Planning A Trip To Din Tai Fung? This is What You Should Order.
For a foodie in San Diego there are few things as exciting as a new restaurant opening. For many that excitement focused on the latest addition to the UTC mall, Din Tai Fung. Is this a brand new restaurant? No, this is actually one of many locations now in North America.
Din Tai Fung has humble beginnings and perhaps that's why so many people flocked to make reservations during their soft opening in October. They were founded in Taipei, Taiwan 60 years ago and has earned raving reviews for their soup dumplings.
Seeing that I was dying to try out such an iconic restaurant I made my reservation ASAP and still had to wait about two weeks to get in. In the restaurant world that's always a good sign.
Upon arrival to Din Tai Fung we were greeted by very friendly staff who told us to wait a minute while they prepared the table. That gave us enough time to observe the kitchen staff through their giant glass windows as they quickly and effortlessly prepared dumpling after dumpling for the hungry guests waiting in the dining room that seats 200 people.
To start we ordered some of their specialty cocktails the Pear & Lychee Martini and the Shanghai Flame. They were tasty but I'll be honest for $13.50 a piece I expected them to a be a bit stronger. I will probably stick to a glass of wine next time.
Our server knew it was our first time here and she was extremely helpful when it came to deciding what to order. It's all about balance for me these days so I made sure to order the garlic string beans for our veggie side dish. They were packed with flavor and you could tell the produce they used was extremely fresh.
Out of all the different dishes we tried, my favorite was the shrimp and pork wontons. The chili sauce they are served in is so full of flavor. It's a bit sweet, salty and spicy all rolled into one. I could have easily devoured another serving.
The pork fried rice was also another delicious item we ordered. I think it paired perfectly with all of the other items, especially the garlic string beans.
Lastly who could forget to include their classic and world famous soup dumplings. I'll admit I don't think I got to enjoy them at their maximum freshness due to taking photos and being scared I would burn my tongue on the broth. The diagram they have at the table explains how to eat them and I think next time I won't wait too long to consume them when they arrive at my table. Despite them not being as warm as I hoped, they were still amazing.
For my first time experiencing Din Tai Fung I really enjoyed everything overall. If you want to try it yourself I suggest making a reservation ASAP. Looking forward to going back for more soup dumplings and wontons. Thanks for a lovely dinner Din Tai Fung!
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