While on a weekend getaway to Seattle, I really wanted to check Din Tai Fung off my list and try these Michelin-star rated Xiao Long Baos. In the Seattle area, there are four different Din Tai Fung locations. We visited the one in downtown which is about a 15 minute walk from Pike Place Market and inside a mall (I know that the Zomato spoonback is for the University District, but they didn’t have a page for the Downtown location).
We were prepared to wait, and in total we waited probably about 30-35 minutes? You can provide your phone number and they’ll text you when it’s almost your turn. We killed some time and splurged at See’s Candy which is across the street! There’s also a Sephora and Nordstrom across the street so the wait time goes by quite fast.
The vibe of the restaurant was pretty fancy compared to all the other Taiwanese restaurants that we have been to. It was tastefully decorated and pretty modern.
Xiao long bao: You can’t come to Din Tai Fung without getting the famous Xiao Long Baos! We made sure to order them.
It was love at first bite. What sets them apart is that the skin is very thin and slightly chewy, yet it does not break on impact. The thin skin is still able to hold all of the delicious juices inside.
The XLBs are definitely worth the hype and wait. Do yourself a favor and order it!
Moving to the other menu items that aren’t as popular but delicious as well!
Taiwanese spicy beef noodle soup: Nigiri’s beef noodle soup had incredibly tender beef chunks, which were marinated very well too. It wasn’t too spicy although the broth was very flavourful.
Taiwanese beef noodle soup: Maki and I both ordered the same simple beef broth soup. It was very clear yet still flavourful. The taste was very homemade and comforting, and reminded me of the boyfriend’s dad’s broth.
Dan Dan noodles: The boyfriend had mixed feelings about his noodles. There was a large portion of noodles but no meat. Although there was a large portion of noodles, it didn’t feel like any substance so it would have been better with a protein of some sort. It didn’t seem worth the price since it was just noodles, despite the sauce being delicious.
I’m not sure if it’s because I am Canadian so I have to keep in mind the extra 30% (approximate) approximate exchange rate, but our meal was pretty pricey. I am glad I finally tried it though and would love for Din Tai Fung to open in Vancouver so that it wouldn’t be as expensive.
I would still recommend trying the famous XLBs because they are definitely worth it! Perhaps don’t come as hungry as we did because the portion of noodles aren’t that big compared to what we usually get back home. Which is surprising because America is land of the big portions!
Yay!
One thing I really liked about the Hyatt House was how quiet it was. Even in the hallways, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Even though the hotel was facing a highway, you could not tell because of how greatly soundproofed it was.
First off, what is the CityPASS? The CityPASS offers customers access to the city’s top attractions, at a significantly discounted rate. Once you purchase the pass, you simply tear off the ticket at the attraction and you are good to go! In New York, here are the six attractions one can choose from:
All in all, having the CityPASS made our 6 day trip to New York a lot easier and better. Wait times were cut down, didn’t have to worry about purchasing tickets, and I already knew where I was going so didn’t have to waste time! My favourite was obviously the Empire State Building, and my second would have to be the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise.
We walked by Five Senses, and it looked pretty busy so we gave the menu a quick look. After seeing the high ratings on Yelp, we decided to try it! I’m glad we came here before the dinner rush because there was a pretty long line up afterwards.
Banchan, free: The banchan was pretty much the same as what you would get in Vancouver. However, I’ve never seen the clear, cold noodles mixed with veggies on the far right before. That was probably my favourite dish out of all of these. The noodles were served a bit chilled, and had a really strong sesame oil taste to it! The kimchi packed a lot of heat as well.
Sul lang tang, $12.99: I honestly don’t know why I keep ordering beef bone stock soup when it usually isn’t that tasty. I’ve come to accept the fact that Korean beef bone soup is usually pretty flavourless, and this was pretty much the same. On the right hand side of the photo, you can see the salt that it comes with, but I had to ask for another plate of it because it still wasn’t enough.
Soondubu, $13.99: I had wanted to order this as well, but wasn’t really feeling like anything spicy. This is the seafood tofu soup. It came with a generous amount of tofu and seafood, and was super filling. We found it to have a good amount of spice to it as well. Overall, a really comforting and delicious dish!
So, after an afternoon of exploring Central Park and The Met museum, we explored the Upper East Side and went to Candle 79!
We were still pretty full from our lunch at Blue Dog, but didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to try this place. Since we already had plans for the rest of the trip and wouldn’t be in this area of NYC again, we decided on just having a small snack to at least try something!
Housemade ice cream sampler, $9: The nachos were already really filling considering we weren’t hungry to begin with, but I couldn’t pass up the chance to have ICE CREAM. I was already sold when our server told us it was made with rich coconut milk. I’ve been deprived of ice cream for soooo long.