Howard 18 August 2008 Chinese, Dinner, Sydney, CBD 10 Comments  Print This Post  Email This Post

Din Tai Fung has been the talk of the town not only among Sydney food bloggers, but also people in the CBD in general. When someone mentions dumplings, they are bound to mention yum cha … or Din Tai Fung. Din Tai Fung has finally made its presence felt in Australia by opening one of their flagship stores in Sydney. It is a Taiwanese based global franchise with a firm presence and stranglehold on the Asian market.

I’ve heard alot about this place and the queues outside might have been an indication of its popularity and resounding praise it has been recently given. We had to wait around 40 minutes for our table. In the waiting area outside the premises, they have hot tea which you can get yourself. I thought that was a nice touch in customer service by the Din Tai Fung’ians. While I was waiting, I was reminiscing about my experience at New Shanghai. How would the small store in Ashfield stack up against a world wide franchise with dumpling makers who look like they are surgeons ?

Dumpling makers

While they look like surgeons, they are actually the reason why the dumplings are fresh and arrive at your tables so quickly. Each dumpling maker makes their creation according to strict standards. By the looks of it, every millimetre and gram counts.

Many places have tried and failed with their rendition of this dumpling. Most the time, it breaks because it has been overcooked or if not enough care was taken with the process of creation. At first glance, the dumpling was surpisingly thin as it was almost translucent. I thought that it would probably break once I picked it up with my chopsticks, but I was wrong. The xia long bao is so perfectly constructed that I was surprised it even contained the signature hot soup which is inside each dumpling. The consistency in each dumpling is amazing and not one of them bursted open. For me. the optional vinegar and soy sauce is a mandatory partner in crime that gives the dumpling a little kick.

Steamed crab meat with crab roe and pork dumpling

These are very similiar to the xia long bao. I tried to convince myself there was a hint of crab meat flavour, but this was perhaps overpowered by the flavours of the pork and other ingredients. Once again the consistency is amazing.

Hot and Sour soup

Culturally, there are so many versions of hot and sour soup. This version had a nice kick to it while retaining the expected sweet and sourness. There was a commanding presence of chinese mushrooms which perhaps overpowered the soup, but not enough to prevent me from lapping the soup up like a dog and it’s drinking basin.

Stir fried noodles with pork and beans

The noodles tasted hand made (not sure how that works, but just trust me on that one). I found the pork and beans a little tasteless, but it was a welcome change from copious amounts of dumplings.

Braised beef noodles

The broth is a wonderful concoction of brown beefy goodness. The beef was tender and the noodles were similiar, if not identical to the dish above. The soup is the star attraction here.

Fried Chicken with Fried Rice

The chicken is fried and crumbed into crispy goodness. The fried rice is nothing out of the ordinary, but then again how much more can you do to fried rice? The chicken is the highlight of this dish though, I wanted more.

Century Egg with Tofu and Shredded Pork

This was almost too pretty to eat. Squares of chilled tofu are topped with shredded dried pork and a soy type sauce. Accompanied on the side are generious portions of ‘century year old’ egg. I thought this dish was unique and tasted quite refreshing yet retaining the individual flavours of all three key ingredients.

Cucumber salad in dressing ($3.50)

Having copious amounts of dumplings might be a little overwhelming. The cucumber is served chilled and is quite refreshing. Unfortunately, I could’nt quite make out what the flavour of the dressing was. Perhaps some sort of vingairette or sesame oil ? Anyone have any thoughts ?

Steamed red and black bean buns

The buns were delicious. The red and black bean paste was plentiful and the bun was not too soft nor overcooked. It seemed they let it ‘rest’ to an optimum temperate before serving it to us.

Fried taro bread with sesame seeds

The second of our desserts arrive in the form of rolls of bread lightly fried and topped with sesame seeds. The taro is generous and sweet but luckily takes away some of the oilyness of the fried bread.

Taro Dumplings

The taro is smooth and creamy and makes a fitting end to our feast. Each dumpling dissappears quite quickly, it was a definate favourite on our table.

Having been to both New Shanghai and Din Tai Fung , I’m torn between the two. On one hand, I love the consistency and quality of Din Tai’s dumplings. Rarely have I had a Xia Long Bao which has’nt exploded when I tried to pick it up with a chopstick. On the other hand, you can’t go past the value of New Shanghai. I also found that New Shanghai had stronger flavours in their dumplings. Either way, you can’t go wrong with either and I highly recommend you visit both places to make up your own mind.

But I would be interested to hear what others think who have tried both. Any one?

Din Tai Fung
Shop 11.04, Level 1
World Square Shopping Centre
644 George St, Sydney
Ph: (02) 9294 9010
Web: www.dintaifung.com.tw