My wife and I agreed that a stroll around the UTC Mall on Memorial Day to check out the new stores would be fun and having lunch here would be the icing on the cake. My wife made a reservation on Yelp at around 10am for lunch at 1pm. We were in no hurry and after parking on the top level outside Nordstrom just after 12.30pm my wife received a text that our 1pm reservation was on. It only takes 5 minutes to walk here from the carpark so we stuck our heads inside a couple of new stores on the way.
When we arrived at Din Tai Fung at 12.55pm there was a bit of line in front of the hostess desk manned by Christine. I took a look inside and the place was absolutely packed out . . they must fit 300 people in here I’m sure. After confirming we had arrived for our 1pm lunch date my wife and I waited inside until a food runner named Andy came for us at 1.15pm and lead us to a table booth for 2 at the far end of the restaurant. We were quite impressed with the efficient operation and very polite staff !
After having a very enjoyable lunch here a few weeks ago on our first visit we decided to be more adventurous this time. I knew straight off the bat I had to try one of their Mango Smoothies which I eyeballed a lady enjoying last time. Andy the food runner gave us a tip when ordering our meals after we told him what we probably wanted. And it was a very helpful tip ! A very polite and well spoken server named William came by to take our lunch order and boy was he a ton of help !
My wife knows Asian cuisine way better than me so I tend to go with the flow. I got my Mango Smoothie order in and my wife ordered Crab & Kurobuta Pork Dumplings plus Shrimp Fried Rice. I decided on Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Wontons with Spicy Sauce and a Bowl of Noodles . . this was Andy’s tip as after I have eaten the Wontons I can load the Noodles into the remaining sauce. What a great idea & only $4 extra ! My Mango Smoothie came our first and tasted so creamy & full of subtle Mango flavor.
Very shortly different food runners started delivering various parts of our lunch order until finally our little table looked like a banquet for a Chinese Emperor. We usually share our meals but the spicy sauce with my Wontons had a little too much kick for my wife’s taste . . the sauce was just right for me actually. I had a couple of the Crab & Kurobuta Pork Dumplings and they tasted very delicate. I had some of the Shrimp Fried Rice and it was so perfectly cooked . . food for an Angel ! My Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Wontons tasted pretty good and then I dumped the Noodles in the remaining spicy sauce and got stuck into that. It tasted very nice for such a simple & inexpensive dish !
Caspar the friendly restaurant GM came by our table to have a chat with us. He was pretty stoked that we loved his restaurant with it’s incredible food and impeccable service. My wife needed to take some of her lunch home so William took care of getting it boxed up. And we had to try something for dessert . . Chocolate Dumplings sounded good. A food runner brought them out pretty quick and advised us to let them cool down a tad before we tucked in.
They tasted very delicate with luscious melted chocolate inside. After this 2nd lunch visit we could clearly see now why this classy restaurant chain is so popular. My goodness some of their locations have been awarded Michelin Stars and the Sydney & Melbourne locations in Australia are going lights out ! All their staff have been meticulously trained and their delicious food is expertly prepared & cooked by highly skilled kitchen artisans. We loved the experience !
