Din Tai Fung - Taipei 101, Taipei

For the rest of our Taiwan Trip:
1. Taiwan Day One
2. Taiwan Day Two
3. Taiwan Day Three
4. Taiwan Day Four and Five Part 1
5. Taiwan Day Four and Five Part 2

I feel the experience of eating at Din Tai Fung in the city where it all began deserves its own blog post!

My family and I ate at Din Tai Fung in Taipei 101. We arrived there at 11am, trying to avoid the lunch rush. It totally paid off. We were seated immediately and given the menus. Their menu is HUGE. There was so much different dishes on offer, the dim sum, rice, noodles, soups, meats and desserts. Everything looked so good.

At the table we were given menus an order pad which has all the menu items listed, and a pencil. We then had to put a quantity next to the menu item that we wanted. A waitress will then take the order pad from us, put it into one of their computers, bring back a receipt to the table and as dishes come to the table they will cross of that item from the receipt to signal that that item has been received.

Of course the first dish we ordered were their famous xiao long baos (Shanghai dumplings or soup dumplings).

Pork Xiao Long Bao

The pork xiao long baos were delectable! They recommend you eat it together with soy sauce and ginger, but on its own it was tasty enough. They were really delicate and refined. The skin was soft and melt-in-your-mouth thin. The flavour of the meat was very subtle and the texture was tender, like eating a cloud. The soup... oh that soup... it was like having a comforting bowl of your favourite chicken soup in a single bite. The xiao long baos really warmed our stomachs, and hearts.

Shrimp and Pork Pot Stickers

The shrimp and pork pot stickers was another dish I couldn't get enough of. Again the skin was soft and the filling was generous and tender. The crunchy skin on the bottom of the pot stickers was fun to eat and so flavoursome.

Steamed Shrimp and Pork Shu Mai

The next dish to come out was the steamed shrimp and pork shu mai. These were unlike any other shu mais I've ever had. They were just really delicate. They're not the prettiest shu mais, and they didn't have in-your-face flavour, but you can just tell whoever made this recipe has put great thought in trying to balance all the flavours, making it a delightful treat.

Shrimp Fried Rice with Egg

To add something more substantial to our meal, we ordered the shrimp fried rice with egg. I love how the shrimps are so big here! The fried rice wasn't too tasty, again like the other dishes the flavours were subtle, perhaps because it was intended as side dish, but it really lacked seasoning.

Steamed Chinese Style Layer Cake

For dessert, we ordered the steamed Chinese style layer cake as we've never heard of seen Chinese style layer cake previously. It does look a bit bland, and unfortunately, it was. The texture is like a bao, reall soft and fluffy, with a hint of sweetness. I'm not sure what the coloured jelly on top of the cake was, but it did not add any flavour to the cake. 

Our meal at Din Tai Fung took around one hour. By the time we finished and paid, we saw a massive line outside the restaurant and that the waiting time was 60 minutes! Boy, was I glad we came early! I would rate Din Tai Fung 8/10, but the xiao long baos would have to be 9/10!

Restaurant Info:

Din Tai Fung (Taipei 101 Mall branch)

B1, No. 45 Shifu Road

Taipei

Ph: 02 8101 7799

Website: Din Tai Fung

Disclaimer: Restaurant info. was true and correct on 28th March 2015.