Din Tai Fung

People probably think it’s strange that I dine at franchise restaurants while visiting other countries. The quick & easy answer is because:
1. Popular Asian franchises in the bay area almost always means an hour plus wait. In other countries, you can walk right in and expect the same/​similar food & better service.
2. I unfortunately have a sensitive stomach so if I need to play it safe, these types of spots are the way to go.
Now, for the food:
The must haves:
— Pork XLB — perfect size, flavor, and a burst of soup at each bite.
— Truffle XLB’s — I love truffle and this dumpling packs a burst of flavor so I do recommend it ONLY if you like truffle. Otherwise it can get quite pricey. Tip: You can order just one dumpling to try!
— Pork fried rice — Delicious seasoning & wok flavor. Simple & simply delicious.
— Hot & sour soup — The most flavorful, well balanced hot & sour I’ve ever had. The silky tofu was also a plus.
The less memorable:
— Spicy wonton — It’s Ok. Order it if you’re dining with a lot of people. Otherwise, you can skip it.
— Shrimp & pork shao mai — So pretty with a lot of potential but again, just Ok. Since they twisted the wrapper, it ends up being too thick of a dumpling.
— Shrimp & pork dumplings — thin silky skin with soup in the center too! Not bad but also not a must order.
Overall, 3.5 stars but rounding up. The best thing here is the XLB’s. Everything else is just OK. If I had to wait in line, I’d be disappointed.

All the way good!!! Came from California to have this!!!
…
.
.
.
.
.
Amazinggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

Love it!
We went twice (once for my birthday), it’s always full so do expect some time before enjoying.
Food is delicious, we ate really a lot and it is nice to see waiters dressed like samurai (I like to think like that) bringing you food.

I once had to barter my first born to reduce my queue time at Down To Fung (my nickname for it) in Seattle; and still had to wait an hour. But here in KL, we strolled right in, no wait at all like some XLB VIP. Y’all know the xia long bao (XLB) is why you come here so no need to repeat that, just wanted to let you all know how blessed you are to be able to come here and not have to barter vital organs/​children to actually get in. Not to mention it’s ¹⁄₃ of the USA price; holllaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Great selection and good quality of food. Service s sometimes bit slow. Huge queues during lunch time — which is good :-)

While the pork truffle dumplings came close to their tantrically successful brothers in Shanghai, experienced last year, service was abysmal. Waited for half an hour to get in and then another 20 mins for food to arrive, even though they took my order while standing in line. The drink I ordered was given to another table by accident. Water was late in coming but then thankfully was provided in great quantity. The bill was also difficult to obtain. Perhaps because I was a solo diner? 1 star for service and 4 for food.

Finally made it to our much anticipated meal at Din Tai Fung. We went to their Pavilion location in KL, and it did not disappoint! I was surprised to learn that they have 5 Michelin stars.
We ate the all famous Xiao Long Bao soup dumplings (we tried both the crab, and the pork/​veggie) and they were great. Delicate wrapper and pure deliciousness inside. We also had a fried shrimp in mayo sauce dish that was good, but not as good the ones we had at Chjimes in SG, so probably would not order again. Steamed buns were tasty.
Topped it all off with some chrysanthemum tea.
Highly recommend!

Was here with J the other day for lunch. Since we were on a ‘diet’, we decided to share. So, as usual, xiao long bao was on the list. After flipping pages over and ove again, we picked the pork with glass noodles soup. Xiao long bao was not as juicy/​soupy as it was. So it’s not up to the standard. :(on the other hand, the noodles were good. Not too bad. Not that oily as we expected *Since there’s pork in it*.
Overall experience: ⁴⁄₅
Service: ⁵⁄₅ (The waiter noticed that I didn’t have a pair of chopsticks as he sat us down. He replaced one pair immediately)
Price Rating: ⁴⁄₅ (Quality is still there)

One of my favourite Chinese restaurants as they always offer good quality chinese cuisine, especially the famous Xiao Long Bao (soup dumpling).
Visited the outlet at Pavilion this evening with family, looking at the long queue, I’m so glad that we made reservation few days earlier as today is a public holiday. As usual the staff are friendly despite the outlet is fullhouse, and whenever you waive your hand to call for order or just to add hot water to tea pot, they will never let your hand hanging in the air for more than a minute, very attentive — good Taiwanese hospitality culture.
We ordered many signature dishes:
— Appetisers: DTF house special and braised vege delight. My mom is a fulltime housewife and went pasar (wet market) and do cooking everyday, if she praises these dishes means they are really good :)
— two types of Xiao Long Bao (pork and crab roe), delicious as usual. But my favourite is still the pork flavour.
— Main meals: braised beef noodle, pork chop fried rice, noodle with minced pork in bean sauce, shrimp wonton, stir-​fried baby spring bean. (Maybe we are too pleased with the xiao long bao and appetisers earlier, the main dish become a bit ordinary: p)
— Dessert: Red Bean xiao long bao (but frankly speaking, I prefer the xiao long bao in savoury taste like the pork flavour).
Well, above sums up a good family dinner.

Service may not be the greatest but omg are those Soup Dumplings amazing. I had heard raves from people from all over the world and had never had the chance to try Din Tai Fung before. During Hari Raya there was a very short line so I got right in and within fifteen minutes had my food.
The Din Tai Fung vegetarian special was very off-​putting but I wasn’t betting on it. I was excited for the chicken soup dumplings. I ordered six dumplings aloing with six veggie dumplings of another kind and both were absolutely delectable. I ended up clearing my plate of soup dumplings singlehandedly and then nearly completing the veggie ones. On my next visit I’ll likely stick to the chicken soup dumplings because they may be the greatest thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting in any country, anywhere. FANTASTIC!

Affordable Chinese food at its best! Din Tai Fung is a place where I like to bring my tourists friends.
For starter, it’s a decent looking restaurant with very obvious oriental touch. Service is amicable but definitely there are rooms for improvement.
The menu is straight-​forward as it’s authentic. Some of the must-​trys include xiao long bao and chinese dumplings. The fried rice and cold chicken are quite delicately prepared. The la mien, handmade by the chefs are tangy and sumptuous! The deep fried yam are too oily to our likings on the other hand.
The only complain we have about this place is it seems like it’s always noisy. Maybe they need better sound proofing system. Otherwise, it’s a solid choice if you are craving Chinese food.

Din Tai Fung has currently the best Xiao Long Bao that softly breaks wonder, I mean soup, into your mouth. Warning: be sure to let the Bao cool down a little first before putting the whole thing into your mouth for the ultimate food pleasure. Alternatively, you can bite it into half, but the soup would run out and you’d get half the pleasure.
Din Tai Fung is one of those upper class Chinese dining restaurants where the portion is smaller and prices are more expensive than usual. Yes, it is expensive, but am not complaining because the food is good. The prawn and vegetable are both fresh. It is more expensive if you choose to order dishes in ala carte (tai chow) to be shared among those present. It will be cheaper if it is just two person sharing a bowl of fried rice or having your own bowl of fried rice. The fried rice is delicious. I would recommend adding some chili paste or flakes to it because their chili paste/​flake is something special on its own.
Besides the appetizers and main course, their desserts are good as well. Let’s just say that they have the whole package. I loved their soft textured Thousand Layer Cake. Best eaten while its still warm.
This particular outlet in Pavilion is bigger than their others, and do have a private area with two round tables at the back for functions.

Yum! Yum! It’s DTF time. Don’t get your acronyms confused. *wink*.
DTF standing for Ding Tai Fun is a authentic Taiwanese restaurant that I would consider pretty exclusive. Getting a seat might cost at least 15 minutes of waiting time. But at least you have a open kitchen to look at. You get to see the chefs hard at work ! Good job, guys!
But once inside, you are welcomed with open arms and smiley faces which is such a rare sight nowadays.
They are famous for their Xiao Long Baos (soup dumplings). So famous that even my friend from Russia asked me about it when he was over in KL. I had the truffle stuffed ones which cost about RM13++ and a bowl of La Mian which was sadly tasteless.
Oh and I definitely recommend the century egg which has the right balance between salty and savory.
Service is efficient, but it takes quite a time for your order to arrive.
It can be quite expensive depending on what you order.

I’m a big xiao long bao fans myself and i was eager to know that din tai fung was opened in pavilion.
There was a very long queue when i visited and i was quite surprised bevause this is actually a quite big outlet and the crowd was crazy.
I finally got my seat after around 20 minutes and after i order my xiao long bao, i was told that i have to wait for another 20 minutes before it’s served. You might think, wow — that’s almost one hour of waiting time in total already, but hey, if that means great and freshly prepared food, by all means make me wait.
And true enough, their xiao long bao and noodles here are never a disappointment. Noodles are made in house as well and i have always like their broth which they use to cook their noodles.
It’s rather spacious in the restaurant but it might get a bit noisy during peak hours.
And, even though the foods here aren’t too cheap, i think they still reflect the foods’ quality fairly.

This place is simply amazing, which explains the 20 minute wait you will probably have to endure if you want to try their amazing Xiao Long Bau (soup dumplings).
The Pavillion outlet doesn’t allow you to book a table ahead, but you can leave your name at the door and go window shopping as you wait. The food is really good, for a reasonable price. My favorites are, of course, the soup dumplings and the steamed pork buns.
The service is ‘ok’. Not great, but the quality of the food definetely justifies the 4 stars!

If you’re a lover of Xiao Long Bao (aka soup dumplings) this is really this best place. I am a connesiour myself and have tried every Xiao Long Bao I can find in KL.
Din Tai Fung has a great Xiao Long Bao recipe but the one card that they hold over everywhere else is the consistency. I can imagine making those little morsels of dumpling goodness take some patience and sings of fatigue can been seen in a lot of other place’s Xiao Long Bao. Some times at Xin Cuisine (another good spot in KL) the dumplings are like Din Tai Fung, neatly constructed and plump and juicy and other times they are a bit sloppy and will break in the tray from poor wrapping. That is really the big no no with these particular dumplings. If it breaks the whole idea of the soup inside is lost.
Aside from those dumplings there are other good things on the menu to try. I like the dumplings in spicy sauce and the braised beef noodles. Again, the good thing about everything here is its consistency. That is what helped them gain so much fame in the world today. It will always be good.
I am not crazy about the service here. There are times when it gets crazy busy and know one knows what is going on. When it gets super crowded I stay away.