din tai fung

din tai fung
3333 Bristol St, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 (inside south coast plaza)
tel: 714) 549-3388

what was consumed: soup dumplings (both pork and crab), wontons in spicy sauce, shanghai rice cakes with chicken, steamed bok choy, and sea salt black tea to wash it all down

din tai fung in orange county? it is high time! apparently, i'm not the only one to think this way as the line to get on the list to wait for a seat at the south coast plaza location was out the door and around the corner (stacey and i took a chance and got in the significantly shorter "bar seat" line. stacey's a pro and we were sitting in under 30 minutes). funny to think that i've seen this delicious dim sum chain in so many different countries ... but it wasn't until i came home that i got to visit.

once stacey and i sat down, we quickly put in our order. all the soup dumplings please! or at least two orders (one for the each of us, split down the middle). and they were delish. inside each dumpling is some filling accompanied by broth. there is no such thing as taking a bite; you enjoy the entire dumpling as a whole. YUM. we also rounded out the dumpling menu with an order of some veggie dumplings in spicy sauce.

din tai fun also has other options, in case soup dumplings aren't your thing (but they should be. we will have to have a serious chat if they aren't). i'd definitely recommend the shanghai noodles. i love the rice cakes (similar to the kind they use for korean dduk-guk) in a soy sauce-base stir fried up with veggies and meat of your choice. i want to eat this dish (and soup dumplings) FOR-E-VER :P

online: http://dintaifungusa.com/locations_us/#orangecounty

dumpling zhang

dumpling zhang
F-8/3, street 8, house 32A
tel: 03145236918

what was consumed: dumplings! fried and steamed, chicken, beef, and veggie. also hot and sour soup, lotus root (for roughage), eggplant ... and a series of other chinese dishes

i love dumplings! and i love that, as far as i can tell, there are versions of dumplings in all cultures. i mean, what's not to like?

almost immediately upon arrival, people were talking about some placed called "dumpling zhang's" and how they have the best dumplings. i had them at a few house parties (yes! they deliver!) and loved each and every bite. so, when friends decided to check out the brick and mortar location, i prepared for an evening overflowing with delicious delicious chinese-style dumplings. yaaassssss!!!

when we were dropped out at dumpling zhang's, i asked, "are we here? is this it?" this isn't out of the ordinary, though, because lots of restaurants are housed in actual houses. we were, indeed, at the correct location. and we proceeded inside.

once inside, i felt like i had entered a chinese restaurant back home, fluorescent lights, chinese newspapers strewn around, little kids running around, and all. we were escorted to a private room (we had a large group) and the table was equipped with one of my favorite things: a lazy susan :D

we knew we were going to order LOTS of dumplings, but were pleasantly surprised with the great variety of other chinese dishes on the menu (until then, i had only had the dumplings!). we looked through the photos and picked a couple of other items, mostly veggie. they even had lotus root! love lotus root.

and the dumplings! there were quite a few of us, so we ordered A LOT of dumplings. in addition to all of the other dishes, it ended up being something like 15 dumplings per person. my favorite were the fried chicken dumplings, with a bit of chili oil and vinegar soy sauce. the crisp shell would hold the dumpling together as i poked a small hole for the oil and soy sauce before devouring each dumpling bite. the steamed ones are also delicious and i'll take any of them any day. 

must enjoy again!

jonny dumpling

jonny dumpling

130-3 itaewon-dong, yongsan-gu, seoul

tel: +82-2-790-8830

what was consumed: steamed dumplings, fried dumplings, and mussels soup

chinese style dumplings ... in seoul! with dad in town, i wanted to make sure we got to enjoy some tasty treats. i had heard about johnny dumpling and had seen the long lines of patrons waiting outside. i wanted to try! 

johnny dumpling serves chinese style dumplings. ie, thick, (in this case) hand-rolled dumpling wrapper filled with mean, usually just shrimp or pork. the dumplings come either steamed or pan fried. we tried both. the wrapper is a little thick for my liking, but it's in the chinese style, so i knew what i was getting in to and it was de-lish. and the mussels soup! a nice addition to the dumplings. there isn't anything extravagant about the soup - a simple broth, seasoned with salt and pepper (for the most part), in which the mussels are steamed. but it offered seafood-y goodness that paired so well with the dumplings. and the broth helped wash down the delicious dumplings.

YUM. let's go wait in line for some dumplings now!