Din Tai Fung in Taipei, Taiwan
The first time I heard about Din Tai Fung was from my mom who, after coming home from her Singapore trip, couldn't stop raving about this restaurant that serves the best tasting Xiao Long Bao that she has ever tasted in her life. She and my aunt loved it so much that at some point my aunt even considered bringing this amazing brand to Manila.
It didn't took that long for me to also try Din Tai Fung myself. Ten months ago, when Paul and I went to Singapore for our Honeymoon, we set a dinner date with his cousin J for a fun Xiao Long Bao dinner at ...where else?!...Din Tai Fung! We were fortunate that there was a branch located at the mall adjacent to our hotel. We had a great time! I love their Xiao Long Bao and Pork Chop Fried Rice. Needless to say, Paul and I have officially added Din Tai Fung into our list of favorite restaurants. Read more about our DTF Singapore here.
Fast forward to our Taipei trip, of course Din Tai Fung was in our list of must-visits as this was were the restaurant originated. Nothing beats the real thing, I'd say. We agreed to meet up with Aunties L and D for our last meal in Taipei. Thus, we agreed to meet at the Fuxing branch of Din Tai Fung, located at the basement of SOGO mall. We got there at 730PM and just like the scene in Singapore, the place was packed with hungry waiting customers. Luckily, Auntie L was able to get a number stub already so all we have to do was to wait. While waiting, Auntie D took care of placing our order for us.
In no time, we were ushered to our round table and in an instant we were given saucers with shredded ginger and bottles of vinegar and soy sauce. I don't remember having the soy sauce in Din Tai Fung but Auntie D taught me how to mix it up and I actually liked it. Not to sour nor was it too salty.
Since Auntie D was able to order in advance, our food came right away. We began, of course, with a number of steam baskets of Din Tai Fung's famous Xiao Long Bao. Oh, I love carefully biting into the thin Xiao Long Bao wrapping and slowly adding some of my vinegar-soy sauce mixture before taking another bite.
I love the fact that despite how thin the wrapper was, it didn't break even when I just lifted it using my chopstick.
We also have bowls of Wonton Noodle Soup that Paul loved so much! However, I diverted my attention to the two plates of fried rice in front of me. Auntie D got two types of fried rice that evening. First was the Fried Rice with Egg and Fried Porkchop. I love the crunchy lean pork fillet and the fragrant rice that accompanies it. A visit to Din Tai Fung is not complete without having this together with the Xiao Long Baos.
The second type of fried rice was my personal favorite -- Fried Rice with Egg and Shrimp. They were very generous with the shrimps and while it may look simple, it was nonetheless bursting with flavor. I think I had two or three servings of this that evening.
Just when we were ready to declare that we had an amazing dinner, Auntie D was not yet done! Out came more steam baskets of Steamed Mashed Taro Buns. Tiny, bite-size buns that looks like the Xiao Long Bao's mini-mee came in 6s. We took one piece each and what came after was a big surprise. We had little to zero expectations on our dessert thus we took a piece each to give it a try.
Biting into the soft wrapper, I immediately tasted the delicious mashed taro mixture inside. Believe me, it was soooo good! Some of us, despite feeling so full since we have been eating all day, couldn't help but take a piece or two as this dessert was really delicious. It truly was a great way to end our meal and our Taiwan food trip at that.
I was so happy that we were able to visit all the places that we were hoping to see and dine in during this trip. It was a very very short visit but despite that, we all had a great time and were able to successfully satisfy our taste buds all throughout our three-day stay in Taipei.
I'm hoping we can go back again soon! I can't wait to have more of the Shrimp Fried Rice and the Mashed Taro Buns on my next return.
Thank you Aunties L and D for the treat and for making our last meal truly memorable.
*photos taken using a Canon S95.
Din Tai Fung currently has five branches in Taiwan. Visit their Fuxing branch at the Basement 2 of the SOGO Fuxing Department Store.
How to get there: Take the MRT and get off at Zhongxiao Fuxing. The station is adjacent to the mall.
It didn't took that long for me to also try Din Tai Fung myself. Ten months ago, when Paul and I went to Singapore for our Honeymoon, we set a dinner date with his cousin J for a fun Xiao Long Bao dinner at ...where else?!...Din Tai Fung! We were fortunate that there was a branch located at the mall adjacent to our hotel. We had a great time! I love their Xiao Long Bao and Pork Chop Fried Rice. Needless to say, Paul and I have officially added Din Tai Fung into our list of favorite restaurants. Read more about our DTF Singapore here.
Fast forward to our Taipei trip, of course Din Tai Fung was in our list of must-visits as this was were the restaurant originated. Nothing beats the real thing, I'd say. We agreed to meet up with Aunties L and D for our last meal in Taipei. Thus, we agreed to meet at the Fuxing branch of Din Tai Fung, located at the basement of SOGO mall. We got there at 730PM and just like the scene in Singapore, the place was packed with hungry waiting customers. Luckily, Auntie L was able to get a number stub already so all we have to do was to wait. While waiting, Auntie D took care of placing our order for us.
In no time, we were ushered to our round table and in an instant we were given saucers with shredded ginger and bottles of vinegar and soy sauce. I don't remember having the soy sauce in Din Tai Fung but Auntie D taught me how to mix it up and I actually liked it. Not to sour nor was it too salty.
Since Auntie D was able to order in advance, our food came right away. We began, of course, with a number of steam baskets of Din Tai Fung's famous Xiao Long Bao. Oh, I love carefully biting into the thin Xiao Long Bao wrapping and slowly adding some of my vinegar-soy sauce mixture before taking another bite.
I love the fact that despite how thin the wrapper was, it didn't break even when I just lifted it using my chopstick.
We also have bowls of Wonton Noodle Soup that Paul loved so much! However, I diverted my attention to the two plates of fried rice in front of me. Auntie D got two types of fried rice that evening. First was the Fried Rice with Egg and Fried Porkchop. I love the crunchy lean pork fillet and the fragrant rice that accompanies it. A visit to Din Tai Fung is not complete without having this together with the Xiao Long Baos.
The second type of fried rice was my personal favorite -- Fried Rice with Egg and Shrimp. They were very generous with the shrimps and while it may look simple, it was nonetheless bursting with flavor. I think I had two or three servings of this that evening.
Just when we were ready to declare that we had an amazing dinner, Auntie D was not yet done! Out came more steam baskets of Steamed Mashed Taro Buns. Tiny, bite-size buns that looks like the Xiao Long Bao's mini-mee came in 6s. We took one piece each and what came after was a big surprise. We had little to zero expectations on our dessert thus we took a piece each to give it a try.
Biting into the soft wrapper, I immediately tasted the delicious mashed taro mixture inside. Believe me, it was soooo good! Some of us, despite feeling so full since we have been eating all day, couldn't help but take a piece or two as this dessert was really delicious. It truly was a great way to end our meal and our Taiwan food trip at that.
I was so happy that we were able to visit all the places that we were hoping to see and dine in during this trip. It was a very very short visit but despite that, we all had a great time and were able to successfully satisfy our taste buds all throughout our three-day stay in Taipei.
I'm hoping we can go back again soon! I can't wait to have more of the Shrimp Fried Rice and the Mashed Taro Buns on my next return.
Thank you Aunties L and D for the treat and for making our last meal truly memorable.
*photos taken using a Canon S95.
Din Tai Fung currently has five branches in Taiwan. Visit their Fuxing branch at the Basement 2 of the SOGO Fuxing Department Store.
How to get there: Take the MRT and get off at Zhongxiao Fuxing. The station is adjacent to the mall.
