Din Tai Fung at The Gardens, Mid Valley

Superhero Mum had flown over to KL with a bunch of her tai chi aunties for an occasion, two Sundays ago. Since it's really such a rare deal that she was coming over, the two superheroes decided to give her a nice treat at Din Tai Fung, ranked as one of the world's top 10 restaurants by the New York Times.




Famous for their xiao long bao or juicy pork dumplings, we were pretty sure Superhero Mum would love it here at Din Tai Fung, the Gardens. Thank goodness we arrived just before lunch hour as the moment we got seated, we could see crowds and crowds of people pouring in and lining up for their tables outside. Phew! Haha. Close shave indeed...




So right away, we were given the menu to make our orders. A quick glance at the menu reveals quite a delightful choice of Shanghai noodles or la mien and even fried rice. Well of course their dumplings commanded at least a big page out of the menu with their many different varieties. Since we've heard so much about their world famous Xiao Long Bao, we were adamant that we must try it.



After placing our orders, we were served with this small plate of appetiser thingee. Not entirely sure what it was, my Superhero Mum took a mouthful first before telling us that it's something like a seaweed combi thing. Don't know what its official name is, it tasted a little sourish and chewy. Not a fan of strange things, it's no wonder that Superhero W shied away from it! Haha. *Come here... try one bite... Superhero S runs after Superhero W with the plate of appetiser* :p



Superhero Mum and me decided to go for the refillable Chinese Tea, priced at RM2 if I'm not mistaken. Very refreshing indeed... But Superhero W had to go for his usual gassy soft drinks with his Sprite. The man eats Japanese food with Sprite, and now Chinese food with Sprite! *shakes head*

Soonafter, my Braised Beef La Mien (priced at RM16+) arrived...




WAH.... I tell you, the first thing (or rather the only thing!) that you see in that big bowl is the huge chunks of beef! My goodness... Filled with chunks and chunks of beef and tendons and served with a super rich and tasty beef broth, this is probably the best beef noodle I've eaten! Even the springy la mien are a delight to chew on. And the beef so tender, I find it most irresistible...! Thumbs up for this one. Haha. *super grin*

And not long after, Superhero Mum's Chicken Chop La Mien (priced at RM14) was served...



I can see Superhero W's eyes aiming straight at the big plate of crispy looking chicken chop pieces, served alongside the big bowl of La Mien in clear soup. Mum absolutely adores the soup as she kept saying, "Mmm...very delicious, the soup!". Haha. Surprisingly, the soup has only very little traces of MSG. Goes really well with the super crispy and delicious chicken chop, Mum had no problem finishing up on her meal. But not before Superhero W took almost half of the chicken chop... Haha.

And finally, Superhero W's Fried Seafood Udon (priced at RM16) arrived...



Judging from this picture, the Udon sure looks awfully spicy right? In fact, I was quite worried that it would be those super hot and spicy type as the chilli looked very red... But much to our surprise, it turned out to be delightfully sweet and spicy! Yummmmmm... Loaded with big, fresh prawns and other seafood, Superhero W gave a big big smile after wiping out the entire plate to indicate that he's very satisfied with his meal. Haha. :p

All the time, while we were busy feasting on our foodie, we could still see patrons coming in and lining up outside for their tables. Amazing crowd, this is! And then, the big star of the day arrived...



Our 6 pieces of ultra juicy Xiao Long Pao! (priced at RM6+) OH.... *drools!*
They look so delicate, and elegant with supposedly at least 18 exquisite folds, I gave the honour to Superhero Mum to try it out first. She told me that there's soup inside the xiao long pao, and to eat it, one must pop it in their mouth and drink the soup first. Haha.



Too bad Superhero W can't take porky. Anyway, since I've never tried any xiao long pao before this, I can't make any comparisons. But this one here surely raises the bar. Very very delicious! The fine skin felt like so soft and vulnerable...but still able to hold the soup inside!



No wonder this kid got so into it as he was all plastered onto the transparent glass, looking at the chefs working on their xiao long paos. The bill came to about RM75 including tax for 3 persons. Overall, I think we'd definitely be back here again! There's still so much that we've yet to taste here. Haha. Can't wait! :p