Din Tai Fung at City Square Mall

Din Tai Fung is a Michelin-star restaurant, and it was rated by New York Times as the world's top 10 restaurants.  Well, it is a bit strange for me that a Chinese restaurant is being rated by a Caucasian newspaper in the US.  Din Tai Fung is originally from Taiwan, and its original restaurant in Taiwan still offers excellent quality of food.  To Singaporeans, we are lucky that we have our BreadTalk group, and it was BreadTalk that brought the good food of Din Tai Fung to Singapore back in 2003.  There are many branches of Din Tai Fung in Singapore, but all of them seem to have long queues in the evening, especially on Fridays and weekends.  We were at Din Tai Fung City Square Mall on early Friday night, and the place was almost full.

Pork Belly with Garlic (蒜泥白肉), $8.30++

We ordered our favorite pork-belly with garlic as one of the appetizers.  We ordered this dish at Xing Hua Lou too.  Here at Din Tai Fung, individual piece of pork-belly wraps around a piece of cucumber, so for every bite, you can enjoy the rich texture of the pork belly, and the freshness of the cucumber, making the fat less greasy.

Duck Roll (葱香鸭卷), $8.00++

Another appetizer we ordered was the duck roll.  It was a deep-fried dish, and I found it to be too oily for my taste.

Xiao Long Bao, $10.30++

Din Tai Fung is famous for their Xiao Long Bao, so we ordered it too.  The skin was thin but tough enough to hold the filling and the soup inside.  Personally I find their Xiao Long Bao in Singapore is not as nice as that in Taiwan.  I suspect the reason is in the ingredients.  In Taiwan, they can have fresh pork, while in Singapore, we can only have chilled pork.  In addition, the pigs in Taiwan are actually of a better species than the ones we have here in Singapore, resulting in the texture of the pork is different, and the Taiwanese pork is more sweet and fragrant.  If you want to have a taste of their best quality Xiao Long Bao, you still have to go to Taiwan.

Fried Rice with Egg, $8.00++

I had fried rice with egg as my main.  It was the first time I ordered a fried rice here in Din Tai Fung and didn't expect much.  However, it surprised me.  Somehow they made it fragrant, and the texture of the rice was very pleasant to chew.  It was not dry, neither watery, just nice.  I will give them a thumbs up for this simple-looking dish.

Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience.  The service was prompt, and the environment was conducive for a relaxing meal after work.

Master Wang La Mian Xiao Long Bao at North Point City

Had dinner at Master Wang last night, as I had never tried their food before.  It seems they are specialized in Chinese la mian and xiao long bao, plus some dim sum.

Cream Custard Buns, $5.50++

We ordered a plate of cream custard buns as a side.

The buns are really yellow in color, both for the cover and the filling.  The creams inside are good, smoothy softy and not very salty as some other places.

Hand-made Siew Mai, $4.20++

We also ordered a siew mai.  Pork is their filling, without prawn.  Somehow with the absence of prawn, the bounciness of this item is completely lost, so is the rich flavor.   However, it is good for people who can't take prawns.  It is a good alternative.

Xiao Long Bao, $6.80++

For xiao long bao, I ordered the one of original taste.  Well, it is quite a disappointment.  Look at the picture how it looks when it is presented.  Looks like the soup has been leaking all around.  Taste-wise, it is lacking any dominant flavor, almost tasteless.  Comparing with Din Tai Fung's xiao long bao, there is quite a lot of room for improvement.

Ramen with Fresh Prawn Dumplings, $8.80++

I got a ramen with fresh prawn dumplings as my main.  The noodle itself, I think, is hand-made.  It features the characteristic elasticity of this kind of noodle, a bit tougher than your normal noodle, but it is tough in the good sense.   Each dumpling has a full prawn inside, and it just sprints out into your mouth when you have your bite.  Must give them a thumbs up for this.  The soup is on the lighter side, fits my taste.

Chinese herbal chicken soup, $8.80++

The highlight of the meal is their Chinese herbal chicken soup, served in a teapot!  And you pour out the soup into a tea cup and drink the soup like tea.  The ingredients are really simple.  Chicken, gojiberry (枸杞）, red date （红枣）, and huaishan （淮山）, that's all.  Put all the ingredients together and boil for a few hours, and you get that super taste soup.  They got it right for this dish.

Overall, the food is quite decent, the service is acceptable, and the price is reasonable.