We were having a night out on the town and we were headed to The Star. We thought we’d check out the newly refurbished, never short of scandal, popular Sydney night spot for some dinner and drinks. We hadn’t really planned on anywhere in particular to eat, nor did we really know what would be on offer. So it was a most pleasant surprise taking a stroll through the very upmarket version of a food court. The little sister of Peter Kuruvita’s Flying Fish restaurant, Flying Fish & Chips, had plenty of fresh, delicious seafood on offer as well as some refreshing beverages. Of course the famous Adriano Zumbo has a branch of his macaron haven pattiserie at The Star, selling his signature, divinely bizarre delights for all to enjoy. Along with many other lovely eateries there is our chosen dinner destination of Din Tai Fung. I’d heard great things about their dumplings for a long time and absolutely love Asian cuisine so I was keen to try some of there much talked about treats.

Yuuum…From left: Xiao Long Bao, Cha Jiang Noodles and Pork and Shrimp Wonton

The Xiao Long Bao are probably the most popular and well known dish on offer. I felt it only appropriate to give them a try and I was quite pleased. They are a steamed pork dumpling with a brothy, soup filling inside as well as the seasoned pork mince. They are a bit difficult to eat if you’re not popping the whole thing in your mouth at once, as all the brothy goodness will come squirting out at you. As happened to me when I was keen to get stuck in but was worried about the heat of it, so I bit it in half, full well knowing it could (and did) end somewhat messily. I may have had a touch bit of soup run all down my chin with the remaining soup all over the table. It was ok, I was with friends and Mr. M is well versed with my messy and less than delicate devouring of meals. It had a nice hint of ginger and shallot flavour, along with a lovely savoury taste going on. They was fresh and delicious.

Xiao Long Bao- Steamed Pork dumplings

Also on order were the Shrimp and Pork Wontons in a tangy sauce. Yes, “tangy sauce” doesn’t really let you know what may be featuring in it, but I figured it would have to be yummy, it looked all soupy and saucy with chilli and shallots floating about, so it’d have to be good. It was very tasty indeed, tangy would be a correct term for them sauce, however you could clearly taste the heat of the chilli, soy, ginger and fresh shallots. It was salty, hot and bitey. The filling of the wontons wasn’t particularly memorable, but it was definitely most fine in texture and taste. The sauce was the real star and the wontons did serve as an unassuming appropriate vessel for it.

Shrimp and Pork Wontons in Tangy Sauce

Last but not least on order was the Cha Jiang (Zha Jiang) Noodles with minced pork. Mr. M loves noodles so we usually try and fit a noodle dish in. This was totally yummy, if not slightly difficult to eat which just goes with the noodle territory, so thems the breaks, certainly not enough to deter our food loving hearts. The noodles were cooked well and the topping was ample. A nice combination of pork mince, soy beans and bean curd, along with some veg chopped in the mix. It was a little salty, a little spicy and very delicious. A satisfying combination of flavours, not too heavy but still filling. However towards the end of the dish we decided to throw in the left over tangy sauce from the shrimp and pork wontons, and really, it only made it more tasty.

Cha Jiang Noodles with Pork Mince

So all in all we were most pleased with our first experience at Din Tai Fung. It prepared us well for the long night out enjoying the city. We will surely be heading back to try a few more interesting items and I am looking rather forward to sampling a dessert next time around too. If you have any recommendations please do let me know via twitter or by commenting below

Very delicious and satisfying, a convenient little place for a meal when heading to The Star.