When we visited Seattle a year ago, we went to have sun dim sum at Din Tai Fung on Pine Street, and it was quite delicious! We had an opportunity to dine at the same restaurant, but at a different location in Bellevue. It is located inside Bellevue Square, and whenever we walked by the restaurant, we always saw a line of people waiting!
Right at the entrance was this huge dumpling boy, welcoming everyone with a smile! How cute is he???
The inside was large, much bigger than I thought it would be, but obviously not big enough for the demand! As soon as we walked in, a friendly hostess greeted us and took us to our table. The server, Johnny, came over right away and greeted us. The menu looked a bit different from the one from Seattle, I wonder if it is an updated menu, or they have a little different menu at each location?
We ordered Taiwanese Oolong Hot Tea ($3.50/pot) to accompany our meal. It is always good have some kind of hot tea to go with an Asian dishes…
We ordered a few items to share. The first one was Shrimp and Kurobuta Pork Wonton Soup ($11). It came in a clear, light broth, with a generous amount of wontons. It was flavorful, comforting, and the wontons were super plump! Great dish to promote your appetite.
Then a rice dish, Shrimp Fried Rice ($12.25). We had this dish at Din Tai Fung in Seattle, and remembered how awesome it was, so I just had to get it again. And guess what? It was as great as I remembered! Soooo delicious!
We had to order one dumpling dish, as they specialize in them. We saw an interesting item, Steamed Cod Dumplings ($12.75). How unique and interesting, I don’t think I’ve ever had cod dumpling before. It contains chicken broth, so it had more flavor than I expected. It had nice, large pieces of cod inside the dumpling, quite good.
I also wanted a noodle dish, and big surprise, I ordered the same thing I had at Din Tai Fung in Seattle… It was Noodles with Minced Kurobuta Pork Sauce ($10.50). Oh but wait, it didn’t say “kurobuta pork” in the one at Seattle, so I guess this one is slightly different… It was really tasty, with great texture of the noodles, almost plump. The minced pork sauce was packed with flavor!
We were so full, we didn’t have any room left for dessert which was pity… Everything we had was great, did not disappoint the second visit! Well, it is a different location, but still, under the same umbrella. I see the reason for their popularity! Our server, Johnny, was very attentive and polite, took a really good care of us. All the other staffs were nice too, they were all very efficient. I am sure we will visit again, if we are anywhere near one of their many locations…
Din Tai Fung – 700 Bellevue Way NE #280, Bellevue, WA 98004