Sweet yet spicy cucumber salad, fragrant string beans with garlic, flavorful crab and pork Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings), shrimp & Kurobuta pork spicy wontons, steamed dumplings, and sesame noodles, made for a delicious brunch at Din Tai Fung. If you’re looking for a flavor bomb, then this is a restaurant I can highly recommend. I vouch that the hype is real and I’m sad it took me so long to try this restaurant.
My husband and I frequent the Westfield Century City Mall and witnessed a long line of people outside Din Tai Fung. Seeing the line discouraged us from trying this popular restaurant but it also piqued our curiosity. Luckily, we were able to snag reservations right around opening time and enjoyed the entire experience as eating at this restaurant was worth the wait, and we understood why.
Upon arrival, we were taken to our table and given a paper with a QR code. Similar to sushi restaurants, you select what you want by placing a number next to the item on the menu. We did this on our second visit but during our first visit, our waitress filled it out for us.
We started our meal with the cucumber salad, which was sweet, spicy and had a hint of vinegar tang. It was delicious.
We were warned that the crab and pork soup dumplings had a strong “seafood kick” as it’s made with fresh crab, but we ordered it and devoured it. The crab flavor was tasty and almost overpowered the pork flavor, but I loved it. It’s an acquired taste. As a Filipina-American who grew up eating shrimp paste (Bagoon), the strong flavor was reminiscent of my childhood.
We were told to bite a hole into the soup dumpling and slurp the liquid. We submerged the dumplings in our soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauce. Be careful as the soup can be hot so let the dumplings chill for a bit.
Our friends told us that we had to order the garlic green beans. If you’re a fan of garlic, this dish is for you as they were seasoned perfectly and we couldn’t stop eating them.
The spicy wontons were my favorite dish of the entire meal. We could clearly taste the Chinese Five Spice, the chili oil sauce made our lips tingle, and we couldn’t get enough of it. Even our waitress said she could drink the sauce if given the chance.
The black pepper beef tenderloin was tender, cooked medium rare, and seasoned to perfection with onions, red, yellow, and green bell peppers along with mushrooms. The dark sauce was thick and delicious. My husband and I enjoyed this dish.
We also had the chicken and mushroom buns and they were delicious but my husband and I agreed that we prefer the saucy beef variety. I was so full that I couldn’t finish mine.
On a whim, we decided to try the sesame noodles and while tasty, we felt like we could have done without it. Don’t get us wrong, it was good but we felt like it needed more or a kick of flavor. So, my husband used the sauce from the spicy wontons and poured it into the noodles. He improved it! We ended up taking this dish home “to go.”
We were too full to try any desserts but we loved the black tea peach iced tea since it was refreshing. I opted for a Diet Coke and surprisingly, it paired nicely with the meal.
Overall, if you’ve never tried Din Tai Fung, it’s worth the hype and the long lines. Even my cousin in the Philippines was telling me that the lines wrapped around the building and I told her I saw the same here in Los Angeles, CA. Give this restaurant a try and don’t be like me as I waited years to give a go.
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