Din Tai Fung - Gurney Plaza

Have put off coming here for months already . 

Well , we finally took the plunge today but alas I have no extra pics to prove that we tucked in at this outlet , because my phone was er ...overtaxed and undercharged .

Thus you will have to make do with just one photo ( updated with photos as we went back a 2nd time ) of this house speciality , the starter ....a kelp, tofu , beansprout and glass noodle pickle which tasted so Taiwanese , I wore a puzzled look on my face till I checked out their facebook page . Which is laughable because I assumed from the set up that Din Tai Fung was Hongkie in origin .

No , Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese restaurant with fine dining Chinese cuisine that will knock you off your feet , you Alishan bumpkin you ( I'm talking about me ) !

We did not order the crowd favourite ...the Xiao Long Bau .

Instead , we were hungry , really hungry yet unwilling to spend too much at first because you know , it's our first visit and we are not going to be made suckers .

Basically , we had Japanese rice ( which was a tad too dry for my liking ) and paired it with Beef Soup 

( that's Chinese brassica next to it , bit too pricey at MYR 20 , not recommended )

that appetizer above and 6 pieces of heavenly , heavenly spicy shrimp and pork wantons made by angels and a glass of the most aromatic Chinese tea that can send alot of so called dimsum palaces to the dunce corner .

Ok , I'll cut it short .

Any amount of money you spend here is going to be worth it . The foods are exquisite and finely crafted , the wanton skin alone ought to earn them yet another Michelin star . I'm serious !

Things I found fault with was the moistness of the rice , the habit of dipping bite sized buns into rice vinegar and the really tame spice level .

Verdict : honestly , I have zero tolerance for Taiwanese cuisine , but the foods here  are so outstanding , I humbly admit defeat and rate this as number one  .

Location : Gurney Plaza , Penang