The Art of Xiao Long Bao Making at Din Tai Fung

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If there is one thing that the monkies just can never get enough of, it has got to be those small but juicy xiao long baos. Even better if they are from Din Tai Fung! So imagine the monkies' joy when they discovered they had the opportunity to learn the art of xiao long bao making from a veteran Din Tai Fung Chef at a Junior Chef Workshop.

Alas, Ash had to give it a miss due to his school CCA but that did not deter him from requesting his siblings to pack some xiao long baos back for him! Something which I think Ayd and Ale were happy to oblige.

Truth was, they just could not wait for the workshop to get started. Much like the rest of the other kids present who were fortunate enough to snag a spot at the highly coveted fun workshop.

Din Tai Fung Chef Lim Yu Kim took everybody through the various steps of crafting the perfect xiao long bao and boy, was it an intricate process! Each xiao long bao is wrapped with such precision and rigour that it kind of made me feel bad in devouring one in less than 10 seconds.

Ayd, being the forever eager beaver, did not hesitate when the emcee asked for a volunteer to try his hand at folding a xiao long bao.

Well, he soon found out that it sure was harder than it looked! And I too got the chance to experience it for myself when the participants were given the go-ahead to get our hands busy.

Every single thing about one xiao long bao has got to be exact and precise; from the weight of the dough to even the diameter of the xiao long bao skin - 6.5cm if you must know.

And since we were all novices when it came to wrapping dumplings, we were given red bean paste as the filling instead so as to keep everything less messy. Heh.

Did you know that in each xiao long bao's translucent and fine dumpling skin, it has 18 exquisite folds??? The folds allow the dumpling to hold the juicy steamed pork and broth within while maintaining the right chewy texture. And believe me when I say the 18 folds are darn hard to master!

The one on the extreme left was made by Ayd, the middle one was by me while the one on the right was by the Chef. I think he should be relieved that his job is safe. Okay, so it was a no-fight considering that every Din Tai Fung chef goes through 2 years of training to master the art of making xiao long bao!

But I guess all of us had loads of fun making our own Frankenstein versions of xiao long baos, while learning more about the efforts that went into the preparation of the food at Din Tai Fung. Of course, nothing could beat the joy of savouring the real deal at the end of the Junior Chef Workshop too!

But while the wokshop has ended, the fun has not. In fact, it has just begun... especially if you are planning to bring your children to dine at Din Tai Fung this October!

Din Tai Fung is celebrating Children’s Day in a big way this October with the following promotions:

Complimentary Stationery folder (worth $14.90 each) - 11 October 2014 (Saturday)
Dine at any Din Tai Fung restaurants on Saturday, 11 October 2014, and the first 250 children (age 12 & below) at each restaurant can walk away with Din Tai Fung’s exclusive stationery folder. Receive an extra set of Staedtler Wax Crayons when you dine at Paragon, Bedok Mall, 112 Katong and Jurong Point.

Balloon Sculpting - 25 October, Saturday, 11.30am to 12.30pm
With a min. spend of $50 at Din Tai Fung @ 112 Katong, diners can receive a complimentary sculpted balloon. While stocks last.

$1,900 dining vouchers to be won!
Simply like Din Tai Fung’s Facebook page to sign up for a special draw and stand a chance to win up to $500 dining vouchers each!