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Friday 5 August 2016

Revisit: Din Tai Fung @ Pavilion

It's been a while since I last stepped into Din Tai Fung @ Pavilion, an award-winning restaurant of Taiwanese origin (with Din Tai Fung's Hong Kong branch being awarded one Michelin star).

With its latest accolade of Innovative Restaurant 2014/15 at the 19th Malaysia Tourism Awards, this restaurant is set to continue with its legendary status as an exquisite dumpling house.  And that was exactly the case (even now) since the place was packed to the brim with loads of customers (surrounding the place) waiting for seats (and an almost unobstructed snapshot of the place was near impossible).

But I wasn't here for their legendary dumplings this time (you can read that in my previous post here).  The intention for this latest visit of mine was to try the three new dishes they introduced recently (in May).

The first dish to arrive was their Noodles with Mushrooms & Egg Tofu @ RM15.50.  Although this wasn't one of the three new dishes, it was still a relatively new dish that was introduced late last year.  The bowl was filled with loads of fresh shimeji mushrooms, shredded bamboo shoots and tofu in a heartwarming light broth.  

Initially, when the bowl of noodles arrived, I saw only one piece of tofu....and I thought...yikes! O_o  Then I dug into the bowl and found four...phew!  The pre-fried silken tofu pieces were silky-smooth and very tasty.

If you're in the mood for something with a delicate and subtle flavour (ie. "ching" or light tasting), then this soup noodles will be a good choice for you.

The next dish that came was one of their three new dishes, Steamed Chilli Crab & Pork Bun @ RM5.90 per pc (RM17 for 3 pcs).  Even though I ordered only one piece to try, it was still served in their usual big ass bamboo steamer....this was one lonely looking bun! :D

Let me show you the inside of the bun....basically it was just a minced pork ball with a barely-there flavour of crab and a very faint taste of chilli.  I was glad I ordered only one....it's not something I'll have again.

But the biggest lure for me to visit was the appetiser of Taiwanese Century Egg @ RM8.90 served with some pickled ginger.  I can absolutely devour more than one plate of this (and wished there was more of that pickled crunchy ginger on the plate).  I actually expected this to be served first, seeing that it's an appetiser, but it was the second last dish to arrive which totally didn't make any sense to me coz all that's needed is to peel the eggs, cut them and put some ready-made pickled ginger on top...that's it, no cooking required whatsoever! >_<

If poached eggs are perfect with runny yolks, then this is its equivalent...perfect century eggs with runny yolks.  Just look at that luscious yolk dripping down onto the plate...I adored the creamy consistency! ^o^  In fact, judging from the wedges of the egg, some of the yolk must have been lost when it oozed out while they were being cut...drat! 

The last of the three new dishes, the Yam Paste with Gingko Nut @ RM9.90 I didn't try coz I'm not a fan of gingko nuts or something with a pasty, gooey consistency (though I have an affection for yam).

I absolutely love the Steamed Chicken Soup here and wanted to try their newer Truffle Chicken Soup but had a change of mind when I saw the price...RM35....and for such a small bowl! >_<  But if it's any good like the Truffle Xiao Long Bao (XLB) I had previously, then it's probably worth the price (perhaps some other time).

Only after I've finished eating my main (noodles) + all the other dishes did our other main, the Pork Chop Fried Rice @ RM21.50 finally appear.  Still as good as last time, the only difference I see is that the pork chop is no longer served separately.

The Lemongrass with Lime Juice @ RM10.50 was bright and refreshing, slightly sweet but with a good dose of lemongrass flavour.  The big stick of lemongrass enhanced the flavour further and also acted as a stirrer.  The other drink was a plain Soya (Cold) @ RM7.

The condiments you find on the table like vinegar, soya sauce and chilli oil are also available for purchase at their payment counter.  I noticed their vinegar is no longer dark coloured like it used to be but more like rice wine in colour.  It seems the chilli oil is sold at RM25 a bottle...thank you but no thanks...not because of the price..but because I don't like their chilli at all.

My Personal Opinion

Although I'm glad that the standard of the food has been maintained, the service from the kitchen was far from smooth.  The waiting period for our food leaves much to be desired and, if you want to eat here, do not expect your food to arrive in the right order that it should be.  It all depends on how busy each individual food station is (steaming station, noodles station, frying station, etc.) with their orders as they seem to churn out food independent of each other.  I guess if you choose your timing wisely (like during non lesser peak times), hopefully you may end up with a much better dining experience. ^_*

But having said that, the food is still good, some decent but mostly good...plus it still serves one of my favourite XLBs.  The only downside, their prices seem to have risen quite significantly but their portions still remain small...even a vegetable dish of pea shoots ("tau miew") can cost RM26....haiz!

Din Tai Fung Restaurant
6.01.05 Level 6 Pavilion KL
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
51000 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2148 8292

15 comments:

  1. I've been meaning to go back to the one at 1-Utama to try out other things that they have like their noodles and fried rice. That Steamed Chili Crab and Pork bun is so pricey at RM5.90 per piece and so not worth it since there's hardly any crab in there. That century egg I wonder if it is chicken or duck egg. I prefer duck egg because the yolk is creamier and runny. So far I have not come across century chicken eggs with runny yolk. One plate is not enough for me hee..hee....

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    1. Should be duck egg cos chicken egg won't be as nice.

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    2. Since you've not come across century chicken eggs with runny yolk before, and the yolk was indeed creamy, so this must have been duck eggs. I'm not sure if I've ever had one made with chicken egg before (or be able to differentiate between the two if I did) since most of the ones I've had before usually comes with creamy yolks (probably those in "peidan" porridge come from chicken eggs).

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  2. When one red bean mooncake can costs rm26 for a piece NOT A BOX, I guess that price for a plate of pea shoots is ok seeing vegetable is always more healthy to eat than moon cakes though you may say mooncake is harder to make. Both are hard for me since I am as lazy as can be but anyone can make good mooncakes if they put their minds to it just like my mother did.

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    1. You'll understand why I say it's expensive when you see the portion size.

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  3. Guess can still eat at DTF if don't mind to pay the high price. I wonder if they will layan if ask them to serve the century egg whole, don't cut it at all, hehehehe.

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  4. This is one of the places I like to take visitors from overseas. They like to see the dumpling making in the window before we go in.

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    1. Yeah, the dumpling making process (those exquisite 18 folds) can be quite fascinating to watch :)

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  5. i'm assuming the pavilion branch is one of their busiest ... it's the one branch i haven't been to actually. my last visit was with family to their empire shopping gallery branch - my family tends to be a lot pickier than me (especially my grandmother and aunt), and they really loved the food ;)

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    1. Yes, I still remember that post of yours, Sean, where I saw lovely photos of your grandma. I think both your grandma and aunt love the subtle ("ching") taste of the food here :)

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  6. The bun and the fried rice for me. That bun is interesting, I think chili crab and pork would work. Too bad it didn't turn out well though.

    Century egg as an independent dish, not my tea (or rather, not my egg in this case). Noodles with mushrooms and tofu? I would never order this type of dish at a place that isn't vegetarian. :/

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    1. Why not? You can have both what...for balance! ;D

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  7. I think they are bamboo shoots instead of bamboo in your bowl of noodle, right? ^__^
    Btw, the century egg, omg so luscious~~ Looks like the one served in the famous roasted goose restaurant at HK (Yung Kee)

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they're bamboo shoots...thanks for highlighting the word I missed out typing (I've edited it).

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