Singapore 3: Din Tai Fung

Two weeks in and SOME people are already complaining about all the rice and noodles they are being FORCED to eat. I say get with the program yo! Isn't this what we came for, The divine food?

Maybe it's my Malayali genes doing their thing, coming out to play now that they are in paradise - but i find I could eat this very carb based diet easily. I shouldn't but I oh so could. And with an absolute plethora of places to eat in this city we are so so spoilt for choice.

We are staying with family so there are plenty of home cooked meals but ever so often when out trying to get phone connections or look at apartments or just entertain a small person we find ourselves eating out. And what a treat it has been!

So the first of my reviews is for a restaurant chain called Din Tai Fung.
It's a Taiwanese dim sum place with five branches around the city. We went to the one in Visma Atria (one of the many many malls that Singapore is dotted with) for lunch a few days after we arrived and were trying to forge a normal routine. It serves dim sum and buns and the odd sautéed vegetable and noodle. You get a little clipboard from the lady at the entrance and while she tries to find you a table you are expected to look at the picture board with it's codes and tick off what you would like to order. There's a board with pictures and numbers and the briefest of descriptions to guide you. As you are guided to your table they take away the clipboard leaving one copy on the table and shortly the piping hot dimsum begin to make their way towards the hungry folk. Simple and effective.

We were four adults and two children this fine weekday, between apartment viewings. Hot bothered and starving. We all pointed at things on the board and ordered way too much. We sat at a table outside the glass fronted kitchen, this kept the kids busy for a bit. Soon there were divine dumplings and stuffed buns, rice and vegetables and nobody talked or looked up for a long long while.

Notable were the vegetable dumplings (bursting with flavor) and the pork buns (fluffy and light and moreish.

I'm told by more than one source that it's only the one at Visma Atria that is this good. The other four are disappointing in comparison. It's a test I intend to carry out myself. In the meanwhile if you are in Singapore I encourage you to go try these.