Din Tai Fung at Taipei 101

The only restaurant I wouldn't want to miss in Taipei is Din Tai Fung, an international brand known for its xiao long bao or soup dumplings. We headed out to the Taipei 101 branch during our first day. 

I was impressed with their queuing system: the guests are given numbers according to the number of heads per table. I approached the hostess and she gave me a queue number for me and my two friends. 

We were also given the menu and order form while waiting for our table. Yay for advance orders. :)

bag carrier for each table

We were seated in the area where the servers speak English, just check on the flags pinned on their uniforms. 

We started with the Pork Xiao Long Bao (NT$200 or Php 290 for 10 pcs) and the Steamed Shrimp & Ground Pork Dumplings (NT$240 or Php 348 for 10 pcs). 

Pork Xiao Long Bao

Steamed Shrimp & Ground Pork Dumplings

The Pork Xiao Long Bao is indeed legendary! The dumpling doesn't easily break so you'll enjoy eating it instead of worrying about spilling the soup. It's definitely a must-try! I loved the Steamed Shrimp & Ground Pork Dumplings too, as it almost has the same skin as the Pork Xiao Long Bao. 

We also had Pork Buns (NT$80 or Php 116 for 2 pcs), hoping that it would be phenomenal. 

Pork Bun

Meh. 

For noodles, we had Noodles with Minced Pork Sauce (NT$130 or Php 188) and Noodles with Sesame & Peanut Sauce (NT$100 or Php 145).

Noodles with Minced Pork Sauce

Noodles with Sesame and Peanut Sauce

I liked the simplicity of the flavors of the Noodles with Minced Pork Sauce while the Noodles with Sesame & Peanut Sauce has an interesting nutty taste but I liked the Minced Pork more.

As much as we wanted to try more dishes, we were surprisingly full from all the dishes we ordered. The prices of the dishes were inexpensive and the service is excellent. My only regret was not visiting the original branch in Xinyi Road. 

True enough, a visit to Taipei will not be complete if you'll not visit Din Tai Fung. 

Note: NT$1 = Php 1.45

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Din Tai Fung

B1, No. 45, Shifu Road,

Taipei 101 Mall,

Taipei, Taiwan

http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/

Other locations are Japan, Malaysia, USA, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, HK Macau, Thailand, and Australia