Din Tai Fung – a household name in Singapore since 2003 – is a popular favourite among locals and visitors alike. Talk about xiao long bao and we all think of Din Tai Fung’s legacy. But more than the little steamed dumplings, all 18 branches around the island sees a perpetual queue, and is the best testament to its consistently good and affordable Chinese food made of premium quality of ingredients.

Photo credit: Din Tai Fung Singapore

Among the 18 locations Paragon’s outlet is the flagship restaurant and it showcases three VIP rooms that can be expanded to accommodate up to 30 diners. It is the perfect venue to celebrate your Chinese New Year reunion dinner with your family and loved ones.

Almost every dish on the menu is good enough to be called a signature, but in this installation, we bring to you the bests of Din Tai Fung (www.DinTaiFung.com.sg), and their Chinese New Year specials to usher in the year of Horse.

We are also giving away 3 sets of S$120 Din Tai Fung dining vouchers and Salmon Prosperity Yusheng (each set worth $168.80), read on to find out how you can win them!

Photo credit: Din Tai Fung Singapore

Lo-hei is a meaningful activity on Ren Ri (the birthday of mankind) on the 7th day of the Lunar New Year (6 Feb 2014), so why not head down to Din Tai Fung tomorrow and do a prosperous toss with the Salmon Prosperity Yu Sheng (S$28.80 for standard, and S$48.80 for deluxe) with your loved ones. After all, what is Chinese New Year without a round of lo-hei and shouting out all the wishes we have? We love Din Tai Fung’s version for its inclusion of crispy yam strips, natural jellyfish, Tian Jin roasted chestnuts and topped with homemade sweet and tangy plum sauce. For something more luxurious, go for Din Tai Fung’s Abalone Fortune Yu Sheng (S$68.80).

Din Tai Fung is synonymous with xiao long baos (steamed pork dumplings). What makes Din Tai Fung’s Steamed Pork Dumplings (S$7.30 for 6 pieces, S$9.80 for 10 pieces) so good – other than its delightfully rich broth, tender and succulent skin, and premium pork filling – is its consistency. No matter which branch you go to, no matter what time you order, every xiao long bao comes with a minimum of 18 intricate folds, and is always excellent like a work of art.

Photo credit: Din Tai Fung Singapore

Each Xiao Long Bao undergoes 6 precise preparatory stages before it is presented to you. Having at least 18 folds on each xiao long bao gives the dumpling the right texture and also helps the skin to hold the generous broth and filling.

Photo credit: Din Tai Fung Singapore

A worthy variation is the Truffle Xiao Long Bao (S$4 for 1 piece, S$19.80 for 5 pieces, $38 for 10 pieces). Nothing quite like biting into a piping hot dumpling that explodes with the aroma and distinct flavour of fresh truffles! We suggest doing without the ginger and condiments – eat it on its own, because it is that good on its own.

No meal at Din Tai Fung is complete without their signature appetisers. Whet your appetite with the Oriental Salad with Special Vinegar Dressing (S$3.80), or more affectionately known as the signature Xiao Cai – a simple mix of beansprouts, julienne seaweed, rice vermicelli and chilli and beancurd strips in a light tangy dressing that boasts a myriad of flavours all in one serving.

The Original Shanghainese Drunken Chicken (S$7.50) is an appetizer that no one can resist. Served chilled, this succulent white meat is soaked in Chinese wine to produce an addictive taste. It is noteworthy that Din Tai Fung’s rendition uses chickens that are specially reared, and only chicken thigh is used for the dish.

We also fell in love with the Green Chillies Stuffed with Marinated Minced Meat (S$7.30) ever since the Singapore team introduced this as a permanent dish two years ago. From what we understood, this is supposedly the Thais’ favourite and was created in lieu of their flagship opening in Bangkok, Central World. But because it is such a hit, and Singaporeans have an incredibly soft spot for spicy food, this dish is here to stay and we love every bite of it!

For more vegetables lovin’, the Crunchy Mini Cucumber in Spicy Sauce (S$4.30) uses the freshest Japanese cucumbers and is a crisp start to your hearty meal.

What we all know as Chao Shou is really the all-time favourite Oriental Wantons with Black Vinegar and Chilli Oil (S$7.80). Definitely a crowd pleaser because every dumpling is a generous serving of minced meat drenched in a kickass sauce. There must be something in the sauce that has us craving for it time and again.

Another crowd favourite is the Crispy Golden Prawn Pancake (S$9.30). Cakes of chopped fresh prawns deep-fried till golden while retaining the juiciness and sweetness of the prawns.

And a bowl of everyone’s favourite Steamed Chicken Soup (S$9.80) is an irreplaceable comfort item in Chinese dining. Simmered for 6 hours, it is made of pure chicken essence and contains 4 different parts of a chicken.

Also a world famous is the Fried Rice with Shrimps and Eggs (S$11.00) – a classic Chinese dish that is so simple, yet made very divine by the chefs at Din Tai Fung. The regulars will be all too familiar with the fragrance of this dish – every grain of the premium Taiwan pearl rice is coated with egg and nicely flavoured with the sweetness of the fresh shrimps.

A good accompaniment for the fried rice is the Stir-fried Dou Miao with Garlic (S$12.00), with every stalk precisely picked at 4-6cm for optimum freshness and taste. Do it plain with the Garlic or with Shrimps. And the best thing is this dish only uses a teaspoon of sunflower oil, bringing out the natural sweetness of the vegetable.

If you have a penchant for heavy flavours, the Special Braised Beef Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket (S$11.50) is a clear winner. The broth is simmered for more than 10 hours with the freshest beef to accentuate the essence of the meat, ideally handmade springy noodles with no preservatives that absorbs the broth with every strand coated with the beef’s fragrance, and most importantly, the tender chunks of beef so generously filling the bowl of goodness.

To end off the festive meal (available now till 28 Feb), indulge in a bowl of Peanut Glutinous Rice Balls (S$6.80 for a bowl of 6 pieces). The Chinese always believe that eating glutinous rice balls signifies family union. These small balls of rice flour and sweet filling is a joyful treat to share with the family, and we really love the peanut soup that is freshly prepared daily.

And of course, because you are at Din Tai Fung, you can also end off your meal with another round of dumplings. Our pick for the sweet dumplings is the Steamed Red Bean Dumplings with Chocolate Lava (S$7.50 for 6 pieces, S$10.00 for 10 pieces), which sounds every bit like heaven and tastes twice as nice as heaven. For this dumpling, Din Tai Fung uses premium chocolate and fine mashed red bean paste from Taiwan.

Before we conclude, just a quick note that prices of the dishes at Din Tai Fung vary at selected outlets.

The Lunar New Year festive specials are available for dine-in or takeaway at Din Tai Fung, from 1 Jan to 28 Feb 2014. For more details, go to www.DinTaiFung.com.sg. Follow Din Tai Fung on their Facebook page and Instagram for more updates.

ladyironchef x Din Tai Fung Giveaway

3 sets of S$120 Din Tai Fung vouchers and Salmon Prosperity Yu Sheng (Deluxe) to be won

1. Like Din Tai Fung’s Facebook page.
2. ‘Share’ this post on your facebook timeline
3. Leave a comment in this post and come up with a creative name for Din Tai Fung’s yusheng in 2015 (Please type in han yu pin yin).
4. Closing date of giveaway: 8 Feb 2014 (2359hrs). Winners will be notified by email.
5. This giveaway is only open to readers residing in Singapore.
6. Redemption of prizes will be at BreadTalk IHQ from 10 – 14 Feb (please take note that the Yu Sheng will only be available till 14 Feb).

Updated on 9 Feb: The winners of the giveaway are Kenneth, Valeri and Felicia.

This post is brought to you by Din Tai Fung Singapore.

By now, I am sure you’d have seen the colourful xiaolongbao from Paradise Dynasty on advertising billboards along Orchard Road as well as the other Singapore Food Blogs that have written about it before.

Paradise Dynasty is one of their newer ventures, and it is conveniently located alongside Taste Paradise on Ion Orchard level four. The question on everyone’s mind: are the colourful creations from Paradise Dynasty the best Xiao Long Bao in Singapore?

The Paradise group of restaurants has been growing rapidly in recent years and they are definitely giving the other Chinese restaurant chains like Crystal Jade, Imperial Treasure, Din Tai Fung a run for their money.

I don’t know about you, but the colourful xiaolongbao with exotic ingredients sound like a marketing gimmick to me. In any case, I decided to drop by and see what the fuss is all about.

Okay maybe It is not exactly fair to compare restaurants directly, but to give you a better picture, Paradise Dynasty is the equivalent of Crystal Jade’s La Mian & Xiaolongbao.

Stepping inside Paradise Dynasty through the narrow entrance, the restaurant interior is not what you’d expect from a causal dining restaurant. And given the fact that most of the items on Paradise Dynasty’s menu are priced reasonably, it is not difficult to understand why they have been doing quite well.

We were here for the colourful xiaolongbao of course. Okay, maybe I need to stop calling them colourful xiaolongbao, let me try again. Paradise Dynasty has 8 signature xiaolongbao flavours: Original, Garlic, Ginseng, Foie Gras, Black Truffle, Cheese, Crab Roe, and Szechuan.

The original starts from $9.8 for a basket of 10, while the exotic premium xiao long bao like the black truffle, foie gras and ginseng are $19.80 for a basket of 10. Since it was our first time here, we went for the sampling basket ($13.80 for the 8 flavours). There were hits and misses. I thought that the Crab Roe and Cheese were surprisingly good, while the Ginseng and Foie Gras were rather bland and I couldn’t really taste anything. The other flavours were decent, but not rock-your-socks-off good.

Besides the steamed pork dumplings, we also had the la mian from Paradise Dynasty.

Why is Japanese ramen more popular than Chinese La Mian?

This question has been on my mind for some time, and I honestly don’t get it. Japanese food is a very popular cuisine, and there are so many Japanese ramen restaurants in Singapore. But when it comes to Chinese La Mian, we do not have many choices, and most people seem to prefer having ramen anyway.

The irony is Japanese ramen originates from Chinese La Mian, yet it is often more expensive. A bowl of ramen is at least $12-$15, while La Mian on the other hand, is usually priced below $10 at most Chinese restaurants.

Anyway I digressed. What I wanted to tell you is the La Mian with braised pork belly ($10.80) from Paradise Dynasty. The broth was rich and flavourful, the noodle springy and the pork belly sublime – in short, it was pretty fantastic. I definitely feel that this bowl of La Mian will not lose out to any ramen.

It is not easy to find a restaurant in Orchard road that serves decent food at affordable prices. Paradise Dynasty fits in very nicely in the local food scene, and I like the fact that the Paradise Group is keeping the other Chinese restaurant chains on their toes.

Paradise Dynasty is definitely a good option if you want to have Chinese food in Orchard road. It is a plus that they are an all day dining restaurant, which means that you can even go there during mid afternoon to have dim sum for high tea. But are the colourful xiao long baos with premium fillings really better than the original one?

I am not convinced.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Paradise Dynasty
2 Orchard Turn, #04-12A
ION Orchard Singapore
Tel: +65 6509 9118

Operating Hours:
Weekdays 11am to 10pm
Weekends 10am to 10pm