Let the juicy pork dumpling madness begin. Today marks the official public grand opening of Din Tai Fung at South Coast Plaza. Din Tai Fung is a high-end Chinese restaurant that has earned countless accolades for their food. South Coast Plaza is the largest upscale shopping mall on the West coast with sales of over $1.5 billion (yes, billion with a "B") every year.
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| South Coast Plaza location: Replaced the old McDonald's spot by Sears |
You're probably saying, what? Isn't this a BBQ blog? Yes, you're right. But it's also about the ingredients and the meat. I'm all about the MEAT, especially when pork is involved.
Din Tai Fung is a restaurant that specializes in steamed dumplings. But they're not just your average, standard ho-hum dumpling. What makes these dumplings special is that they are filled with seasoned pork meat AND hot pork broth inside these porkalicious dumplings. Yes, I wrote porkalicious.
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| 10 juicy pork dumplings, coming right up |
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| Scalding hot and juicy pork broth inside |
Now there are many different restaurants that serve these hot juicy pork dumplings (In Chinese, it's called xiao long bao). But what makes Din Tai Fung's version stand out from the rest is the attention to detail. They have an army of workers simply dedicated to making these dumplings by hand, from scratch. They go through countless hours of training just to be able to meet Din Tai Fung's high standards.
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| I wonder if they're allowed to make funny faces at customers walking by? |
I can easily put down 30 of these hot-pork-broth filled dumplings. They're that good. Sure, I may burn every square inch inside of my mouth in the process, but that's how good they are. I love the intense pork flavor that's packed into each one of these dumplings, and the juicy hot broth is the best part.
While there are hundreds of locations throughout Asia, there are only a handful in the U.S. -- all of them on the West coast. If you find yourself with the opportunity to try these porkalicious dumplings, then jump on it. You can find more pictures on my Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1Bm9d8v
Din Tai Fung
3333 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
