Friday, November 13, 2009

Taiwan chain restaurant Din Tai Fung is a hit in Sydney

Taiwanese cuisine has been inspired by northern Chinese, southern Chinese and Japanese cuisines due to its historical experience.

Din Tai Fung corporate management must have done their research and sums well. A year after its debut in Sydney, Din Tai Fung is proving to be very popular with Aussies from all ethnic backgrounds and tourists. Long queues (seated, standing and wandering) can be seen outside the restaurant all day.


Steamed northern style spicy wanton with pork and vegetable filling wrapped in wheat pastry. Tossed in spicy chilli oil and savoury sauce mixed with endamame (green soy) beans. It has an interesting name - "fry hand". To me, the level of hotness is "medium". However, if you have low tolerance for spicy food, drain away the sauces before eating.
A refreshing appetizer of konbu seaweed salad with strips of tofu, crunchy vegetables and chilli and topped with sesame soy dressing.


Shanghainese spaghetti : zha jiang mian. The sauce is a mix of tangy and spicy flavour. It has chopped tomato (not paste or sauce), tofu, diced pork, ham and spring onion. A little lamian (wheat ramen noodle) fills up the famish easily.


Ain't this wanton cute? Generously filled with minced pork and topped with crab roe in an open face wrapping.


The icon or trademark of northern Chinese food is xiaolongbao 小龍包. They come in two flavours : pork only or pork with crab meat filling. Be careful not to prick and spill the flavoursome stock inside the delicate pastry. Dip in ginger and dark vinegar. Yummy!

Deep fried boneless pork chop probably has its origins in western and Japanese food culture. Crispy and tasty, but a bit too soft and oily for my liking. I still prefer Japanese tonkatsu and Hainan pork chop to this.


The prices are steep in comparison with other northern Chinese eateries in town or the suburbs but you could be sure that the food is fresh due to the high quality control and good turnover.

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1 comment:

Timothy said...

I could do with a Din Tai Fung where I live, there are no chain type Chinese/Japanese restaurants here. I'm hoping somebody notices and opens one up at the one of the Ask restaurant locations, we don't need that many Italian restaurants in one town.