Dim Sum Fun at Din Tai Fung

I love dim sum – I could eat those little parcels of goodness all day, every day (although fortunately for my hips I don’t).  You’d think that a nation with a lot of Chinese influence and a big Chinatown area would be swimming in dim sum and yum cha options, but my earlier forays have left me disappointed.  To this day, the best yum cha and dim sum I have had has been Grand Harbour in Auckland – do not forgo a chance to try it.

Fortunately we were introduced to Din Tai Fung by our friends Sophie and Dean.  It doesn’t serve yum cha, but it does have consistently delicious dumplings and some of the best fried rice I have tasted.  There is always a queue (testament to how good this place is) but I don’t mind because the wait is fascinating.  They’ve walled the kitchen areas in glass so you can watch the team at work as they prepare the dumplings.  It’s meticulous work – each stage of the dumpling process is executed to perfection: rolling out the wrappers, filling and sealing the parcels.  Each is done by one person and they even have trainee tables where junior staff learn the perfect rolling method.  You can see them practicing first without a rolling pin or wrapper (just to get the motion right), then with a pin and finally with the wrapper itself.  They also have quality control where occasional dumplings are weighed to ensure consistency of filling.  I’ve never seen anything like it!

As consistent as ever, Sunday’s lunch was delicious.  Dumplings, pillow-y pork buns, dan-dan noodles, vegetarian delight, hot and sour soup and egg-fried rice.  Let’s not forget the jasmine tea to wash it all down.

Spicy dumplings



A mountain of dumpling goodness



Pillow-soft pork buns

Vegetarian delight is... delightful

Always a queue