Except for a few items, most of the "Asian dishes" are evolutionary rather revolutionary. In fact, most of the new dishes are in fact, well known "tze char" classics. Din Tai Fung says the menu was created in order to allow tourists to get acquainted with local dishes at the frontline (only Resorts World and Marina Bay Sands will host the new items). In that respect, I can see why they wanna come up with this extra effort.
Let's take a look at the food, shall we?
We were given a starter of lemongrass drink. Note the ice ball inside - it is made up of lemongrass juice so you can be assured that your drink will NEVER be diluted. You'll notice this for the rest of the specialty drinks as well. Genius!
This is minced chicken stuffed in green chili. It's not actually spicy, and it's pretty juicy.
Earl Grey Lemon Tea. Ever since I came back from Shanghai, I've been realizing that an earl grey component really helps to stablize and give the drink a certain anchor.
Xiao long bao is pork, but Din Tai Fung offers an alternative to Muslims, Jewish, Sikhs and some Christians who can't eat the meat - a chicken version.
This is gourd and prawn dumpling. It's like har-gow with vegetables. Skip the vinegar and eat this with chili - as how you'd eat with normal dim sum.
Steamed Fish dumplings. This, is a bit weird. Yeah.
Roselle Juice. Yes, Roselle's a real plant. I liked it cos' it tastes like if Ribena, bandung, cranberries and acais had an orgy and somehow managed to give birth to a child. Note the Roselle ice ball.
Noodles in spicy sesame oil. BreadTalk Group manages Din Tai Fung in Thailand, and this dish introduced over there, was so popular that they brought it down here. One thing I really love about it is that it has the goodness of those instant noodle Mee Goreng mixes. On a rainy or cold day or night, this is the ultimate comfort food to down exactly because it's so hearty.
Did I mention, it's not spicy either.
Nonya Curry Fish Head. When your mother, aunties and uncles, and their mother are stereotypical Nonyas, you get exposed to Peranakan food quite a bit, and this, was a traversty to the Nonyas. If it didn't come with the word "Nonya", I might have been more partial to it.
Gongbao (Kung-pow) Chicken. Loved the chicken.
A evolutionary take on the classic hotplate tofu. The Japanese fish flakes were an interesting touch, and the one-side spinach-topped tofu made for a more balanced flavor.
Sweet and Sour pork. I think I've tasted better elsewhere. Definitely the highlight.
A rather surprisingly simplistic take on yet another classic, hotplate beef.
Prawn paste chicken. I think this is perhaps, one of my favorite, and one of the best I've tried. Personally, I don't like the prawn paste to overwhelm the chicken too much. On the other hand, I don't like things that are devoid of flavor. This straddles the middle, and I liked it.
Erm... I'm not sure what's this. I didn't really try it either, now that I think about it.
Wow! Loved the steamed cod. During the tasting, I was thinking, I wish I could have it all for myself.
Some vegetable juice thing. Eww. I'm not a fan. I had a few sips though, it was refreshing nonetheless.
Sesame Paste over Almond Pudding.
Mango Pudding. With the pudding filled with mangos, it was like eating a real mango. Lovely.
