There was a whisper, no more a shout, that world famous Taiwanese Dumpling chain, Din Tai Fung, the one said to have queues day and night, had just opened in Sydney. It’s pretty much brand spanking new, opened only 2 weeks ago and already attracting a crowd. The reason? Xiao Long Bao, the soup dumplings that are so loved by so many, taking over as the popular alternative to Shao Mai or Gow Gees. Apparently, it started many years ago as a shop that sold oil with the owner Bingyi Yang selling dumplings on the side, these becoming so popular that a chain was spawned across the seas and accolades from the New York Times declaring it one of the Top 10 places to eat were bestowed. Sure it was about 10 years ago that they declared it that but given the queues, no-one seems to care.
We had just finished seeing a movie at the Academy Twin Paddington and were starving as it was late for us to eat (we always eat early, like pensioners at 6pm) .
We arrive at World Square at 8.30pm and go up to Level 1, where we’ve never been before and where there doesn’t look to be much. Outside there are two girls with earphones. I tense immediately, it’s like those stony faced Yum Cha women who give you a number and tell you that they’ll “call your number soon” before turning away to give the next customer their ticket stub only to summon you 1 long hour later. However I am greeted with a wide smile and a singsong friendly voice asks me if I have a reservation. I say no and she asks me if I mind sharing a table as that will be quicker. That’s fine by us but after a little flurry and some talking on the earpiece and it seems like they have a table just for us and she giggles “Lucky, you came at the right time, good timing!”. I find myself looking back bewilderedly, was that just friendly service at a Chinese restaurant? How very strange.
Sitting down at our table in theright most section of the restaurant, it certainly looks stylised and sleek. Adorned with displays of repeated white chinese soup spoons, small bowls and a wall full of different sized steamer trays. It is a weeknight and the crowd is almost exclusively Asian and mostly young types in suits and corporate clothes.
Menu: Large enough to hide behind should you require some stealth action
We’re given our huge menus and peruse them. I ask where the ladies room is and the waitress, also an obliging and very friendly type points and describes the way and then offers to show me. Hmmm this service thing might be catching. Our waitresses and waiters (yes plural, there are at least 20-25 staff on floor at one time) are ready to take your command at any point. If you look like you want anything, they appear or glide up to you with a smile. It’s a bit strange being in a Chinese restaurant and being given such deferential service. It makes me want to check under the table for a Candid Camera.
The menu has several items not available scattered amongst the snacks, dumplings and soup. There are also two pages full of fruity desserts and ice creams where the entire pages aren’t available. We order a some Xiao Long Bao (Pork Dumplings), Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai, Fried chicken chop noodles and Shrimp pork dumplings in soup and for dessert, Taro Dumplings.
The food arrives very quickly, one member of the staff brings the bowl or steamer to the table and another takes the lid off the reveal the goods inside and then bows and leaves. The front of the restaurant is a glass sided dumpling room where all of the staff wearing Din Tai Fung caps and surgeon’s masks keep the hot buns coming.
Shrimp and Pork Dumplings with noodles in soup $12.80
The soups arrive first, the Shrimp and Pork Dumplings in soup is a slight mistake, we actually wanted the ones without the noodles but we get the ones with noodles. I take a sip of the soup, it’s mild flavoured and I hate to say but not particularly exciting. I add some shredded ginger for flavour as it needs it. The noodles however are perfectly al dente and delicious. Just like Ryo’s perfectly textured noodles, these are unlike the usual soft noodles that you tend to get. There is a lovely texture to these, firm but not uncooked. The Shrimp and pork dumplings are also good, the skin also the perfect texture, not too soft as some can be.
Fried Chicken Chop Noodle Soup $11.80
The other soup, the Fried Chicken Chop Noodle Soup arrives noodles with the same broth and same noodles as the earlier dish. There is a small rectangular plate of fried chicken chop which is crispy and glistening with oil. The chicken needs some spice via a mix of soy and chili oil and with that, it tastes much better.
Xiao Long Bao (pork Dumplings) 6 for $8.80
The thing that has drawn us here is next, the Xiao Long Bao (Pork Dumplings). Din Tai Fung say that each of their dumplings has at least 18 folds on top, thus being beautifully hand crafted with care. They are beautiful indeed and a paler shade than Shanghai Night’s and they’re also pleasingly plump with soup. We take a bite and the skin is lovely and delicate.
And the million dollar question? How do they compare to Shanghai Night’s? They’re certainly more perfect and unlike Shanghai Night’s the skin is soft yet unyielding and perfect with no holes. At Shanghai nights you can easily get 3-4 of the lot that burst when you pick them up with chopsticks. None of them do here. However we both agreed that the gingery taste of the Shanghai night’s filling is delicious and of course the price of Shanghai Night’s Xiao Long Bao is a lot better with 8 dumplings for $5.80 versus 6 dumplings here for $8.80. If only we could combine the two and make a…. Super Xiao Long Bao!
As the food is arriving so quickly, I ask the waiter if we can get the taro dumplings after we’ve finished all of the savoury foods. He smiles and obliges by personally letting every single staffer working in our area know to serve it to us later. He’s certainly leaving nothing to chance!
The Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai 4 for $9.80
The Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai arrive, looking like four exotic coral specimens swaying in the water. Curiously, and this is bizarre, they taste like the Shanghai night’s Xiao Long Bao as there is a bit more flavour in these and there is a pool of soup inside. Very curious and I have to say these are my favourite.
Taro Dumplings 4 for $5.80
Our taro dumplings arrive, they’re a tad smaller than the other dumplings and the 4 look a little lonely in the steamer. We bite into them, the pale purple taro is beautifully smooth, creamy and perfectly mashed and surprisingly good. Surprising as we ordered these mostly for curiosity value but found that these really worked as a sweet dessert.
Service is very efficient, as soon as the last dumpling is lifted from the cloth liner it is swept away instantly. My husband finds the service a little too efficient, he actually likes the lack of pretense of the service at Shanghai Night. He and I differ, I like this type of service and could get used to it although I’m sure I will be shaken back to reality on my next visit to a regular Chinese restaurant. Indeed, when we get up to leave, and when anyone gets up to leave, the staff gather and bow and there are plenty of “Sher Sher” (thankyous) all round.
Din Tai Fung
Shop 11. 04 Level 1
World Square Shopping Centre
644 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: +61 (02) 9264 6010
Open 7 days
11:00am-2.30pm
17:00pm-22:00pm (last order 9.15pm)
http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/index.asp
http://www.dintaifungusa.com/
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25 Comments | Add your own
That place looks pretty good – I’ll have to give it a try! The Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai look especially pretty.
I still think East Ocean in Sussex street has the best yum cha and dumplings!
Looks soo soooo good! Can’t wait to go. Hmm.. maybe even tomorrow!
are they required to wear those masks? i’ve never seen that before!
anyhoo, those eats look wonderful. i continue to envy you.
Hi Christie-definitely give it a go. The dumplings are really good.
I’m torn for Yum Cha, I think most of the big places do a pretty decent Yum Cha. I don’t know if I could choose just one!
Hi Y-Love to hear what you think of it if you do go
Hi grace-I think they are as all of them had it. I thought it was a one off, like when Japanese people are sick they wear them but there they all were in the kitchen with them!
I think there might be a Din Tai Fung in the US so you could go if it’s nearish to you
Well I was impressed with those surgeons masks..(no mouth and breath germs on my dumplings).. and also quite impressed with the decor. I like that steamer feature-wall! And the lit-up sideboards/counters.
Those large menu’s were funny.. as was your reference to friendly service
You know.. I love sushi and Japanese food..and all of our local Japanese joints really suck when it comes to friendliness. No hint of congeniality. I’ve been a very loyal customer to 3 local Japanese establisments..for *years*..and do you think they’d crack a smile or give me even 10 grams of pickled ginger for free? No way.. instead they act like everyone owes them money or something.
I sometimes make pork dumplings.. and they’re always a hit..but just fiddly to make.. like a production line when filling up your family. And I try so hard not to break the skin! It means a lot of time in the kitchen..(or more than my feet are willing to suffer gladly).. But I have made up a big batch before and cooled them in the fridge and then successfully reheated them later.. or even fried them! If they go into oil though with any tears to the skin.. the soup will spit back at you.. and it gets a bit dangerous of course — you need safety glasses!
Thanks for sharing these lovely treats. I think my hubby would love those chicken chop pieces especially!
Hi Maria-I appreciated the masks and caps too and I also love open kitchens, less chance that someone will pick something up of the ground! Ultra cleanliness is never a bad thing as far as food preparation is concerned.
That’s not good when they’re not friendly, although I have found Japanese restaurants more polite than Chinese, at least here. I always think that if you’re i the service industry, you should be polite and friendly, it’s really part of the job. If that’s not your personality, get a job where you don’t have customer contact, simple as that! Service can really make or break an evening.
Hehe yes a production line is best for dumplings. I used to make them all the time but yes I have to agree that it’s a lot of work but the reward of dumplings in the end is worth it, even if it doesn’t feel like fun at the time
The chicken chop was good with the chili and soy. Mmm I could go for some now!
How very wonderful that I just happened to come across this site while searching for a place to post review.
The Good:
We tried their chicken with egg fried rice and the beef stew soup, plus, Of course, the xiao long bao. The fried rice was better than expected in a sense that most of the time you get a fried rice that’s either too oily, too salty, too much soy sauce, too … but this one is just perfect. It’s taste just about right with a good balance of flavor and oil. The Fried chicken is delicious; crispy on the outside and juicy and tender inside.
The Beef stew soup was slightly too light for my taste, though the beef was quite tender.
Xiao long bao, well taste wise it was alright, still can’t quite convince myself why it is world famous. However, I agree that this is the first place that i was able to pick up the bao without breaking the wrapping, but personally, I think I am paying for the place and not the food…
By the way, WHY does every xia long bao type picture contains like 10-12 baos when they are sold by 4-6? Business strategy from a psychological perspective?
NOW THE BAD, and I REALLY MEAN IT:
First, this is my first visit and I already share the same experience with the site admin. We order the beef stew soup and guess what came out? yep, beef stew soup WITH NOODLE, hmm. I didn’t want to order the noodle because I failed to see why adding noodle should cost $5 more…
And then, the bill was $36.00 and we gave a $50 bill. Somehow there was a mistake and the change was only $4. So of course we point it out immediately, and I think to myself: “honest mistake, no biggie”. Boy was I wrong… we end up spending the next 10 min waiting for the staff to figure out what went wrong and several times we were asked and confirmed about how much we put down and who we gave the bill to… so my girl pointed out someone and then we get the “she said you didn’t give it to her”. The manager (or seems to be) were also involved, and we finally got our correct change back, after long agonizing wait. The way things are handled in this situation would have never happened in any sophisticated restaurant. The customer should never feel like they were treated unjust, certainly not when the $ involved was as little as $10. Also, how does someone mistake a $50 for a $40? that’s ONE bill vs TWO bills, not to mention the different color. Anyway, certainly would never go back again as we were extremely upset afterward.
Hi John-Thanks for the review and for the recommendations!
Hehe yes the idea of a steamer full of dumplings is much nicer than 4 lone ones.
The kerfuffle over the bill would certainly leave a bad taste in the mouth, much like bad service.
Hmm. I was so looking forward to going to Din Tai Fung, both from your review and the recent one in the SMH. Unfortunatly it did not live up to expectations, both in food quality and service. Don’t get me wrong, the food was nice, but definitely not outstanding. The service was what I have come to see as sadly ‘typical’ chinese restaurant service – bring the chinese patrons their food first, and then make the caucasians beg for theirs (we were at a shared table, so this was VERY obvious). We spoke to what appeared to be the head waitress of our section, and she bought the manager over which was a nice suprise (I’ve never even seen this occur in an Australian restaurant, so it did raise our opinions).
I could make excuses (it was midday on a weekday), but I won’t. I expected more from them, that’s for sure.
Oh, and they charged for chinese tea … I haven’t seen that before!
Hi kaydee-it’s a pity you experienced that, is it that you ordered something different from the other tables? We had some dishes that came out straight away and some that took longer. What did the manager say? And we always and I mean always get charged for Chinese tea.
My bf and I braced the cold for this and were starving by the time we got in there! Service was speedy and efficient. They mustve checked our docket a million times! Chicken chop was pretty damn good. You were right, the noodles were left behind and the xiao long bao were good, but I think i prefer big juicy soupy dumplings! I bought a single, bigger taro bun and in retrospect, wish I bought the mini ones! Too much skin to filling ratio. Fascinating experience overall!
Thanks for inspiring me to visit all these great places. I am always at a loss as to which place to try!
Hi Maria-eeek you poor thing waiting out in the cold! It’s good it was fast and I agree, they love checking the docket
Yes as Shanghai night’s are less delicate, they’ve got a bit more punch and flavour to them. You’re welcome, I’m glad that you like them! 
I went here for the first time today… the food is gorgeous and well presented, the waitresses exquisitely beautiful and extremely helpful, and the restaurant is overall a perfect balance between price and quality. I’ll definitely be back there again soon!
Hi Tim-Sounds like you really enjoyed your experience there, that’s great!
I’ve been told by a good source that the original Din Tai Fung in Taipei is much better than the one in Sydney, and because of this blog i’m off to try Shanghai Nights tonight
Hi Nunasdream-That wouldn’t surprise me, the original is usually quite good but having said that this is pretty good. Hope you like it!
Been open for around 7 months and we have enjoyed everyone of our 27 visits… be warned it is very addictive, the spicy dumplings a must!
Hi Mark-Wow, you’re a very loyal customer! 27 visits is quite an achievement for such a relatively short amount of time
Hi NQN, was that you at Din Tai Fung today for lunch??? … we are still hopelessly addicted to this place, 34 visits so far and narrowed the dishes to numbers 105, 201, 203 & 204 just the right qty for 2 dumpling addicts!
Hi Mark-Sadly it was not I there today! Glad to hear that you’re still loving it
I haven’t been to the Din Tai Fung in Sydney but I’ve been the one in the French Quarter of Shanghai. The dumplings there were wonderful so I’m looking forward to seeing how the local version holds up to that.
FANTASTIC FIND<ALL SOUNDS DELICIOUS !!!
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