Din Tai Fung is a business chain that I have developed some respect for as their QC across the globe is any business entrepreneur’s dream come true. In one of it’s Hong Kong branches, it even resisted stern challenges from the competition and earned itself a coveted 1 Michelin Star . And having been to some of their outlets in different cities ranging from Australia to Japan to Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and of course Taiwan, the Xiao Long Bao dumplings are almost universally consistent, although I did had some heavier versions of Xiao Long Bao in Taipei at other outlets.
Original Din Tai Fung’s kitchen-
My 1st time to visit the original Taipei store, although I have been to other Taipei outlets previously.
Soy Sauce and Black Vinegar, Chili Sauce -
Seems ubiquitous across all of their shops.
Upstairs on 1st Floor -
山蘇 – Stir Fried Bird’s Nest Fern, also known as Fiddleheads
This is one of my favourite veggies. You can see it in Japanese cuisines a lot but the Taiwanese version today tasted like a cross-over between crunchy lettuce with fiddlehead! Really enjoyable and crystalline crisp in the stem ~ 8/10
Pork Xiao Long Baos -
The pleating is expectedly well defined and calculated, but the tops were slightly under-steamed and a little harder than usual. Taiwan Din Tai Fung serves 10 pieces of Xiao Long Baos in a single bamboo basket, unlike the 6 in many world outlets. The soup and pork meat taste were a little weak today however. We were slightly disappointed when we came all the way to visit the Original store! Although my local friends have always told me another branch is better and it is definitely true, more on that later..
Pork Chop with Fried Eggy Rice -
This was quite clean compared to the past versions I ate in Taipei, as they can be super heavily spiced here in Taipei at certain outlets. But this day it was done well and tasted just like you would find in many other cities, and not oily here too. ~ 7.5/10
Ginger in Black Vinegar and Soy Sauce as a sauce-
Plenty of shredded gingers. The vinegar at DTF has always been of really low quality to me, I have no idea why but I guess the rest of their food is the same and rather ho-hum plus profit driven. I still think I only admire DTF for their Xia Long Baos, as I hardly like most of their other food. I guess the same can be said about Maccas, as I only ever like their Quarter Pounder and Sausage & Egg McMuffin !
The Original Din Tai Fung -
Have got to say we were slightly disappointed. In fact the Xiao Long Baos I ate in DTF Beijing, Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong were slightly better, although another Taipei outlet we went to afterwards close-by to here, performed better than this original store for some unknown reason.
Price: TWD $100
Food: ♕♕♕♕
Ease of Access: 4/5
Opening Hours:
Mon to Sun 10:00am – 21:00pm
Address: 106台灣台北市大安區信義路二段194號
194, Section 2, Xinyi Road Taipei City
Ph: +886 2 2321 8928
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