After the
disappointing dinner at Shin Yeh, my friend was determined to take me to a place that would impress.
Din Tai Fung is the most famous steamed bun restaurant in Taiwan. It has become an international enterprise, with locations all over the world. Besides the normal offerings, they also have the special mini buns with soup on the weekends. So it was decided that we'd head over on Sunday morning. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had been to the Din Tai Fung in LA years ago. I don't remember it being particularly special.
Like many popular places in Taipei, it's best to go to Din Tai Fung with a reservation. Since we didn't have one, we showed up before they opened and watched a group of employees standing around the table making the special mini buns. It was really fascinating how efficient the process was and how fast they could churn these out.
To go to Din Tai Fung and not getting any XiaoLongBao (steamed buns) would be like visiting Paris and not going to the Eiffel Tower. So of course, we had to order some. We got the Pork XiaoLongBao (NT$190/10), and the weekend special Mini Pork XiaoLongBao with Soup (NT$320/20). The wrappers are super thin and soft, yet they didn't break easily. The juice was flavorful. The soup was refreshing. They were VERY good, but I think the fillings could be a little more tender and flavorful. I'm sure I'm biased, but I think my grandma makes THE best dumplings in the world. And her fillings taste better than these. Oh, how I miss my grandma's dumplings. =)
I grew up eating dumplings and wontons, but Wontons in Spicy Oil is a Taiwanese specialty that I had never felt the urge to try before. My friend ordered the Spicy Vegetable and Ground Pork Wonton (NT$140). I was completely taken by surprise at how ambrosial the sauce was! Seriously, I was ready to drink that. =) So we ended up getting an order of Spicy Shrimp and Pork Wonton (NT$160) as well. The sauce was spicy, salty, a little sweet and sour all at the same time. It was simply wonderful! You must try this!
To balance off our meat heavy meal, we also got the Stewed Bean Curd (NT$65), and Stir Fried Water Spinach (NT$170). The Stewed Bean Curd is a Shanghainese specialty called
Kao Fu. I'm not sure why they translated it to "Stewed Bean Curd" since it's really a gluten product. Regardless of the translation, this little appetizer was very authentic. The water spinach was fresh, and perfect for my conscience. (I have long lost count of my daily calories intake during this trip. =)
Din Tai Fung's noodles are equally well prepared. We had the Noodle with Spicy Sesame and Peanut Sauce (NT$100), also known as Dan Dan Noodle, and the Noodle Mixed with Special Sauce that's not on the menu. I forgot to take a picture of the one with the special sauce. You would be surprised at how plain it looks - they were just light brown noodles. However, it tasted phenomenal. The sauce was delicious, and the noodles were coated thoroughly and evenly. Even though they didn't advertise it, I'm convinced the noodles were made from scratch. This is one of my friend's favorites.
Can you believe the three of us ate all that? It was really a lot of food, but we had to have some dessert too. We asked the waiter and got half order each (5 pieces) of Steamed Red Bean Dumplings (NT$160/10) and Steamed Taro Dumplings (NT$170/10). The wrappers are just as good as the steamed buns. The red bean paste was good, but not exceptional. The taro paste was wonderful. I always knew Taiwanese loved taro, and often wondered why - the taro desserts I've tasted in the States were just mediocre. But this taro paste answered my question. It was smooth, creamy, slightly sweet, earthy yet refreshing.
Without me saying anything, my friend knew she had succeeded in finding a place that wow'd me. Now, I can't wait for the Din Tai Fung to open in Bellevue. I'm utterly in love with the spicy oil from the wontons. I can foresee myself hogging two plates of them. =)
(Hmm, it turns out that Din Tai Fung opened TODAY! Gotta check it out soon. =)
Din Tai Fung (Tienmu branch) 鼎泰豐(天母店)
Address: 77 Zhongshan North Road Section 6, Shi-lin District (SOGO shopping center B1)
地址：台北市士林區中山北路六段77號(太平洋SOGO百貨B1)
Telephone: 02-2833-8900
電話：02-2833-8900
Hours: M-Th 10:30am - 9:30pm, F 10:30am - 10pm, Weekends & Holidays 10am - 10pm
營業時間： 週一~四：10:30-21:30 週五：10:30-22:00 週六及例假日前夕：10:00-22:00
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