Din Tai Fung
Emporium Melbourne, Level 4, 287 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
03 9654 1876
Dumplings, Taiwanese
$$
Food
- Shrimp & Pork Wonton Noodle Soup
- Crumble Chicken Fillet With Noodle Soup
- Xiao Long Bao
- Spinach With Garlic
- Taro Gelato & Golden Taro Bread
- Golden Lava Mini Bun
The Good
The noodles were simply awesome. Silky smooth and cooked to just the right softness, these were undoubtedly some of the tastiest Chinese noodles I've ever sampled, perfect for slurping. This is a great example of simple food done well, a rarity these days.
Visiting Din Tai Fung of course warrants an order of Xiao Long Bao, and expectedly, they were a crowd favourite. Thin and delicate bundle of skin held together a delicious mixture of sweet soup and savoury mince pork. Dipping each dumpling into ginger and vinegar further enhanced the flavours, and each resulting mouthful was like a party in your mouth.
The Gold Lava Mini Buns were simply delightful. A specialty originating from Hong Kong, ripping open the plump yet light bun reveals an exceptionally runny inner that is filled with still-oozing duck egg custard Trust me, this was some next level yolk porn, and with just the right balance of savoury and sweet, these soft, pillowy buns went down the hatch in no time.
We ended the meal with the Taro Gelato & Golden Taro Bread. The Taro Gelato was exceptionally creamy and rich, and reminded me of the ice cream mochi that can be found at most Asian supermarkets. However, the taro flavour was rather subtle and could've been much bolder. The Golden Taro Bread was actually a stick of fried pastry, much like an Italian cannoli. The inner was stuffed full of flavoursome Taro paste, and was well contrasted by crunch and flakiness of the outer crust.
The Mediocre
The Shrimp & Pork Dumplings within the noodles were extremely disappointing. The skin was chewy and exceedingly rubbery, which distracted away from the inner mince. And honestly, there weren't much shrimp to be found within that mixture anyway.
The Crumble Chicken Fillet was also rather unimpressive. While the deep fried batter was crispy and provided a nice crunch, the batter to protein ratio was way off, with the batter doubling the thickness of the chicken itself. Despite being well seasoned, juicy and tender, I just couldn't get past the fact how thin, and how sparingly the chicken was provided.
The Bad
Nothing.
The Verdict
Predictably, the dumplings and buns at Din Tai Fung were the highlight of the meal, even though their menu offers a diverse range of options. Overall though, it was a tasty and authentic Chinese meal, despite being undeniably pricey given the portion sizes.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
Sure. I'd definitely be back for more of their famous Xiao Long Bao and Gold Lava Mini Buns, as they are definitely some of the best you can get in Melbourne.