patrick_y[PuristSPro Moderator]
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Ding Tai Fung, Soup Dumplings in Taiwan; Is It Worth The Hype?
Sep 23, 2014,18:00 PM
Patrick_y visits Taipei and tries out a few of
famous eateries. Seven days and about three kilograms later, Patrick
shares his experiences of the popular eateries in Taipei and sees if they
measure up against the hype. Ding Tai Fung is a famous dumpling house
with multiple locations worldwide. Patrick has visited Ding Tai Fung
locations in Taipei, Tokyo, and Los Angeles and is a purveyor of dumplings
elsewhere.
Ding Tai Fung is the benchmark for dumplings,
perhaps worldwide. Purveyors from
all over the world go to Ding Tai Fungs for lunches and dinners.
A place setting, clean and simple.
First course, served cold. Kao Fu, wood ear mushrooms, bamboo, shitake mushrooms, and green peas drizzled in a light and sweet soy sauce with sesame oil. This was really good. But the portion was rather small, and expensive considering the price.
Vinegar-ed soy sauce with fresh hand-chopped ginger.
Kitchen adopts Western standards for Eastern dishes.
The dumplings are steamed in these bamboo steamers.
Some heritage black and white photography always spices up the place.
A shrimp dumpling in spicy red chili sauce. Decadent shrimp, a skin that was perfect, and a chili sauce that was fragrantly spicy but not overly spicy. I apparently snapped up all of them before snapping a photograph.
Veggies.
Seafood dumplings. Portion sizes aren't very large, so it's easy to control how much you eat.
Soup dumplings with crab! My favorite! You can see the soup through the semi-transparent skin of the dumpling.
An entire trained staff of dumpling Masters. Masters go through a 2-3 year apprenticeship program.
The first step, separating the dough. The dough is precisely weighed for a consistent amount.
How the soup dumpling is made. Four roles (three roles in this photo); one person flattening the dough into a small disc; another person adding the meat filling into the center of the dough disc; and two people closing the dough disc at the top and placing it in the steamer.
You can see the person adding the meat filling in this photo better.
The meal was good, especially the crab and pork soup dumplings. This was a great way to fill up on some soup dumplings in the afternoon so I had more energy and stamina for walking, shopping, and sightseeing.
Thanks for viewing. How do you like Ding Tai Fung? What is your favorite dish? Are you a local in Taiwan? If so, do you find Ding Tai Fung is too much a tourist hotspot? Even if you live outside of Taiwan, is there a Ding Tai Fung in your neighborhood? They're on an aggressive expansion and are now opening stores worldwide!
This message has been edited by patrick_y on 2014-09-23 18:28:20