I’ve worked at a lot of places throughout my lifetime.

I’ve worked in retail. I’ve worked for telecommunications companies. I’ve worked for internet start-ups. I’ve even worked for the government (you know the government’s desperate when they hire food bloggers).

However, I’ve never had more fun at work than the two and a half years I spent working for a cinema in the Eastern suburbs. There is nothing glamourous about having movies consistently spoiled, cleaning popcorn off of carpets or dealing with people who like Twilight movies. It was the people I worked with that made it the best job I’ve ever had. I love my current gig but I miss the cast I had around me when I was an usher.

This is why I caught up with a couple of my fellow candy bar dealers at Din Tai Fung today.

Din Tai Fung is the gold standard upon which other dumpling places are judged. It is consistently busy and attempting to bribe staff into giving you a table quickly proves to be a futile experience. My two buddies and I went in the middle of the lunch rush but were fortunate enough to be seated within ten minutes. We were ravenous and were keen to try a few things we have yet to sample along with some old classics.

First, the absolute essential:

The first thing you see when you log onto Din Tai Fung’s Australian website is ‘World’s tastiest dumplings.’

I haven’t sampled every dumpling in the world (that’d be fun) but Din Tai Fung definitely ranks very highly in my books. The dumplings are little pockets of joy filled with rich broth and pork mince. I love the dumplings and very few places have mastered the broth within the dumplings as well as Din Tai Fung has.  You’ve got to be really gentle with these little dumplings as there are few things sadder than puncturing one and having the soup spill out before it can swim around in your mouth.

I cry every time that happens.

Confession: You’re never going to see a recipe blog from me because my only goal when cooking is to make sure whoever’s eating my food doesn’t get sick. I’m not an artist in kitchen nor am I technically proficient. In saying all that, I actually know how to make dumplings because I used to help my mother/grandmother as a kid and the ability stuck with me. This is why I tend to be a little harder on dumplings (and gyoza) whenever I eat out because I know what should go into it.

There’s no need to be harsh in this scenario because Din Tai Fung’s dumplings rank amongst the world’s tastiest.

The biggest addition between these and the xiao long bao is the addition of shrimp for another flavour dynamic. Dig it, 10/10, would devour one hundred if I could.

The pieces of beef that came with the noodle dish were brisket which is one of my personal favourite cuts. It was such a great ensemble cast with long, tender noodles that absorbed the slightly spicy soup. The brisket was extremely tender and layered with fat that just melted in your mouth the way I melt whenever a girl tells me she likes my haircut. The spicy kick that the soup provides is something I enjoyed immensely contrasted with the salty broth within the dumplings.

If you ever notice me not leaving the house, simply grab a large fan and waft the sweet scent of some fried chicken through that bad boy. I love fried chicken as much as Pikachu loves Ash. Din Tai Fung’s chicken was incredibly unique. The batter was very flaky but still had a nice crunch to it. There was chilli powder sprinkled on the chicken as well as a couple of deep fried chillis on the dish so you had the option of adjusting the level of spice you wanted from mild to ‘I’m going to need some milk, pronto.’

This is a great example of an underrated dish that gets overshadowed by its good looking dumpling siblings. Show the chicken some love.

Spoiler alert: We had two dessert courses because…just because, okay? This was our first course and thought it doesn’t sound like it would work on paper; it works on paper and on my taste buds. It’s the same pastry they use with their savoury dumplings but it works with the hot taro innards. I inherited my love of taro from my mother (along with a love of card games, high tolerance for angry people and the ability to wake my sister up like an alarm clock) so this was a winner for me. I would’ve loved for the pastry to have been sweet but hey, I’m just nitpicking.

Yep, we decided to go completely purple with our dessert and there were absolutely no objections. We later discovered that dipping our taro dumplings in the ice cream was a massive boost to the dumplings as it added the sweetness it initially lacked. I loved the ice cream and the spring rolls with sesame were an ingenious way to get some more taro into my belly.

Here’s the TL; DR for everyone who’s still waiting in line for a table:

– I’ve worked everywhere, man. I’m an everywhere man.

– I’m always happy dumping dumplings in my mouth.

– Din Tai Fung might actually have the world’s tastiest dumplings. I’m just glad I happen to live in that world too.

– Taro is the way to my heart. That’ll be in the iFat pop quiz.

Din Tai Fung, CBD

644 George Street, World Square

Opening Hours:

Lunch
Mon-Fri: 11:30am – 2:30pm
Sat & Sun: 11:00am – 3:00pm

Dinner
Mon-Wed: 5:30pm – 9:00pm
Thu-Sat: 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Sunday: 5:00pm – 9:00pm

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