Din Tai Fung Welcomes the Year of Rabbit

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Sun 22 Jan 2023 - Sun 05 Feb 2023

Nestled in the outdoor section of World Square, Din Tai Fung can be found, and with Lunar New Year still in full swing, it's still possible to try out their mouth-watering Lunar New Year dishes that will entice the senses and fill up the belly. They continued their yearly tradition with each dish created with auspicious meanings behind them. The feast consists of zodiac buns (Rabbit-shaped Buns), the Prosperity Toss Salad (Yusheng), the Fried Whole Barramundi with Chilli Sauce (Abundance), Dumplings and Spring Rolls (Good Fortune), Seafood Noodles (Longevity), and Extra Crispy Lobster with XO sauce.



Décor/Ambience:Upon arrival, we were greeted by the friendly and professional staff and taken to our table. The restaurant was bursting with patrons feasting on Chinese delights.The restaurant is quite spacey with "split-level" dining areas. The main lower section is open-spaced with plenty of tables, while the slightly higher level (one step) is intimate and offers a more "closed-in" dining experience. We sat at the higher level, which was not overly crowded and offered a relaxing vibe, as the lower level was quite loud and busy.The décor is simple yet lovely, with the intimate section being closed off with glass walls with Chinese writing, while the main dining area had a mural that featured different-sized bamboo steamers. This was quite fitting, considering dumplings are one of the menu's favourite items.



The Menu:The Lunar New Year Menu featured something for everyone, from dumplings to salad, seafood and more.The permanent menu includes an extensive range of dishes from dumplings to hot foods such as small sharing plates, soups, stir-fries, seafood, vegetarian options, dry and stir-fry noodles, dumplings, assorted fried rice, and desserts.There is also a wide range of drinks, including jasmine tea, soft drinks, juices, mocktails and cocktails, beers, wines, and more.
The Rabbit Buns are also frozen for sale so you can enjoy these treats from the comfort of your home. See instore for more details.



Food:The food from Lunar New Year Menu we ordered was the Rabbit Buns with Crunchy Chocolate Biscoff ($9.80) and the Prosperity Toss Salad with Smoked Salmon (Yusheng) ($38.90). From the permanent menu, we ordered Spicy Shrimp & Pork Wonton ($14.50), Shrimp & Pork Wonton with Special Shallot Sauce ($13.90), Chicken Dumplings ($14.50), Pork Dumpling (Xiao Long Bao- $15.90), and BBQ Pork Bun ($3.90 per piece).



The Prosperity Toss Salad (Yusheng) took us by surprise. This towering "kaleidoscope" salad was packed with colours, flavours and textures and took us on a Chinese culinary journey like no other.It was a gigantic bowl of culinary characteristics that featured fifteen lucky ingredients, finished off with housemade special sweet and tangy plum sauce.



The step-by-step instructions on making the salad were fun to read and helped create the traditional salad. First, we added the fresh smoked salmon, followed by the ingredients listed on the step-by-step sheet, and we each tossed the salad. The crunchiness from the cabbage, lettuce and fried crackers added a great texture and, combined with the other ingredients, created a wonderland of texture, flavour and freshness. The flavours teased the taste buds from the sweet, tangy, salty zest and awakened the senses. It is undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser.



The Spicy Shrimp & Pork Wonton featured six perfectly cooked wontons. The wonton mixture was bursting with well-balanced flavours and a delicate, smooth, elastic texture. Combined with the spicy soup, the dish was a flavour overload! The spicy soup had hints of chilli and all the aromatic flavours; however, I would have liked it to be a little spicier.

Overall, this dish was packed with flavour and a delicious well-seasoned filling, and once dunked in the spicy soup, the dish was taken to a new level of deliciousness.

The Shrimp & Pork Wonton with Special Shallot Sauce was just as tasty as the spicy shrimp and pork wonton. The sauce/soup combined delicate yet punchy flavours and complimented the shrimp and pork wonton well.

The sauce/soup featured an abundance of flavours, from shallot and ginger to soy sauce, which created an irresistible fragrance and added depth to the wontons when eaten together.

Chicken Dumplings were next to arrive, and these dumplings were slightly disappointing. They lacked flavour and were quite bland, with just a chicken taste. They were seasoned well. However, they needed an aromatic to create the Chinese culinary flavours, such as hints of ginger or chives. Overall, the dumpling casing was cooked well, and the mixture needed hints of aromatics to make it an enjoyable dumpling.



Pork Dumpling (Xiao Long Bao) is one of my favourite dumplings, and I had my fair share of these delicious babies, and at Din Tai Fung, they nailed this humble dumpling. They were juicy and packed with flavour, and the broth inside was rich, well-balanced with a slight sweetness and umami flavours and well-seasoned.The pork filling didn't lack any seasoning and was just as flavourful as the broth.

The final savoury dish was the BBQ Pork Bun. The BBQ Pork Bun filling was loaded with classic pork bun flavours of saltiness, sweetness and texture, all wrapped in a pillowy, fluffy and extra-soft bun that melted in the mouth.

The pork mixture and the pillowy bun were the perfect marriage of flavours and textures.

We ended our feast with the cute Rabbit Buns with Crunchy Chocolate Biscoff. These buns were not just cuteness overload. They were delicious too!The chocolatey and biscoff goodness was encased in a pillow-soft bun, making these adorable buns a delightful dessert.

The melted chocolate with hints of biscoff created a cheeky wickedness dance that teased the palate for more. It was undoubtedly an indulgent and addictive dessert.



Overall, our culinary experience was fantastic. The atmosphere was buzzing with hungry patrons, the aromas of great food filled the air, the staff were all friendly and professional, and the food was mouth-watering.Be sure to visit before the 5th of February 2023 and feast on the Lunar New Year menu.

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#january
!date 22/01/2023 -- 05/02/2023
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