Din Tai Fung

Having a good dumpling house (here it’s called yum cha as opposed to dim sum) in your city of residence is a must. There's nothing better than sitting down at the table and immediately being confronted with food speeding past, carts crashing into your seats and, every once in a while, the charm of being purposely ignored. This was our typical experience when visiting our favorite NYC spots.

Since living in Sydney, I had visited a few yum cha restaurants but had yet to find a favorite until last week when Josh and Russell introduced us to Din Tai Fung, an offshoot of a "legendary Taiwanese chain" (which apparently has several locations throughout the world, including LA). Since, a new relationship has flourished. 

While they are lacking the carts, the personality, charm and flavor are there in full force. You can watch an almost factory like group of workers in their white hats and their surgical masks prepare your food through a large glass window as you wait for your table number to be called. This definitely spurs the appetite. 

"This is state-of-the-art dumpling production. The skill in creating firm, elastic, transparent dough skins of the exact same size and thickness, which don't tear or unravel, requires discipline and extreme quality control." You can almost taste the steam that muddles the kitchen space as you mark your order on the menu (which gets served almost immediately after being seated = love that).

I can't stop thinking about the pork soup dumplings, the garlic string beans and the sesame and red bean ice cream. I will definitely be paying many more visits. It is a high recommendation for those Sydney yum cha lovers...