Once I discovered that there was a Din Tao Fun in Los Angeles area, I need to go and try it. Luckily there was once close to us, in terms of Los Angeles standard travel time, well actually two. They decided to build another one next door to the original one as the first one was so popular.
Pork Xiao Long Bao
Really nice Xiao Long Bao. The skins were super thin and the soup just oozed out when you bit into it. Very nice flavoring and seasoning especially with the vinegar and ginger.
Pork & Crab Xiao Long Bao
Also very nice and the one I liked the most out of the two types we tried. You could really taste the crab and was so good with the vinegar, ginger and a bit of chili.
Hot & Sour Soup
This was nice when you added in the vinegar. At first I thought the soup was a bit bland but when you added the vinegar everything was heightened in terms of chili hot and the sources. A nice soup and I was glad it was nice as I always order this when I have Taiwanese food.
Braised Beef Noodle Soup
The messy was cooked beautifully and was nice and tender. The flavoring if the soup was very basic stock but very nice. The important part of the dish were the noodles. The were beautifully cooked and made.
Sauteed Spinach with Garlic
Very simple but effective dish. I had not eaten a lot of vegetables during this trip and I was happy to have the opportunity to eat some. Good amount of garlic and nicely seasoned.
Pork Chop Fried Rice
This was a good dish but better when you at the rice with the pork. It seemed that the pork had all the seasoning and the fried rice did not. Nicely presented.
Shrimp Fried Noodles
Hand made noodles were really nice and the shrinks were of good size and tasted really nice. I had to put chili oil on mine but eating hand pulled noodles are just so nice.
Shrimp Rice Cakes
This also was a nice dish. The rice cakes are glutinous in texture and slightly chewy but I really like them. Good filling that was off good size and fresh.
Red Bean Xiao Long Bao
This was an interesting twist. The red bean was very nice and not too sweet and the skin was thin as well. A great way to finish the dinner, but I also wish we good some taro ones as well.
Overall a very nice meal. The Xiao Long Bao and noodles are just so good. If you want you can watch then make the food and usually there is a wait to get in and be seated. My only qualm is why are the servings so small, even compared to other asian standards. The service we got was fantastic and I can see why this place is so popular.
Website; Din Tai Fung
Trencherman's Travels 