Restaurant Review: Din Tai Fung
23 04 2008
Finally, last Saturday, we were able to go to Din Tai Fung and tasted the famous Pork Dumpling (Xiao Lung Bao). We got there around 1.30PM and waited for about 10 minutes for our table. (Note that the restaurant closes at 2.30PM before the reopen at 5PM). As we were waiting, we were asked to select our orders first. We chose the Shrimp Noodle Soup $ 7.50, Pork Dumpling $7.25 and Pork Crab Dumpling $9. We spent a total of $29.56 including tax and tips.
The restaurant is not too big but not small either. Near the cashier area, they also have like a bakery counter selling some of the buns. I over heard the waitress talked some guests to try their new restaurant located on the other side of the old restaurant. The waiters and waitresses were very polite and friendly. The restaurant itself is very clean and organized.
The Pork Dumpling is not as great as we expected. We think the one at Dumpling Inn in San Diego is a lot better. This one here at DTF doesn’t have enough juice inside the dumpling. I wouldn’t even recommend the Pork Crab Dumpling, because it has the unusual taste, better order the Pork Dumpling instead. The Shrimp Noodle Soup doesn’t have enough taste, but the shrimps were fresh. I had to add a lot of soy sauce.
I remember tasting this restaurant in Taiwan (the first store) and Singapore. I like the one in Taiwan the best.
Overall, I don’t think I would drive all the way from Santa Monica to try this restaurant again.
yup yup very very very dissapointing!
Esther, have you ever tried the one in Jakarta ? I don’t know why, but people were always queued up in front of all DTF branches in Jakarta. I guess their food is just average, but some of my friends are the fans of DTF. Still wondering why ….
if you really like dimsum, try joy luck place in san mateo or yank sink in san francisco, the xiao lung bao is very good but the dimsum is quite pricey
huah… di jakarta ada, tapi enggak berani nyobain maal :((
disana ternyata ada juga yah!
katanya yang paling enak itu udon gorengnya yah ?! hahahahaha
hehehe.. wah beda selera deh. Selera ibu hamil kali yah
leony & pitshu: kita udah pernah juga nyoba DTF yang di jakarta. gak enak menurut kita. untuk lamien tetep paling ok crystal jade kalo buat gua. untuk xiao lung bao ya antara crystal jade atau shanghai storm.
DTF yang di singapur paling ok menurut gua dibanding DTF jakarta dan US. tapi ya menurut esther, paling mantap suratap ya DTF taiwan. gua sih gak tau.. abis pas dia ke taiwan gua gak diajak sih… huhuhuuuuu
@ Leony & Pitshu: Iya betul2 kata Arman, kita udah coba yang di Jakarta juga, maap lupa dimasukkin. And yang di Jakarta kita ngga suka juga karena ngga pake daging babi, jadi benernya ngga comparable ama yang di Singapore, Taiwan or LA sih.
@ Sofie: Thanks for the recommendations. We will try that the next time we visit SF. I have been to Yank Sink before but never tried the Xiao Lung Bao.
@ Mel: Iya nih yang ini beda selera nih, soalnya kita baru nyoba yang Dumpling Inn San Diego sih and yang disono lebih enak, Mel. Oh lagi hamil yah, congrats yah!
ther, kayanya dari facenya andrew keliatan kl mang kurang yummy yah heheheh…
baru gua mo cobain dtf di sini, abis lagi ada diskon 50% sih haha
@Ariany: Enggak kok, Ny, itu fotonya pas sebelum makanannya keluar. Tapi mungkin dia udah punya insting kali yah. Hehehehehe.
@ Pucca: Vi, yah coba aja, mumpung 50% kan. Siapa tau kita kurang suka, tapi elu suka. Namanya makanan kan selera loh.