Din Tai Fung

After a few days in Beijing, mum and I headed to Shanghai.  Apart from our lunch at Da Dong, Wangfujing, the rest of our meals in Beijing were quite uneventful as we were too tired at the end of the day to find a nice restaurant to have a nice meal.

On my first night in Shanghai, my cousin took us to Din Tai Fung.  This outlet is located in SuperBrand Mall near Jinmao Tower.  This mall is quite big and housed names like Sephora, Lacoste, Esprit.

We arrived at this restaurant quite early before the crowds arrived.  I noticed that as the night progresses, tables were being filled at a rapid rate.  The turnover at this restaurant must be really huge.  This restaurant is quite big and has views overlooking the Bund, a good way to end your dinner.

The menu is extensive, more extensive than the branch in Sydney.  We ordered quite a selection ranging from appetisers to dumplings and noodles.  The food was great and the quality is of the same standards as you would expect from the rest of their branches.  The service though, is of a high standard, again very attentive.  Definitely a must visit if you are in Shanghai.

Da Dong Wangfujing

Before heading to Beijing, I was told that I need to try the Beijing Duck... I must say, there were quite a few suggestions but the choice came down to either the Quanjude Restaurant or Da Dong restaurant.  A friend of mine went to Beijing a few weeks before me and suggested Da Dong.  She and her family absolutely loved it.

The Wangfujing outlet  has recently been opened.  I was "lucky" as I happened to see the sign posted on this new building as my taxi was turning into the hotel.  After checking in, it was time to check out this restaurant.

We were one of the early ones to this restaurant.  This restaurant is located within a shopping centre.  As the lift opened, we were greeted by two rows of "girls" welcoming you to the restaurant.  It was quite dimly lit but tastefully decorated.  There is a koi pond surrounding what looks like the chef's cooking "station.

Thankfully they had an English menu which was very well laid out with glossy pictures.  Given that it was only mum and I we were quite limited by our choice.

Naturally, our first selection was the Beijing Duck but we only ordered half a duck.  The duck came with accompaniments but it costs extra for the pancakes.  We then ordered a tofu dish to accompany the duck.

The restaurant is popular as the duck is cooked to order.  Once the order is taken the duck is then cooked by the chefs in one of the 4 ovens located in the middle of the restaurant.  Allow about 20 mins for cooking time. 

Once cooked, the chef then brings out the duck and starts carving it.  The duck looks quite "plumped" as opposed to the duck we see here in Sydney.  The duck pieces are then laid out nicely.  The waitress will come by to show you how it is supposed to be eaten.

The crisp bits tasted nice dipped in sugar.  The rest of the duck can then be eaten with either the pancake or the buns with thinly sliced shallots or your the various sauces that were served.

Half a duck was enough for both of us.

The tofu dish actually came first and we finished it prior to having the duck.  The tofu was very silky and it was stuffed with some meaty sauce and accompanied by the broccoli.

The service in this restaurant is top notch... very attentive and they provide complimentary desserts (either hot or cold) and some fruits.  The hot dessert we had was like a rice pudding but it was quite bland while the cold dessert was a sorbet which was yummy and cleansed the palate. 

The fruit which was lychees as it was in season was served in a platter with dry ice... what a way to end the meal!

One more off the list!

I think Kevin and I went a bit overboard yesterday... for Kevin, he started his day from down south in Wollongong, made his way to Eastwood thereafter to the Northern Beaches to Palm Beach and we are now heading back to the inner city of Newtown for Vietnamese before ending our night.  All in all, Kevin said that it was a round trip of 150 kms in more than 15 hours!

Newtown on this Saturday night was abuzz with people.  People with wine bottles heading to dinner, students grabbing a bite before hitting their books again and children on their skateboards heading home.  Some restaurants were busy while others were waiting for walk-ins.  We made a mental note to check out some of the restaurants there such as the Nepalese restaurant.

It's been a long while since Kevin last ate at Thanh Binh and it was on his to-do list.  So, we headed there... Thanh Binh had not changed much albeit cosmetically.  The neon sign looked new and they had added new ceiling lamps.  The menu had also been updated and had a cosmetic change, the layout was aesthetically pleasing and more organised. 

Hard... hard... hard... it was really hard to pick from the menu... too many mouth watering dishes.  Furthermore, after the pig out we had all day, it was hard to make room for this but who could resist?

We finally settled for the Banh Xeo (Vietnamese pancake) and the Cha Gio (Vietnamese Spring Rolls).  The Banh Xeo was delicious, light omelette filled with minced meat, mung beans and bean sprouts.  Accompanied by the herbs and lettuce, the pancake had a fresh and wow taste to it.

The Cha Gio was also very delicious - I could just eat this the whole day.  Crispy rolls packed with a meat filling so tasty that the only other enhancers required were the fresh flavours of the herbs.  Mmmmm....

Our main dish was a combination salad - jellyfish, prawns and chicken infused with sweet chilli sauce, fish sauce, chillies and fresh herbs sitting on a sesame cracker.  Mmm... yum...my... the salad really plays on your taste buds!

If we were not so full, we would have enjoyed our other dish, a master stock pork salad.  Alas, our tummies were bursting and we managed to cancel this order.

I am not sure if I am biased towards Vietnamese food but Kevin and I were making all these Mmmm sounds.  It is definitely one restaurant which I could keep going back to and not tire...and ask for more... please!  Who is coming with me again??