Without a doubt, I knew I had to go to Din Ti Fung in Taipei. However, which one should I try? There are so many branches. So I decided to do the tourist thing and go to the Din Ti Fung in the Taipei 101 building. I don’t know why I thought the Din Ti Fung eatery would be on the fourth or fifth floor of the shopping area. However, I discovered it was in the basement next to all the other food court eateries. However, having it in the basement did not diminish how busy it was and how long the wait time was.

So, I went around 4 pm and waited for 45 minutes to be seated (which is pretty boring when you are travelling on your own or planning to eat by yourself). Once my number was called, I was taken to my seat by one of the robots that moved around the restaurant. However, when I got to my section, someone met me and took me to my table.

At Din Ti Fung, you have to order via the QR code that is on a piece of paper you get given. So I went online and ordered my food where, for the first time in my life, I was classified as a European as the menu was in English. Maybe Din Ti Fung needs to work on a better way to organise people in the languages they speak. 

There were so many things that I wanted to try, and I ended up ordering quite a bit of food. Of course, I had to order the pork Xiao Long bao. I also ordered the pork chop fried rice, shrimp and pork wontons with house soy sauce and the golden lava buns. The pork chop came out first, and I have to say I have had better. However, the dish was still delicious. The pork was tender and not overpowering in flavour, and the fried rice was good but slightly bland. The wontons came out next. I initially thought I ordered the ones with chilli sauce, but unfortunately, I didn’t. However, they were still delicious. I did wish, though, that there was a bit more filling, but I did like the skins of the wonton as they were slightly more on the thicker side than usual skins.

Next came the pork Xiao long bao, and these were good. And obviously, you can tell that there is a lot of training done to make these. The soup was very tasty, and the filling was soft and melted in your mouth. The skins were super thin, and I was scared that I would break them before I could eat them. I also ordered some truffle and pork Xiao long bao after finishing everything as I felt like a little bit more. Thankfully, you can buy these as an individual or up to 5 in a serving, so I just got three. It was recommended not to have them with vinegar or ginger and to have them alone. When I first had one, I could not believe the flavour of such a small dumpling. I loved the truffle flavour; the pork was so melt in your mouth texture, and the skin was so thin. Unfortunately, when eating Xiao long bao, you need to be patient. You have to wait at least a few minutes before you eat them when they arrive at the table, as if you eat them immediately, you will definitely burn your mouth.

The last thing that I had was the golden lava buns, which are also known as the salted egg yolk buns. You definitely have to wait at least 10 minutes before you eat into them. As the name suggests, they are lava-hot inside. I foolishly only waited about five minutes, and I cautiously bit into it. However, after my second bite, being confident, I burnt my top lip on the golden lava. However, these buns are so good. The saltiness versus the sweetness of the filling works perfectly and is a great way to end a nice but full dinner.

Website: Din Tai Fung