Monday, April 20, 2009

The Original Din Tai Fung in Taipei

Xiao Long Bao

This was a completely unplanned visit - we actually intended to come down to another shop nearby, only to find that we had missed their lunch hour. The original Din Tai Fung location was still open though (194 Xinyi Road Section 2, 2321-8928), so we headed up that narrow staircase for a quick meal.

Mushroom and Vegetable Dumplings

I hadn't been to this location in ages - even in Taipei, they have much bigger outlets. But I guess it was a bit nostalgic to come back to the old shop that used to be packed to the brim. And of course we got the obligatory xiao long bao, which was much better than that stuff from the streets the other day.

Hot and Sour Soup

But was it really that much better than the outlets in Singapore? It still tasted the same to me. The only difference I could spot was the hot and sour soup, which here featured some strips of coagulated pig blood. Well, as nasty as it might sound, pig blood cake really didn't taste like much. In fact, its texture and taste was similar to tofu. I just wish that the hot and sour soup were more spicy here.

2 comments:

Mark said...

They're ISO certified so their food tastes about the same no matter which outlet or country you visit. The only difference I found in Taipei is that they insist on teaching the yang ren the correct way to eat xiao long bao :)

Peech said...

Hmmm...maybe it's psychological but I always felt that the stuff was better at Xinyin Road, and never mind anything overseas...