Ding Tai Fung Sydney Restaurant

Hi All

For anyone who is familiar with the name Ding Tai Fung (DTF for short), it should bring up memories of yummy dumplings in many shapes and sizes, delicious noodles swimming in their perfect broth and the experience of queueing up for a table, similar to our previously reviewed restaurant MAMAK SYDNEY. Originally from Taiwan this chain of restaurants operates globally specialising in their dumplings which are made in store.

Unlike our visit to Mamak, we arrived at our restaurant near the end of the night at around 8:30pm, unsurprisingly the queue which we expect and love was nowhere in sight. Personally I was shocked, DTF is one of those restaurants where you would expect a queue no matter the time. As such, we got immediately and we were advised by our waitress that our first order will also be our last.

Flicking through the colourful menu, we were greeted with several pages of dumplings followed by the several pages of noodles and appetizers and finally the colourful desserts. As many might know, the pictures are sometimes are not a very good indicator to how it actually might plate up especially in the case of Chinese cuisine ( have you noticed that many of the Chinese restaurants do not actually offer any pictures in their menus?).  The dumplings which were on offer ranged from their signature XiaoLongBao or steamed pork dumplings to their crabmeat dumplings, which were highly recommended by one of our group. We opted to try every sort of dumpling there was on the menu. The servings were in either 6-8 pieces depending on the type of dumplings. I also ordered a serving of noodles in the chili broth to go with our dumplings.

The dumplings arrived on our table in their bamboo steamer boxes and by the time they all came, our table was literally piled up with dumplings. To enjoy them to the fullest, I would suggest dipping the dumplings into a mixture of vinegar and soya sauce, this can be done by adding them to the little plate with the ginger shreds in it. As their xiaolongbao are so popular amongst the group i decided to grab one first, with the first bite, the soup which is in the bun spills out, this is the best part of the bun incidently, which is why i decided to eat the bun off the spoon, rather than the customary chopstick only route.

The noodle in the chili broth arrives shortly and one taste of the soup tells me its good, the soup is hot, but it also has flavour. I also tried the other dumplings which were there, the pork and vegetable one was also a standout as was the crabmeat one which my friend recommended.

When all the dumplings were finished, I was surprised to find that I was full after consuming 10 dumplings in addition to my noodle soup and its 8 dumplings.

For anyone craving for some amazing dumplings at a reasonable price, one should visit Ding Tai Fung, and be prepared to wait in queue.

Visit Here for some pictures from their official site.