Sydney - Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung is a world famous dumpling restaurant, which originated in Taiwan.  It has been named top 10 restaurants in the world, and the Hong Kong branch had earned 1 Michelin star.  The only branch in Australasian is in Sydney, which opened in July 2008. 

Situated upstairs in the World Square Shopping Centre, the Sydney Din Tai Fung is a very popular place.  No reservations are taken.  When you arrive, you get given a number and wait for your turn to come up.  It is so popular, you can choose either to share or not to share (which means longer wait) your table with others.  While you wait, you can browse the menu and write down your orders. 

For entertainment, there is a big panel of window from outside looking into the kitchen.  An assembly line of professionally dressed dumpling chefs would be busy at work.  Everything is regulated down to the weight of each dough for the dumplings.



Steamed pork dumplings



Fortunately, we didn't have to wait for too long.  We ordered the famous steamed pork dumplings.  These are little mouthfuls of soup dumplings with thin delicate pastries.  There is a step-by-step how-to-eat instruction on the table for those new to soup dumplings.  A spoonful of a soup dumpling with freshly sliced ginger and dipped in black vinegar.  Once you bite into the dumpling, all the goodness of the soup was released, followed by the flavoursome pork mince fillings.  As my friend said, this is so good, it has lifted up her expectations for dumplings so much, that other dumplings can never be the same again!



Steamed vegitable dumplings



The steamed vegitable dumplings were also great, with the same delicate thin pastries, and lots of vegitables for the fillings.



Wontons with chilli oil



I also really enjoyed the wontons with chilli oil.  The freshly made wontons were great even by themselves, with soft, slippery pastry and delicious pork mince filling.  The chilli oil intensified the flavours with chilli and sugar.  It was wonderful, especially for those who love spicy food.



Steamed chicken soup



The steamed chicken soup were lovely, with a well cooked chicken broth.  It warms the stomach and the body, and goes well with the dumplings.



Pickled cucumbers



For the sides, we had pickled cucumbers.  These were refreshing and were crunchy, tangy with a touch of chilli.



Sauteed vegitables



The sauteed vegitables were also a great side to the meal.  We chose the "air vegitable" which has empty stems that provided the extra crunch.

A wonderful meal experience.   The restaurant is very busy with a high turn over, but the waiting staff were relatively attentive.  Those sitting near the kitchen even got their jackets and bags covered to protect from steam!  Definitely recommend this place for gourmet (yet inexpensive) Chinese dining, especially if you love a good dumpling!

Din Tai Fung
World Square Shopping Centre
644 George Street
Sydney, Australia
http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/index.asp