CHASING FOOD DREAMS: Din Tai Fung, e@Curve: World Famous Din Tai Fung Opens Fourth Outlet in Malaysia!

An all-time favorite dumpling and La Mian showed up at e@Curve!

An award-winning Taiwanese restaurant, whose specialty Xiao Long Bao received worldwide recognition, Din Tai Fung has officially opened its fourth outlet at e@Curve in Mutiara Damansara in February this year. Located at the ground floor of e@Curve, the restaurant is easily seen with its signature brand name recognition.

With its signature motif design, this outlet showcased its front restaurant in pistachio green. I do like this color for its uniqueness and it certainly attracted my attention!

What caught me by surprise was the ultra adorable mascot of Din Tai Fung located outside the restaurant holding the quintessential basket of Xiao Long Bao! With a head of Xiao Long Bao and a cute red apron, who can resist this cutie? J

The interior had dark wood mixed with natural colors of beige and cream for contrasting effect. Love the painted walls that feature images of art pieces and incorporation of its cabinet panels. Curvy booths and long tables blend into the interior design of the whole restaurant, making it elegant and contemporary with a touch of Chinese influence.

No longer a stranger at Din Tai Fung, we knew what we wanted to savor that night. Appetizers are always a welcome sight here so we proceed to enjoy some of its signature pieces.

Pickled Cucumber may sound unpretentious but it’s a juicy appetizer to start your meal with! Sweet, savory and a hint of spiciness, the pickled cucumber is crunchy and so juicy that it will burst with lots of juices in your mouth. A nice way to whet the appetite!

House Special Appetizer is another signature to look out for. Expect a good balance of spicy, sweet, sour and savory flavors for this coupled with lots of texture.

We decided to try a new one in the form of Stewed Beancurd with Honey Sauce. This one surprised everyone as we all liked it very much. Sweet and tender beancurd puff was braised in a delectable fragrant sauce together with bamboo shoot, black wood ear fungus and edamame beans. Another favorite of mine was Red Wine Cherry Tomatoes which we were told that it is no longer available due to the complexity of the dish. I hope they will bring that back one day simply because it is my favorite appetizer at Din Tai Fung. Read about it here.

Another noteworthy one is the Spicy Shrimp Pork Wanton in the menu. The juicy dumplings are accompanied by a spicy sauce which makes this wanton delicious in a spicy way.

House Special Steamed Chicken Soup was a soothing soup to warm us up for the dumplings. The broth was simply brimming with chicken essence and tender pieces of chicken. Double-boiled for hours, it is simply chicken soup for the soul!

The exquisite dumplings came and we savored the precious 18-folds Xiao Long Bao happily! Ever so consistent in flavors and presentation, one can expect nothing but pleasurable bites after bites of porky broth and meat. Quality control is definitely a plus point for Din Tai Fung as the Xiao Long Baos are always juicy with thin skin and succulent broth.

A light dip in black vinegar and soy sauce with shredded fresh ginger completes the near perfectness of the infamous Shanghai dumpling!

To those who seek a little luxury, the Truffle Xiao Long Bao is filled with the lavish mixed of white and black truffle, a delicate and aromatic fungus, among the meat and broth for an earthy aroma. Simply enjoy this dumpling as it is for best results!

A first for me, the Mushroom Vegetarian Dumpling was decent and delicate in flavors. Made with a filing of minced mushroom, Bok Choy, black wood ear fungus and beancurd, the flavors are earthy and a little sweet with a little bite from the fungus. A nice one for vegetarian… J

From dumplings to La Mian, there are various soups and sauce to accompany the hand-pulled noodles. A house signature, Pork Chop La Mian, featuring a big and thick piece of fried pork chop served with La Mian in a simple clear broth. The noodles are silky smooth against the light broth and it’s quite comforting at slurping up the unpretentious noodle.

We removed the pork chop from the soup and enjoyed the thick lean piece of fried marinated pork. It’s quite savory and tender on its own. I don’t mind ordering this alone for some enjoyment.

I liked the Hot & Sour Soup La Mian! The fairly thick potage of hot and sour soup filled with shredded pork, beancurd, black wood ear fungus, bamboo shoot and other ingredients, was velvety and bursting with loads of flavors and textures. The plain noodles went well with this potage and I even added a little chili oil to the noodles for extra kicks. In fact, the spicy and sour potage made the noodles slippery smooth and good for slurping!

Glass Noodle with Beancurd and Pork Roll was a bit too light in flavors for my likings. While not too impressive, there were no faults on this but simply not to my preferential taste compared to other La Mians in the menu.

Braised Beef Soup La Mian is delicious! I enjoyed the beefy flavors of the broth with a spicy touch and the tender pieces of beef that came with the hand-pulled noodles. The broth was so warming despite the spiciness while the flavors had a good balance of beef with hints of spices and some sourness. Yum!!

Besides the noodles, fried rice is another popular choice at Din Tai Fung. From the many times of savoring their various fried rice, I have to admit that the fried rice is executed very well with the distinctive work heat. Shrimp Fried Rice was quite heavenly with loads of fluffy egg, shrimp and spring onion. Sweet and savory, the rice is also fluffy and moist.

Never knew why I didn’t think to order Baby Green Beans before but I should have. Crunchy sweet baby green beans were cooked with minced pork and garlic. Very aromatic and goes really well with white rice to savor the salty flavors of the dish!

We were told that the House Special Tofu had the restaurant’s homemade spinach beancurd. A beautiful dish with lots of egg flavors in the silky beancurd lying on sautéed spinach, mushroom and covered in a deep golden brown oyster sauce. The beancurd has a velvety melt-in-the-mouth texture which I really enjoyed. A dish that fits all ages… J

We ended our meal with simple Red Bean Dumplings steamed. Using similar dumpling skin, the filling of red bean paste provided a sweet touch. Simple and enjoyable as the red bean paste was creamy and smooth!

Din Tai Fung has never failed me on any occasions and continues to provide its diners with multiple altitudes of scrumptious Xiao Long Bao and delicious hand-pulled La Mians. One can expect great consistency of quality and flavors throughout their outlets. I patronized Din Tai Fung when I crave for dumplings and la mian during family outings as my family enjoys this as much as I do. With the newest outlet at e@Curve, this simply makes it easier for me to head there for some comfort fare of my favorite dumplings and la mian!

Din Tai Fung The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City

Lot LG-207, Lower Ground Floor

Tel: 03-2283 2292

Business Hour: 10am-10pm

Din Tai Fung Pavilion KL

Lot 6.01.05, Level 6

Tel: 03-2148 8292

Business Hour: 10am-10pm

Din Tai Fung Empire Shopping Gallery

Lot G-15, Ground Floor

Tel: 03-5022 2522

Business Hour: 10am–10pm