Din Tai Fung

For my quest for good eats I have been reading many Seoul food blogs and magazines. I have to say I am compiling quite a list of places to check out. Some things though just soar to the top of the list, like dumplings. I have a mild obsession for dumplings which started when I was pretty young. Our Taiwanese neighbor would cook all kinds of things and bring them over for our family to try. I have to thank her because I am sure she started my love for Asian food. I remember her dumplings being the best and to this day I think I am always comparing any dumpling to my childhood memories. I have yet to find a dumpling that beats hers.

In my readings I came across a few good reviews for a place serving Shanghai style dumplings. Before I go on I should note that Shanghai style dumplings, or xiaolongbao (aka soup dumplings) are not the same as the normal dumplings you find in Chinese restaurants (or what my neighbor made). They really are bao too. They differ in preparation and texture to dumplings and wontons.

So, its back to Myeongdong again for lunch. Din Tai Fung is an internationally well recognized Taiwanese restaurant chain. I ordered the main xiaolongbao. Its filled with pork but they have many others to choose from. I also ordered the steamed pork buns (char siu bao; another obsession) and a new item spicy shrimp and pork wontons (steamed). Despite all of the good reviews, I was not impressed. I was expecting more because the reviews were pretty good . Now to be honest all three were good. However, I am very picky with my dumplings and bao. To be fair it could have been an off day so my rule is always give it a second try before giving up on a place. I have had much better and hopefully the next visit will live up to my high expectations.