Din Tai Fung (Breadtalk Ihq)

Lunch was a long queue, even when we arrived later then the normal lunch hour, we still had to wait a good 15 minutes before we got a seat for 5. Its not a large outlet but its crowded and the see through kitchen is very interesting to me as we are always curious what happens inside the kitchen. Chef kneading dough, making dumplings, steaming stuffs and making noodles all seemed super fun to me.

We were given the order chit to make our orders while we waited outside and our appetizers were already waiting for us on our table before we got settled down. Service was fast, though not so friendly but it was fast and efficient. Food was served shortly after we settled and of course tea for all.

1) Oriental Salad in Special Vinegar Dressing (appetizer): was a small dish of chilled seaweed and beansprout tossed in aromatic sesame oil which is both fragrant and refreshing.

2) Sliced Duck in Crispy Spring Onion Pastry (appetizer): is a yummy smoked duck with spring onion in a crispy pohpiah skin. The portion is small and extremely yummy. Loved the clash of taste of the crispy outside and the savoury insides.

3) Steamed Pork Dumplings 小笼包: is something one must have when they visit din tai fung. The skin is thin, almost translucent filled with hot savoury soup from the minced meat inside. You have to pick it up lightly with the 18 pleated top and placed is gently on your soup while to add on a little vinegar and ginger and sip onto the hot soup before you gobble up the entire dumpling. The burst of flavorful minced meat in your mouth while enjoying the chewy texture of the dumpling skin. Superbly yummy!

4) Hot & Sour Soup 酸辣汤: was a simple egg, toufoo and veg soup in a sweet and sour flavor. No wow factor in this and I must say its more of a seh chuan styled soup.

5) Fried Rice with Shrimps & Eggs 虾仁蛋饭: We had 2 versions of this, one just with shrimps & eggs while another with an added portion of pork chop which was heavenly. The rice tasted very yummy, well made and chewy with each rice beautifully coated with the yellowish egg and shrimps so juicy and big while the pork chop added the OMPHHH... factor. Juicy and savoury crispy pork chop with a tender inside tasted super delicious!

6) Stir-fried Dou Miao with Garlic 蒜炒豆苗: Veg is fresh and with a good portion for 5.

7) Chocolate and Red Bean Dumplings (Dessert): Is one of a kind of dumplings, i guess a new creation by the restaurant itself, tasted something in between a mochi and a tang yuan. The skin is tasteless while the gooey insides of chocolate and red bean makes the dinner ends with a sweet note. Its yummy yet funny at the same time. Its nice and different :)

A good lunch for 5 cost set us back at about $110, yet we didn't left feeling so full that we wanna puke. The portion I must say is not big but selections was quite good for chinese dishes. Food was above average, portion we hope could increase a little and price is reasonable. The seats were mostly wooden chairs and table while deco is made up of drift wood and mostly of a chinese retro influence. Loved the open concept yet the neighbouring outlet is actually the Food Republic Food Court. I mean if you dislike it here, you could always hope next door to another world :)