Din Tai Fung, Sentosa, Singapore

Din Tai Fung, Sentosa, Singapore

We came to this restaurant during rush hour, dispite of a line out the door, we were seated in half an hour, and was able to order and eat in less than 45 minutes. This is what I call impressive fast food!


The dumplings were served piping hot. Uniform, juicy and properly cooked, although the skin is a little chewy, the flavor made up for it.


Hainanese chicken rice. A local specialty. The chicken is steamed just to perfection. The skin has a nice sheen and the 3 dipping sauces (chili sauce, ginger sauce, soy sauce) are a perfect compliment.



Beef Noodle with vegetable. Good flavor and tender beef

What we like:

• The super fast service. We sat down, ordered and ate in under 45 minutes.
• Service was excellent. Servers were experienced to move people through the restaurant as fast as possible
• All the food was good, not just the Din Tai Fung, favorites, but also some local dishes.

What we didn't like:

• Unfortunately the style of the dumplings is still not the type we like. Although the filling is juicy, the skin is just not smooth enough to our liking.
  
• Of the 3 restaurants, the Singapore location is by far the best. High quality food and lightning speed service. It is located on the tourist island of Sentosa. Being the only Chinese choice in a predominately western restaurants area, this restaurant is definitely a winner.

Din Tai Fung KL - Pavillion

Din Tai Fung, Pavillion KL. This restaurant is located in an upscale mall with high end eateries.



The menu has most of the standard items, and one or two items specific to the restaurant, such as the lunch combos and the pork dumpling with black truffle.


Pork dumplings fresh off the steamer.


The skin is firm and a little undercooked. Inside the pork is juicy, but flavor wise is a little under seasoned compared to the one I tried in Seattle.


The afternoon special includes 3 small side dishes of marinated cucumber, bean curd, and noodle with bean curd and mushrooms. The noodle was properly seasoned and had a good assortment of vegetables.


Dry noodle with chicken and sesame sauce. Portion size is standard size by local standards.


Dessert : Taro paste dumplings. Quite misshapen compared to the pork dumplings normally served. Size is slightly smaller than regular port dumplings. The taro is lightly sweetened, and the texture is smooth. Unfortunately the undercooked skin ruined the experience.

What we liked:

• Good location, quiet and comfortable seating
• food served in a reasonable time.
  
• lunch menu to target the office workers.

What we didn't like:

• food was underwhelming.
  
• the skin was undercooked for both the pork dumplings and the taro dumplings
• Although side dishes and the noodle was good, the main draw (the dumplings) were a disappointment.
• Pricing was expensive in comparison to nearby restaurants. Many food choices in the area at lower price points means that Din Tai Fung will have to offer better value to draw in customers.
  

Din Tai Fung Bellvue

Din Tai Fung - Lincoln Square, Bellevue. Opened in the beginning of November, this is the first location in North America

We happen to go to Lincoln square and decided to try it out. The wait was 2 1/2 hours! My suggestion is to go and put your name down first, then do your shopping and come back.



The menu list, they were so busy that they did not have any buns that day.



The dumpling soup. The skin is thin and the filling of mostly vegetable. The soup tastes like it was made with chicken bullion, or chicken stock. This was so so.


Steamed beef and noodle soup. The Beef is steamed in a light herbal soup then poured over the noodle when served. Beef was very tender and the soup was unique. Portion size is small for a $8 dish.


The steamed dumplings. We waited FOREVER for these to arrive, a good 20 minutes to half an hour Thankfully the waitress was very apologetic for the wait and kept checking up on the order for us.

The sign of a good dumpling is that it does not break when you pick it up. Yes, dumpling passes the test with flying colors. Was it good? Yes it was, the skin was very thin and the inside was juicy, however as my foodie partner pointed out, the skin has a slightly undercooked texture to it, and was too doughy for his tastes. He likes the flavoring of the filling as it is not overly seasoned. I liked the thinness of the skin and the flavor of the dumpling as a whole, but given that 1 order costs$9.50, I would have liked a bit more filling.


Stir fried rice cake. Pretty standard, but the the rice cake was a bit under cooked because it was not cut evenly.


What we liked:

• Attentive wait staff. Our waitress was very attentive and kept following up with our orders. I can't say the same for the hostess at the front of the restaurant which was very disorganized.
  
• Large and spacious dining area. Floor to wall glass windows, and classic decor.
• Freshly made dumplings. There is a difference when the dumplings are never frozen.

What we didn't like:

• The 2 1/2 hour wait time. This was excessive. I would suggest that you come back after a few months when the novelty has worn off.
• Portion sizes were very small given the price point. Our bill came to $50 and my boyfriend was still hungry afterward. For the same price he could have stuffed himself at the cheesecake factory across the street.
• Some of the items we tried were just average, and doesn't warrant the expensive price.

Given its location in Lincoln Square, I'm sure this restaurant will flourish without much competition.