Restaurants
Ding Tai Fung Shanghai Dim Sum
Ding Tai Fung Shanghai Dim Sum is located in a busy Markham strip mall 35-minutes drive from downtown Toronto - and it's well worth the trek. It's difficult to find good parking here and when you finally get to the restaurant, there is always a queue, especially on weekends. These inconveniences are almost certain, but for the exceptional food experience that's to follow, they are so very worth it.
Ding Tai Fung is the only restaurant in the GTA specializing in Shanghai dim sum (also known as Xiaolongbao or "little basket buns"). Differing from the widely available Cantonese-style dumplings and buns, the Shanghai variety is generally larger, brothier and focuses on a variety of fresh ingredients and big flavour.
The restaurant is clean, austere and is clearly all about the food. Closely packed tables leave just enough space for the servers to squeeze in and out with the orders, while a bevy of cooks behind the counter rapidly prepare the dim sum for baking, steaming and frying.
You wont see any dim sum carts at Ding Tai Fung, everything is ordered à la carte and made as it is ordered. Their menu, offering over 145 dishes, is as extensive as it is authentic, with their only other branch is located in Taiwan.
It's obvious that the kitchen and wait staff are used to working at a high level of efficiency. Even at peak times, orders arrive in less than 10 minutes, patron turnover is brisk and the food and tea is always fresh.
Our meal started with some piping hot Jasmine Tea and Steamed Chive and Meat Dumplings ($5.99). These large, crested dumplings are so big they require some effort to manage with chopsticks. If you can get one of these in your mouth, expect an explosion of succulence.
Carefully mixed inside the dumpling with the garlic, chive and savoury beef is warm broth that adds another dimension of taste and texture. The skin is firm enough to hold the broth yet soft, without being soggy.
Customers also have the option of ordering the very similar Steamed Vegetarian Dumplings ($5.99) which are equally delectable and are best eaten with the soup spoon so you don't lose any of the delicious broth.
Up next were Sticky Rice and Meat Dumplings ($5.99) which are stuffed with glutinous rice and bits of stir-fried beef. These are partially open so you can see the grains if rice peeping out and are like a sweetish risotto in a thick wrapper. They're yummy, but rather heavy, so we ended up taking most of ours home.
Another reason for making the trip up to Ding Tai Fung is to try their famed Green Onion Pancake ($3.49). Perfectly pan-toasted and firm on the outside yet soft on the inside, these large cakes are meals in themselves but were so good they were quickly consumed and definitely a must-try.
Shanghai-style Pan-Fried Minced Pork Buns ($5.99) look similar to white Cantonese style steamed buns but are rounder and their bottoms are pan-seared with sesame seeds; a nice touch. While these were tasty, we found that there was too much bread and not enough pork and filling inside.
While the dim sum is served with slivers of ginger, the dishes are so full of flavour that they don't need to be dipped in soy sauce even though this, together with chili oil, is readily available at the table.
For dessert, we had Steamed Sesame Paste buns ($5.50) which were simply sublime and unlike anything we have tasted before. We know dessert is customarily served cold but there's something heavenly about the warm gooey goodness of these toasted and steamed buns that is extremely satisfying and simply the best way to end an excellent meal.
With its amazing flavours, consistent quality and wide variety of dishes, Ding Tai Fung is most definitely worth a visit and was, for us, a revelation in the richness and variety of flavours of Shanghai-style dim sum.
Discussion
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http://acurrie.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/acrtw-the-serious-business-of-eating-dumplings-in-taiwan/
It's not listed on their home page:
http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/index.asp
The food looks and sounds good but there are tons of places to get xiaolongbao in the GTA. Also, there are definitely more branches of this restaurant around the world besides those the author has listed.
Research. It helps.
There are still places using carts, but carts is a Cantonese thing; you won't find Shanghai dim sum restaurants using carts.
Her explanation, "Same name, different owner."
Shanghai Style dimsum is not widely available in Toronto. Some bakeries and Cantonese dim sum places like Asian Legend may offer 2 or 3 similar dishes to the soup dumplings but not the 26 varieties that DTF has.
It is impossible that they have a same name restaurant in Taiwan because the name has been registered for copy rights. Where did the manager say the restaurant is located in Taiwan??
if the food is as good as this review claims, i'll do it instead of bearing with the usual typical asian legends offering.
it's too bad they're not the same as the michelin 1 stared DTF, but like everything chinese, it's an imitation of another DTF brand. (it's okay, i'm chinese, i can say that :P)
Quite a tangent, but the Metro Square porkchop/chicken bento is what I crave when I visit my parents! $7 and it tastes pretty much like how they make it in Taiwan.
I've only been to DTF Toronto once. It was good, but doesnt really stand out in my mind. It is nothing comparable to the real thing in Taipei where the service is absolutely top notch - you will never see the bottom of your tea cup. I would go there like 3 or 4 times a week when I am visiting Taiwan. :)
As for this DTF having another location in Taipei, it is possible, but not under the same name. A lot of ex-DTF chefs sometimes would leave and open their own xiaolongbao restaurants.
http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/en/area_a_list.asp?AreaCountryNO=97
- First Markham Place isn't a strip mall.
- parking depends on what day you go. if you go on a weekday parking should be fine
-Ding Tai Fung is not the only restaurant in the GTA specializing in Shanghai dim sum. in fact there's another restaurant in fmp that serves shanghainese cuisine also
- Xiaolongbao is a type of dumpling, not a word to describe shanghainese dim sum in general
but aside from that, I agree that the food is very good, and it's nice to see that restaurants in the suburbs are being reviewed as there are alot of good restaurants especially in Markham
Beef rolled in pancakes were very dry inside with crusty peking duck sauce, but the pancakes saturated in oil. The only thing that stood out was the noodle soup with braised beef, mostly because of the perfect chewy handmade noodles.
Also, they only have that awful artificial pink vinegar available for dipping. For a place that makes their own dumplings they should provide the authentic zingy brown kind.
I also found the best thing was the noodles in beef broth. Really good chewy handmade noodles, and the broth was clean-tasting and didn't have a lick of grease.
This is a nice place. A bit pricey. It's not a bad place to start; if I didn't have my much more knowledgeable parents taking me places, I wouldn't know where else to go.
I'm not an expert ... but is this really considered dim sum, even Shanghai style? I was under the impression that dim sum is mostly Cantonese.