I first spotted this little restaurant in a mall near our apartment in Singapore. As it turns out Din Tai Fung is a huge international chain, once apparently dubbed as one of the Ten best Restaurants worldwide by The New York Times. This chain began its roots in Taiwan, which probably explain why I enjoy it so much. Since my mother was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan so all of my Chinese food preferences are that of Taiwanese cuisine.

Din Tai Fung is fabulous. They use fresh ingredients and all the locations I’ve seen here in Singapore feature a kitchen of glass walls so you can see the cooks hard at work. They have a very simple menu and if you don’t like dumplings, its probably not the best choice for you because they are best known for their xiao long bao, steamed pork dumplings. Their xiao long bao along with their taiwanese-style egg fried rice are my two favorite items on the menu.

Now, you don’t have to make it all the way to Asia to try Din Tai Fung. It can now be found in the US as well, just find your way over to LA.

Din Tai Fung
1108 South Baldwin Avenue
Arcadia, California 91007

The thing I was most looking forward to was stopping into the Rather Sweet Bakery & Cafe, owned by Rebecca Rather, author of the Pastry Queen. It was tucked away a bit from Main Street and we couldn’t find it at first but had to ask some locals. Simply asking for directions to the bakery resulted in three locals chiming in about the delicious treats they offer. We couldn’t wait to get across the street. It took us 10 minutes to decide what to get because everything looked so decadent. We decided on a mini Key Lime Pie and it was amazing. I’m not normally a Key Lime fan, but this tart has converted me. It wasn’t too sweet – it was creamy and tart without being too tart… the perfect balance. It was absolutely delicious! (Sorry for the crummy pictures, it was really dark in the cafe!)

The only thing disappointing, was getting home to find that this recipe was not in my cookbook. She does however have a new cookbook set to hit bookstores next month, The Pastry Queen Christmas: Big-hearted Holiday Entertaining, Texas Style. I can’t wait to get my hands on it in the hopes that her recipe for key lime pie is in it! I’m not holding my breath though as I expect the cookbook to be filled with gingerbread wonders and other fabulous holiday treats that we spend all year anxiously waiting for; the smell of pumpkin, cinnamon and spice… the smell of the holidays! It will be without a doubt, just as good as her first cookbook. Look for it in bookstores in September!