Easter Sunday

So I went to Din Tai Fung at Tampines Mall on Sunday for lunch with a couple of my friends. There were a total of 6 of us and we couldn't decide where to eat in the east and one of my friends suggested this place.

In all honesty, I have never really liked the place. I mean how much do you really need to pay for flour and meat? Is the extra cost handed down to the consumer because we want to stand by the glass window and see how they make dumplings? Its a skill I guess to make dumplings, but to watch people make it? Why don't we name the dumplings while we watch the dumpling assembly line and insists that we eat that specific dumpling that we named?

Alas, I tried to do that yesterday but was given the typical Singapore response. A blank stare.

The service was pretty normal for a Chinese restaurant in the heartland. They seat you, leave you alone for 10 mins to decide what you want to eat, you fill out the list of what you want to order, the servers come back and made sure you ordered more than enough, they go away and hopefully what you ordered show up on the table every 5 minutes hot and ready to be eaten. With my high expectations, the staff met with flying colors! In fact, so good was their service that I had constantly remind the servers to refill our tea .... There is no service like apathetic service I say.

The food was standard dumpling fare. We ordered their famous egg fried rice, and egg fried rice with prawns. A bowl of soup dumplings, two bowls of their special dry la mian and of course their xiao long bao. Hot and Sour Soup came with the use of UOB credit card for orders more than $40. It was a pretty good meal. You can't complain about dumplings because its dumplings. Dumplings on a good day done in plain sight can't go wrong. The fried rice was fair. It wasn't too warm but fried just right. The hot and sour soup was neither hot nor sour, maybe that's why its free? The la mian was done al dente and sauce was tasty. Personally, I always thought that their dumpling skin was abit too thick and their xiao long bao looks like sacks. Again, that's just my opinion.

In the end, the total bill was about $88. Its about what you pay per person at my previously favorite dumpling store along East Coast Road. But sub-consciously, I always wandered how hygienic the dumplings are there. Maybe they should have a glass window for us dumpling experts to see how they are done?


Ratings for Din Tai Fung at Tampines Mall on the 16th of April.
Food: 7/10 ...... Ho Hum.
Service: 4/10 ..... Miss, My tea please?
Value: 6/10