Din Tai Fung @ The Gardens, Midvalley

Din Tai Fung is fast becoming a household name in serving brilliant Shanghainese dishes, boosted by the growing trend of dining in cool and chic Chinese restaurants serving Xiu Long Bao and La Mian. With outlets in Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, China, USA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and Australia, it's probably time for Malaysians to relish the hype. And the number of Dragon-i, Canton-i, Crystal Jade and similar outlets had been steadily increasing in Malaysia taking the competition up a notch or two.

A typical scene come lunch hour @ Din Tai Fung, The Gardens

Having sampled other Xiu Long Bao in other outlets (such as THIS), I'm still searching for a really tasty version of the small dumplings. And glad to say, Din Tai Fung passed the test, with flying colours.

The accompanying supporting characters ...

Appetizer of crunchy, julienned wood ear fungus, red chillies, glass noodles and whatnots (RM2.00, yup, NOT complimentary)

The first and only outlet in Klang Valley, and Malaysia (correct me if I'm wrong), Din Tai Fung is located at the lower ground floor of The Gardens, Midvalley. The floor with Purple Cane, Nyonya Colors, and of course, Rak Thai.

Be sure to arrive early for lunch, else the queue might be a potential deterrent factor. On weekends and public holidays, you'll be lucky to find a seat come peak hours.

Drunken Chicken @ RM11.80

Of course, they serve not only XLB and LaMian (hand-pulled noodles), but various other Chinese dishes as well. One fine example being a cold appetizer in the form of 'Drunken Chicken'. True to its name, the cold cuts of chicken thigh exudes a hint of Chinese cooking wine aroma, enveloping the palate with a refreshing, yet strong aftertaste. Don't worry, the meat may look pink, but they're not raw. Crunchy, and light, this entree teases the palate for more to come.

Cha Jiang La Mian (Hand-pulled Noodles with Minced Pork & Beancurd) @ RM12.00

Foodie of the Day, my lunch companion, Mr T chose the La Mian for a substantial meal, as opposed to me who wished for something lighter, after a heavy breakfast of Bak Kut Teh. He had nothing but praises for the Cha Jiang La Mian. I wished I had sampled a few strands, but slight misfortune while chewing on the Drunken Chicken rendered me 'handicapped' from fully enjoying my meal. Shucks ...

And ladies & gentlemen, the acclaimed Xiu Long Bao !!!

If it's your first time here, I highly recommend their XLB, aka Mini Pork Dumplings with Soup, encased within folds after folds of thin skin, an important aspect when relishing these morsels of goodies. At Dragon-i, the fillings of pork meat was a tad dryer than Din Tai Fung's, and the skin was not as translucent/thin as I'd hoped for. But the XLB from Din Tai Fung was a step above the rest, as they say. And the soup was NOT of tongue-burning temperature, further enhancing the "one sip of soup, one bite of pork" experience. Dip them into the julienned ginger in vinegar sauce, and you'd secretly hope you're not sharing the portion. Hoard them all, baby ....

A shot of the Drunken Chicken - Culprit to a bleeding tongue =(

Savour them one bite at a time ... OR throw the whole dumpling into your mouth, feeling the squirts of sweet, yet savoury soup

A thoroughly satisfying experience. Will definitely be back for more, once I've tried everything (worth-trying, I might add) at The Gardens, possibly.