Dining at Din Tai Fung Manila

I was one of those who got excited when I heard Din Tai Fung (DTF) was coming in Manila. But since its opening last December, I wasn’t able to visit the five-time Michelin star-awarded brand until last Sunday.

Luckily the lines weren’t that bad at around 2pm. I got my number on queue and went to get something from St. Francis Square (yup, the other side), by the time we came back, our number was just called. 🙂

I guess that’s what makes dining at DTF more convenient that in Tim Ho Wan, you can just get your number and come back for it if it’s your turn to have your scrumptious meal already.

I think I’ve already tasted most of DTF’s Xiao Long Bao when I went to DTF Taiwan. So this time, I just ordered my favorite Crab Roe and Pork XLB (Php285.00/5 pcs).

It was as yummy as I remembered–imagine the hot broth, laced with the thickness of the crab roe, oozing out as you take a bite on these soft dumplings. Thinking about it makes me want to fall back in line and have another order.

Don’t forget to dip the XLB in the yummy sauce and garnish it with ginger before having a mouthful! I remember DTF Taipei had this one-pager instruction that teaches customers how to eat their XLBs, which I didn’t find that in Manila. It’s something like this.

Anyway, aside from my favorite XLB, we picked a couple of stuff from the menu:

The spicy jellyfish is one of my favorite appetizers when I’m in a Chinese resto. My sibs and I used to call this goma. We grew up thinking this was seaweed. Jellyfish pala!

This order came in quite a surprise as my beau and I both enjoyed this dish very much. This appetizer is common in Korean restaurants but this one’s served differently–the baby cucumber is served in a larger cut. I also loved that the spicy-ness of this dish is very mild. So if you’re not into spicy food, I’m sure you can tolerate this dish.

I wanted to get an order of veggies to balance out whatever fat I’m eating with the XLB. So I got this simple but yummy stir-fried watercress. We also ordered Chris’ favorite hot and sour soup.

And of course, I couldn’t pass up my favorite Hot Prawn Salad. DTF makes it special by adding fresh mangoes in the bunch instead of the usual canned fruit cocktail.

Since we got a whole lot of savory viands, we decided to get the cheapest order of rice to complement our meal.

My bf and I totally enjoyed our meal. We even had some of the veggies and jellyfish for takeout since we couldn’t finish it anymore. But before leaving our table, we also got DTF Manila’s unique Choco Lava XLB (Php115.00/3 pcs) for take out. Hehe.

After eating, you will have to proceed to the cashier to settle your bill. It was truly a great dining experience and I love that the staff were all so efficient.

So, was the four-digit bill worth it? It’s a definite YES! I would love to go back, fall in line, and order my favorite XLB, the Salted Egg Prawn, and what not. The XLB’s were as good as it was when I was in Taiwan. I was telling my bf that the line was worth the wait since Filipinos won’t have to pay for airline tickets to Taiwan or Singapore just to taste these uber-yummy  dumplings.

Din Tai Fung Philippines
GF SM Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City (beside Tim Ho Wan)
+632 997-1935; +632 997-1936
www.dintaifungph.com
PS, Win a NUDE Audio S Speaker worth Php1,290.00 when you join my Twitter Giveaway here.

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