With oriental Chinese restaurant chains on the rise, it is always possible to see hordes of people on the reservation list of those such as the Crystal Jade group, the Paradise group and Tunglok group. Of those, it is obvious that Din Tai Fung, originating from Taiwan, is becoming more popular with their affordable dishes. Long queues are always expected especially during dinners, and an average waiting time of 15-20 minutes is considered ‘average’.
Their noodles and dim sum are becoming a local hit. The Dan Dan Noodles ($6.30) is one of my favorite noodle dishes over there. The winning flavor of spicy sauce with sesame oil and peanut powder proves it all. I was really hoping that the noodles came in a bigger portion.
Other than their more famous ‘la mian’ they do have a few fried rice dishes as well. Yet, I believe that their noodles are a notch above the rice dishes. The Pork Cutlet Fried Rice ($9) was alright, the fried rice of a light taste incorporated with filling fried eggs, accompanied by fragrant fried pork meat.
Siew Mai with Prawns ($6.30 for 9 pieces)
I find the Red Bean Paste Buns ($3.30 for 3 buns) a little less than ordinary, with the paste not being as enriching as ones you can find from coffee shophouses. It could be said that they are not so specialised in these types of buns.
Behold the signature dish of Din Tai Fung, their Xiao Long Bao or Steamed Pork Dumplings ($9 for 10 buns). I never had these before until I tried the ones here a year ago. Since then, I had fallen in love with the pork, the skin, the soup in the buns and basically the xiao long baos. Be it the meaty filling, silky skin or soup, each ingredient is prepared till the best to produce the highest quality of xiaolongbao. A true blue signature dish that you MUST try at Din Tai Fung.
Service from the Chinese waitresses are quick as they try to maximise their tasks as much as possible, and ambience wise it has reached expectation points, considering their restaurant chains being in shopping malls.
Din Tai Fung (under the BreadTalk group) currently has ten outlets islandwide, with two more at the prominent Marina Bay Sands and the new 112 Katong Mall soon to come. Now, you can easily satisfy your Din Tai Fung craving almost anywhere!
NEX @ Serangoon Central
23 Serangoon Central
#B1-10/11/12
Singapore 556083
Foodography: A Singapore Food Blog 