Din Tai Fung 鼎泰丰 (Paragon)

Din Tai Fung at Paragon has been around for awhile, but they are constantly finding ways to reinvent their menu (given that we Singaporeans are suckers for new things, and proud of it I might add).

Recently, I had the chance to try some of their new items and I must say that I left rather impressed.

From the drinks menu start out with the Cooling Red Dates Longan Drink which is refreshing especially on a hot Singaporean afternoon.

From the appetisers menu, I tried the Sliced Duck in Crispy Spring Onion Pastry, which when served hot made an excellent appetiser as it was not filling, tasty and the initial crispy fried batter was met with a nice warm piece of duck breast - an easy eat.

I also liked the Green Chillies Stuffed with Marinated Minced Meat. The chilli seeds were removed so it was not a spicy dish, and the chilli added a pleasant slight sour finish.

From the snacks menu I recommend going for the Taiwan Braised Mixed Platter (Deluxe). Consisting of duck wings, braised beancurd, pork belly and pig ears, it was a good choice to share with family.

Those more adventurous should go for the Braised Duck Tongues, a Taiwanese delicacy.

From the Steamed Dumplings section I tried the Steamed Fish and Steamed Vegetable Dumpings. Unfortunately, while being the healthier option, it does not work for me. I still prefer the traditional strong flavoured Mini Steamed Pork Dumplings with Superior Chicken Broth.

For those who need vegetables there is the Stir-fried Dou Miao with Shrimps. I liked that the dou miao was crunchy and the prawns were really fresh.

Finally for dessert try the Mango Pudding. I liked how the mango pieces was mixed into the pudding to create a pleasant sweet dessert.

Not sure where the problems lies. But genreally, fads come and go. Urban consumers are fickle and perhaps that accounts for my distatse for this outlet/brand.

I used to like them. Most things were good and I was happy. After a long hiatus, I ventured in on a quiet Monday afternoon for tea break. We had the usual and I found almost everything lacking in quality. The xiao long baos came but they weren;t exactly pipping hot. A few of them had their skins stuck onto the cloth base. I guess no exuses here...quality has suffered.

We also feel that the fried rice is no lonmger attarctive. We suspect the type of rice used has changed. Perhaps inflation has something to do with this and since we are not willing to fork out more....cannot fault the resturant for doing so?

Service was oso terrible....despite being only 30% , staff toobusy with whatever. tea topup is so much a hassle and it was never like this.

But good news is competition is keen....gonna go look out for something else.

The appetizer is not free just in case you thought otherwise. This little dish is about $5 if i remember correctly and its a mixed bag of tastes. Its sour, spicy, sweet and salty all at the same time but surprisingly gave me a bigger appetite. Still, its a little too oily and a little too expensive for a starter.

I ordered fried rice for myself as i remembered it being pretty good in this restaurant and indeed, its still nicely done. It comes with a generous amount of prawns as you can see and still has the concentrated egg taste in the rice. Fragrant and tasty but my gf found it a little too salty for her tastes and that is true as well. At $10 for this dish, it does come off as overpriced though.

Waitress recommended their famous Dan Dan Mian which i have never tried before. It came as quite of a shock when we tasted it though, it was salty and the paste tasted like a mixture of peanuts, sweet sauce and chilli. The noodles (la mian) were springy but lacked any taste on their own. In short, not something i would order again.

Din Tai Fung is my all time favourite for good quality Xiao Long Bao among many other classic Chinese fare. (Still remember my previous entry on their Sydney outlet?) The outlet at Paragon is DTF’s very first venture in Singapore. I could still remember during their initial opening, everyone was mesmerised by the open concept kitchen where patrons were able to see the chefs busy at work up close! Also, getting a seat meant a wait of at least 30 min regardless the time of the day!

For full details, please visit: http://foodcautious.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/my-favourite-of-all-time-just-keeps-getting-better/#more-2117

Great place for taking visitors because you can always count on good quality. Might be a good idea to make reservations if you're going during peak hours.

I was 1st introduced to xiao long baos or now lovingly shortened to XLBs by Din Tai Fung or DTF (boy don't we love our acronyms?)...I remembered DTF started with a bang at Paragon with everyone looking quite silly trying to count the 18 folds but ever since.. XLBs is a regular item to order anywhere...

The item i liked at DTF is without a doubt the XLBs...I do like the tasty broth that's enveloped by a soft translucent skin (that's has 18 folds haha) which packed quite a savoury meat within... Paired it with some vinegar n ginger and u get yourself a nice little treat! Of course Crystal Jade's XLBs r formidable as well ..

Another item that's quite well-executed is the fried rice with shrimps or pork chops.. I do not really fancy the noodles items at DTF so this is my carbo fix.. The rice is well-fried with each grain evenly coated with oil, egg & flavours...The prawns r succulent n the pork chops r well-marinated.. Goes well with the chilli by the table...

They do have some appetizers which i do order.. more to have something to much on than that it's good.. the veg appetizers ia quite an appetite opener except that's sprouts (yucks) while e tofu with minced pork is tasty but sometimes verging on a tad salty..The hot n sour soup is a failure..not even remotely hot..

Overall, DTF is a pretty decent place to dine..Although i've heard feedbacks that the one in Taipei doesn't really wow either but it's still a decent place to have some XLBs..

You can't really go wrong with Din Tai Fung. The menu is very short, and for a reason: they only offer you food they can cook well. I've been here many times and the food and service has always been of above-average standard.

My 2 very old friends and I had dinner here on Monday evening, and we came at half-6 when there wasn't yet a queue. My friends claimed to want only a light meal, and both chose the chicken soup ($8.80; you can have it with noodles, in which case add $2) whereas I had the noodles with fried pork chop ($8.80). But being greedy, they also added twenty xiao long baos to our order ($9 for ten) and a plate of spinach sauteed with garlic ($6).

I liked my noodles: simple but well done, although I would have preferred my pork chop in a separate plate, not in the soup. Spinach done this way is on most Chinese restaurants' menus, but many can't get this simple dish right. Din Tai Fung does: not too oily, with the right cooking time and nice garlic taste.

When this restaurant first set up shop, xiao long bao was a relative rarity, and everyone raved about how wonderful the little dumplings were here. While DTF's version may have retained its fine quality, other places have since perfected theirs, hence it's no longer out of the ordinary, even though still commendable.

Staff here are kept extremely busy, but they are efficient and polite; we had no cause for complaint.

In short, come here or to their other outlets if you're in the vicinity and want a light (except if you're with gluttonous friends!) tasty meal that won't leave your wallet a lot emptier.

really made me feel like at taiwan whenever i drop by... all their food are my fave.. especilly theire fried rice and xiao long bao... nobody can match it.. always with friend to eat at least 3 portion of the bao and fried rice! my favourite always at paragon..

been to taiwan, found that the standard@ singapore  is comparable!

DTF is one of those places you can hardly go wrong bringing your friends from overseas for a meal. The food quality is consistently good, service is prompt and it does not burn a hole in your pocket. The same goes for Crystal Jade Kitchen.

Well went by there again on Thurs. Being a kiasu, my dinner started at 5.30pm before the snaking queues start to form.

I ordered my usual fried rice with shrimp, fried pork cutlet for starters, chicken soup and the pork dumplings. Yesss.....thats just for one person, me...

The soup came first. I always wonder how a soup so clear can be so tasty. I thought I had a little scratchy throat and the soup just melted the sore throat away.

Then came the pork cutlet. I think they use some sort of 5 spice marinade, flash fry it, topped with some mild black pepper. Despite being like only 5mm thick, the pork sure is succulent and juicy. Every bite yields more of the flavour ... porky heaven.

And their signature pork dumpling, what is left to say. Order, eat, no regrets. Pork soup in a 18 fold dumpling...only the chinese can think of this sort of culinary treasures.

And the fried rice. I think it is the best fried rice around. The use of oil is done sparingly and can only be so with the right use of fire and water. The best fried rice is when water is used more than oil. Oh how the egg coats also very grain of rice and the crunchy shrimp that accompanies it.

Ok I'm done...aiyoh so full....

i fell in love with this place since i first went there when it first opened (i don't remember how many years ago that was!).. i used to love the xiao long bao at crystal jade, but after having a taste of ding tia fung's xiao long bao, i never turned back!!! it was less oily & the soup inside was tastier. the skin was also thinner & more resilient. must try the crab meat xiao long bao!

this is the only place where i would order fried rice. i'm not a fan of fried rice & would never order it outside as it is often either not tasty enough or too dry. however, ding tai fung's fried rice is very tasty & moist. it just seems fresher. the shrimp fried rice is my favourite. the shrimp is fresh & served generously.

i've been to 2 of the branches & there's usually a long queue during lunch & dinner hours. it's a pretty simple menu with tantalizing pictures of the dishes making it very easy to order. prices are a bit high for what it is... $10 noodles seem a bit pricey making it less of a value.

service is good, they do refill your tea often. food comes promptly after ordering. even if you have to wait, time passes faster when you can watch the chefs making the dim sum & noodles through the glass-walled kitchen.