Healthy Food: Din Tai Fung: Chinese New Year at World Square, Sydney (2 Feb 2011)

Corner of Liverpool, George and Pitt Streets, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.worldsquare.com.au

Din Tai Fung

World Square Shopping Centre
Level 1, Shop 11.04 , 644 George St, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.dintaifungaustralia.com.au

Kung Hei Fat Choi

Thanks to Alana Chetner from PPR for inviting me along to see the crowd stopping of the award winning stilt-jumping lion dance troupe, Jin Wu Koon followed by a generous banquet style lunch at Din Tai Fung. The stilt-jumping was very impressive and I couldn’t believe how high they stood above the enthralled crowd below. The deafening drum and cymbals certainly woke up the shoppers throughout the World Square as the lion dance troupe paraded past shops, up and down escalators and collected ceremonious lettuces along the way including outside Din Tai Fung. Hot Dollar even gave a red packaged donation outside their store — let’s hope it was more than a dollar. Check out the video below of the lion dance through Din Tai Fung to the delight of customers — all cameras were quickly out to capture the festivities.

After running along side the fast paced lion dance it was time for a refreshing Lychee mint juice ($6) and what may be considered Sydney’s most precise looking dumplings. I’ve previously tried the Pork Dumpling Xiao Long Bao ($10.80 8 pieces) when they first opened and to be totally honest I thought back then the filling wasn’t as flavoursome as the cheaper Sea Bay Chinese Dumpling on Pitt Street, Chinese Noodle Restaurant in Haymarket or Shanghai Night in Ashfield. I’ve since been told that being Taiwanese in style they can tend to be a bit bland compared to others so it definitely helps to make a dipping sauce of your choice from fresh ginger, vinegar, soy sauce or chilli oil to excite the taste buds. I did however discover the Prawn & pork wonton dipped in a spicy sauce ($8.80 6 pieces) which were comparatively bursting with flavour and reminded me of the Zi-Zhuan dry wonton I once enjoyed from Shanghai Night — I'd definitely have these again.

Our banquet continued with so many dishes including a fairly peppery Hot & Sour soup with shredded pork ($7.80 regular), tender Calamari rings lightly battered ($7.80) and a light and slightly crunchy textured Din Tai Fung Vegetarian Delight salad ($3.80). Other precisely made dumplings were the Crab Meat & Crab Roe with Pork Dumpling ($17.80 8 pieces), Vegetarian Jiao Zi ($8.80 6 pieces) and Prawn & Pork Packed in a Parcel Shao Mai ($9.80 4 pieces) which seemed to hold the most broth inside. By this time everyone was getting quite full mainly due to the very hot weather but mains were still to be served. The tasty and crispy coated Crumbed Chicken Fillet ($7.80) was probably my cholesterols worst nightmare. An unusual combination of Jumbo Prawns with Pineapple ($22.80) seemed to work but I probably would have enjoyed it more without the liberal use of mayonnaise looking white sauce on top. The Sesame Noodle ($10.80) was certainly more mild than the Dan Dan Noodle ($10.80) although I think I’d prefer the noodles in a soup which would have made the dish less sauce heavy and to help keep the noodles from clinging together. The challenging looking Silken Tofu with Pork Floss & Century Egg ($6.80) is certainly an acquired taste — I still have yet to fully appreciate it as I’m not used to eating pork floss but it does have its fans.

A refreshing Watermelon juice ($5.50) helps wash down the savouries in preparation for desserts. I think the Golden Red Bean Bread ($5.80 2 rolls) is worth trying if you like red bean which I prefer to the less sweet Golden Taro Bread ($5.80 2 rolls) although one must wonder why they serve them with a piece of parsley on the plate. My Asian/Western combo of Green Tea and Cookies & Cream ice cream ($6.80 2 scoops) is probably sacrilege and I’d probably have one or the other next time or the Black Seasame ice cream ($3.80) on its own. The service was pretty efficient and at times was hard to keep up with the pace of the dishes being served.

Other food blog reviews:

• Food, booze and shoes

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Free festival samplings in The Square until 11 Feb (check website for event details), Precisely made dumplings, Interesting selection of dishes, A good place for sharing dishes

CONS: Dumplings aren’t particularly robust in flavour, Prepare to wait for a table when busy, Shanghainese style Drunken Chicken and Triple Mango Crushed Ice were sold out

MUST TRY: Lychee mint juice, Prawn & pork wonton dipped in a spicy sauce, Pork Dumpling Xiao Long Bao to compare to all others, Golden Red Bean Bread

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