Din Tai Fung     鼎泰豐  

Din Tai Fung was not a new name when we decided to visit the restaurant located at Tsim Sha Tsui. Having tried it several times in Singapore when it first opened up years ago, I arrived at the restaurant expecting the same quality considering that it was awarded Michelin 1-star in Hong Kong and it was also ranked as the world's top 10 restaurants by the New York Times.

The queue was comparable to the Din Tai Fung in Singapore. After receiving a queue ticket from the receptionist, we had a stroll around the shopping mall for almost 30 minutes before we finally got a table. It was not even the peak dining period at about half six in the evening, but the crowd was already building up and pretty fast too.

Waiting time was long.... but well worth it.

Everyone that come to HK, must try this place. But come prepared to wait in the queue. If you come at off-peak hours it is much better, otherwise the average waiting time is over 30 minutes.

I like the pork bun very much, the pastry is not thick and the soup inside is just right.

Also love the beef noodle soup, the soup base is perfect, it has a little spice but not too much.

The fried pork cutlet on fried rice was good.

Also the Spinach stir fried is well worth the $$ charged.

Overall I will recommend this place to everyone and I will come again.

As other reviews will tell you, Din Tai Fung is expensive, busy, and overrated. But that doesn't mean it's not good or not worth it. The menu is small and contains appetizers, dumplings, buns, xiao long bao, siu mei, noodles, fried rice, sauteed green vegetables, and soup. Dim sum fare. Here's what we got:

Cucumber slices in chili oil: The cucmber was nice and crunchy and the dish had a mild amount of spice. Way over-priced for what it is though. 6/10

Xiao long bao: Piping hot and tasty. Not as soupy, I guess, as they could be. 8/10

Pork & shrimp wonton in chili sauce: The ground pork & shrimp combo is pretty tasty. The sauce is a little bit spicy-- spicier than the cucumbers-- and it has some of the numbing Sichuan peppercorn in it. Not surprisingly though, the "sauce" it comes in is mostly grease-- use sparingly! 7/10

Spring rolls: I found these to be quite tasty, hot, crisp, and not greasy. They came with a dipping sauce, but only a small amount of it. 8/10

Egg fried rice with pork: The fried rice is a must. It's fluffy pearl rice with plenty of egg and scallions. We got it with a big hunk of fried (but not breaded) pork on top. The rice is oily, as fried rice tends to be, but not overly so-- just the right amount so that all the grains are separate. There're chilis in oil on the table, and I threw a teaspoonful of them in my rice-- very spicy. The pork was flavorful. 9/10

Overally, I'd say it's pretty good. All the food is done well, though none of it is amazing. It's a little pricey, but not extremely so. The 'spicy' dishes are notably spicy, although not very spicy-- yet on every table there are chilis in oil that have a fair degree of heat to them. The food is on the greasier side of food in general, though far less greasy than you get at many Chinese restaurants. My lunchtime wait was only 10 minutes, and we used that time to read the menu and figure out what we wanted. Restaurant score: 7/10

ABSOLUTELY BAD!!!
I have been to din tai fung in taiwan and sydney and had eaten xiao long bao in shanghai as well... was looking forward to it in hk but was absolutely shocked by the poor quality of the crab meat xiao long bao.....
first bite of the dumpling - skin was good... but instead of yummy juice you are hit by the off smell of the crab meat as well as the bad metallic taste of the juice.. so "sang" (in cantonese)... i had not ever tasted food that i seriously had to spit it out after first bite....
What's worse.... when we tell the waitress....(she was kind enough to change it to normal xiao long bao for us) but she came back to tell us that the chef had tasted it and that it's how it should taste and that the crab meat taste like that and that maybe we should re consider before ordering at a shanghainese restaurant.... we didn't argue since they exchanged it for us but seriously.. i have tasted many crab meat steamed dumplings before in different countries and crab meat does not taste like that unless they're not fresh and i mean extremely not fresh.....

The other thing is it is the first time when we tried to order 擔擔麵 the other waitress warned us that it may taste bitter... so we didn't order it just in case and thank god we didn't order... i am sure the peanuts are off as well... i never had problems with 擔擔麵 elsewhere....

EXTREMELY disappointing and annoying experience if the chef thought the taste of off crab meat is normal then really i don't trust their cooking

It was probably one of the most consistent global restaurant chains. I have tried the ones in Taiwan, Shanghai and Hong Kong, diners will not be disappointed. The only put off is you have to queue, waiting is never my thing. Once in a while for quality food as such, isn’t too bad I guess.

Cuisine: Chinese
Food rating: 5/10*
Service: 6/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Price: HK$150 pax

* Food Rating: 6/10 is equivalent to 1 Michelin star, 8/10 to two Michelin stars, and 9/10 or 10/10 to three Michelin stars

特色小籠包
The wrapper was pretty thin, moist the outside. The meat was juicy and the soup inside the wrapper is hot and full of flavour.
四喜烤麸
This is a classic shanghaiese dish. The 烤麸was spongy, steamed well. The 面筋has washed away and there weren’t any 豆腥味, a very successful四喜烤麸.蟹子小笼包
Despite the wrapper was a bit dry on the outside, else is pretty good like the特色小籠包.云吞面 (6/10)
The noodles was al dente, perhaps it was freshly made. The broth was cooked carefully; it wasn’t oily or too salty. The wontun was nicely cooked, the wrapper was juicy and smooth, the filling was moist and marinated nicely, and absorbed the flavour thoroughly. 荔芋小笼包 (5/10)
Something unconventional, definitely worth trying! Stuffed with 荔芋 inside the bun, yet it wasn’t too sweet but delicate. A good way to end the meal. A restaurant provide high quality Xiao Long Bao and traditional Shanghai Cuisine with 21st century twist. If you don’t mind to queue up, this is a place to visit. And actually is rather expensive for Xiao Long Bao.

I have to say Ding Tai Fung's dumplings and other dishes are quite delicious. However I don't think it's worth the hype! The items are slightly overpriced. Service is quite good in this branch actually.

Unless I come with tourists I don't think I'd come back for lunch.

Shrimp noodles in broth - a healthy choice as it was really clear broth with plain noodles and steamed shrimps. But for $60 you ain't gonna get full.

Xiao Long Bao - quite well done nice thin skin with juicy meat inside. Usually when I eat xiao long bao I actually care more about the vinegar and ginger more than anything!

My friend ordered fried rice and it looked pretty decent and fragrant. But he needed a burger to tie him over afterwards

Had 特色小籠包 which had pretty thin skin and juicy meat in the middle. Went great with the ginger slices and vinegar.

The shrimp noodles are great. Noodles are just right not overcooked and the shrimps are very fresh and not overcooked. The broth's quite clear with some veggies.

The shrimp fried rice was also fantastic. Not very oily and of a decent portion.

The service is not as bad as the below reviews. Most staff were attentive and followed up with our orders and had smiles whenever I needed them.

Slightly expensive but worth a re-visit.

This was the second time I've been to this restaurant. Your wait time really depends on when you go. Fortunately my friend and I showed up before 6 for dinner and there was plenty of seating. (During my first visit we arrived during the dinner rush and had to wait about 15 minutes. But it was worth the wait!)

We ordered the pork soup dumplings, cale, spring rolls, and taro seed paste buns. Everything was delicious, but we did have to wait a good 15 minutes after the rest of our food came out for the taro buns. I didn't mind, but it would have been frustrating had we been in a hurry.

This is also a great dim sum restaurant for Westerners as they have an English menu with pictures.

I've eaten here with my boyfriend about 2 years ago and really fancy their Siao Long Bao again, so brought a friend of mine here for some grub before going out to the shops nearby.

I had got a ticket at 7pm and thought I'd go for a bit of window shopping first, as there were still 20 tables before my number. Well, when you do that, they crowd got through very quickly and when we came back to check the number we had missed it by 2 tables already! I thought they won't let us in again, but to our surprise we only had to wait for 2 more tables We didn't mind sharing a big table with 3 other couples, so we were happy customers, good customer service.

The food was as delicious as I could remember it, although simply made, but I really like their egg friend rice. It is so fluffy and has a gorgeous fried egg smell to it. Not sure about the prawns on its own though, it was a bit too bland. Sorry guys, I didn't write down the name of the dishes!

If they would like to improve on 1 thing, I would suggest to endeavor and get the "side" dishes out first and then make sure the rice/noodles are out roughly the same time as the main dishes. It would enhance the dining experience so much more, as food gets cold so quickly with the AC and having the veggies first, then the siao long bao and then the prawns with no rice to go with these dishes was a bit wierd.

But I can't complain, because the taste of the food is truly amazing. It got my taste buds going so much that I had brought my other friend to their Causeway Bay branch the next day for lunch!! ;P

You won't be disappointed.

Date Dined: Sat 29th Jan 2011 - 7pm

Ordered: Xiao Long Bao 小籠包 & Noodles mixed in sesame and Peanut sauce 台式擔擔撈麵 & Steamed Chinese-style layer cake 千層油糕

Taste:Xiao Long Bao 小籠包 - Came in a batch of 6. They looked quite flat when they came. Vinegar is at the side and you get your own little sauce dish with shredded ginger in it. I used the chopsticks to pick the Xiao Long Bao 小籠包 up, and it did not burst. So the skin is well made. Dipped it into the vinegar and putted in my mouth all at once and it fitted nicely. It wasnt boiling hot so it did not burn me when I bited into it. I liked the taste of it, with a rich meat taste BUT there was hardly any juice/soup in it. It was all dried out. There was only little juice in it. I was highly disappointed. Noodles mixed in sesame and Peanut sauce 台式擔擔撈麵 This came first, and the noodles looked very well made. You can see how visible each strand of noodles are. The soup is rich and thick. But is not as thick so you can still drink the whole soup. Only thing is the noodles seem to be just putted on top of the soup, so not all together. The noodles wasnt cut either, so they became very long. The soup wasnt as spicy as I have had before but it was still good with peanuts on top. Portion wasnt very big, I dont think it was enough to fill two people up. The bowl looked really big but not enough.Steamed Chinese-style layer cake 千層油糕 This has always been my favourite dish from Din Tai Fung. I had this before when it first opened. Portions arent big but very satisfying. If you are looking for something sweet as a dessert then I would not recommend you this, as the taste is quite subtle and not sweet at all. The texture is squishy, and soft, but as it has layers of it, it has this bouncy texture but nmot chewy. I love it esp it comes steaming hot. It has this hakka dumpling/cakes taste which I ike. And I have not seen or eaten this at other restaurants. I love thisConclusion: This is 3rd time I have tried Din Tai Fung. First time, I was not impressed esp I have heard about the rave from this restaurant and lined up 1.5 hours for this place. Their Xiao lung bau is wayyyyyyy OVER RATED. The Xiao Lung bau from Gum moon ting is WAYYYYY better, more in the portion, juicier and tastier. Second time I had was at taiwan where it was originated from. It was better than Hong Kong, but still wasnt above average. Third time was today and I still dont understand why there is such a huge queue. For what, I would like to know.
Xiao lung bau comes in ONLY 6 when they come in 9 in Taiwan, they are small, dry and not juicy at all. The noodles are average, their menu is limited. I have had tastier and better overall rating. You must have their tea which is 6 hk dollars each, and they dont even let you choose what type of tea. It is a huge restaurant, but you still manage to qeue for half an hour, but it has already improved, maybe from decline of popularity? First time I needed queue for 1.5 hour. The waitresses were all in a rush, did not seem welcoming. everytime we finish, or near finish, they quickly took away my dishes. I am not impressed. Giving it 3 chances to prove themself is more than enough. Wont be coming back

After writing a scathing review of The Yuu (horrid service, don't go there!) I prefer going back to my roots as a foodie and obsessing about good food. And there's no better place to write about than the famous Din Tai Fung.

Service:
Impeccable and unbeatable. There was a funny incident last time where my dad accidentally spilled tea. Before we even saw it the waitress was on it and cleaned it right up. I don't remember another place that was so on the mark.

The Food and Pricing:
This is all about Taiwanese cuisine and if you don't fancy it, it's a good idea not to come here (though the xiao long bao should be tasty for any carnivore). In addition, this place is not cheap by any means but you get what you pay for if you choose wisely. That said if you only want the best food pay the premium for the following three

Xiao Long Bao (regular)
The perfect xiao long bao with delicious soup inside and perfectly wrapped so not one of our baskets (more than 30 xiao long baos) had a rip. One that seemed to drip was actually due to the plethora of juices inside coming out from the top.

Xiao Long Bao (Hairy crab)
I love crab but I'm not a big fan of the Hairy Crab variety. That said, if you LIKE hairy crab you'll love these xiao long bao inspirations as I've been told they're bursting with flavor. Though I pass, I heard they're delicious and worth the price premium.

Dan Dan Mien
Another taiwan authentic dish made genuine right down to the fragrant leaves and slightly bitter aftertaste. It is spicy but nothing too hot to handle. It is bursting with flavor and some love the juices enough to eat it straight. It is a bit too salty for me though so it just goes excellently with the noodles.

Overall:
I cannot recommend a restaurant that places a premium higher than Din Tai Fung. To me it's one of those places where you go "it's expensive" but then realize "it's worth it". You won't be disappointed with the service and the taiwanese cuisine.

Tried it in Taipei in Sogo a few yrs ago at it was really good.
First time to try it HK.

Late review. So cant remember the details too clearly.
But overall it was absolutely Delicious!!!
Definitely try the Steam Pork Dumplings!

Worthy of its name.

Service: Very polite staff but minus points as they put us in the room so it was hard to find someone to service us after we ordered.

Retry: Definitely

I have been longing to try this restaurant for long, and finally I made it!!!

After reading many comments and recommendation, I had ordered and tried the followings:

1. Drunken Chicken in Shaoxing Rice Wine

I live in TST so Ding Tai Fung is one of those places that I frequented on the weekends (usually for lunch - and I'd go at odds hours to avoid the lunch crowd as there's always a long queue. Best time to go is around 3:30 - 4:30) I'm a fan of Xiao Lung Bao and I must say Ding Tai Fung offers one of the best ones in town. There are many xiao lung bao places in HK and quite a number of them offers great ones but the reason I always go back to ding tai fung is for its consistency in quality and service. There's no surprises here, the xiao lung bao always taste just as good, the waiters are always friendly and polite - fantastic service level really!! - You always feel so welcome from the second you set foot and get escorted by a smiling lady at the door in clean white uniform. Now that's what I called a VIP experience and considering the reasonable price of this restaurant it's definitely value for money in terms of customer service!

If you choose to go during peak hours, you'd probably get a table faster if you let them know that you don't mind sharing a big table with different parties!

i went there v early and so i didnt have to queue. but when i walked past this sometimes it's always so crowded so it made me want to try

it turned out that the resto was so overrated that i wouldnt go again. why it got so many smiley faces here was beyond me. it was not cheap either.