices in the world at that time. Building on this success, the brand expanded globally with its first branch in Singapore and other countries such as Macau, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Campuchia,…
Inspiration in design and the creative process of TWS
After carefully studying the restaurant’s design concept, TWS noticed that the brand uses light brown wood as the primary color tone interspersed with its signature green, highlighting a youthful and elegant space. Inspired by the blooming lotus flower, the designs from the reception desk to the dining hall are arranged with subtlety, both “preserving” the beauty in Cantonese culture and bringing a new, modern spirit that is distinct from the first location at Lotte Hanoi Center hotel.
To break away from the monotony of typical menu designs, TWS chose an unique, horizontal format with an easy-to-use moderate size, completely different from the typical vertical menu with large dimensions. On the cover, TWS used high-quality velvet material with the brand logo embossed in gold, providing a sense of luxury and modernity, combined with debossed patterns arranged logically within the layout, not only enhancing the aesthetic value of the menu but also making a strong impression on customers during their experiential journey.
Recognizing that the restaurant often has promotional programs and seasonal new dishes, TWS dedicated a separate page for announcements with a clever flap design, allowing the restaurant to easily and flexibly change temporary notices. In addition, the brand’s identity patterns were cleverly integrated throughout the menu by TWS. Combined with a tight, neat layout and deliberately placed white spaces, the menu brings freshness and attraction to customers when in use.
Concluded with the “unveiling” of the menu imbued with the essence of “Tim Ho Wan”, this project brimming with the dedication of the entire team. TWS also had extraordinary experiences exploring contemporary Cantonese culinary culture and collaborating with the high-level personnel and backbone of Tim Ho Wan throughout the project completion process.
