Din Tai Fung opens at RWS’ new Weave complex, complete with a cocktail & tea bar

With 28 outlets across the island, Din Tai Fung is pretty much a household name to us in Singapore. Most of us would have had, or have heard of, this well-loved xiao long bao concept at least once in their lives.  

Said to be the second-biggest Din Tai Fung outlet in Singapore, its latest outlet at Resorts World Sentosa’s new Weave complex isn’t just dishing up XLBs, but cocktails, too. (It’s largest outlet is still its flagship Paragon outlet.)

The 250-seater Din Tai Fung at RWS has a cocktail bar — its first in Asia — as well as a tea appreciation area, which will allow for diners to partake in tea etiquette and cocktail pairing sessions.

We got a first look at its outlet’s offerings, and the bar, which connects two flanking wings of the restaurant, paints a pretty picture. This is especially so when juxtaposed against Din Tai Fung’s signature bright, open-concept kitchen where you can see the chefs doling out XLBs every minute.

If you’re not sure what to begin with, Din Tai Fung’s cocktail bar has a trio of vibrant, camera-ready cocktails, each embellished with Chinese characters that make up its name. 

There’s Din (S$30), a light gin cocktail with jasmine, lychee, strawberry, and lemon juice, Tai (S$30), a tropical tequila concoction with pineapple, lime juice and honey, and lastly, Fung (S$30) a slightly heavier rum-brandy drink with lemongrass, ginger syrup, lemon juice, and ginger beer. 

For someone who loves my drinks with just a touch of sweetness, I found most of its concoctions a smidge too sweet. If I really had to choose, the deeper-flavoured Fung was my favourite of the lot, but its S$30 price tag does leave much to be desired.

Of course, there are regular drinks such as whisky sours, and even mou tai if you’d like some to enjoy your XLBs with. (You can order drinks from your table, too — you don’t have to be seated at the bar to have them.) 

In line with its spanking new bar concept, the outlet also serves up new items, exclusive to RWS, which make for great bar bites such as the Taiwanese fried chicken (S$9.80), and the Taiwanese crispy battered squid (S$11.80).

There’s also fried cod bites (S$36.80), which were very yummy and had a delicately light batter — although the use of premium fish does mean it’s not quite bar-bite prices. 

Other new, outlet-exclusive menu items that caught our eye include its premium lobster dry noodle in chef’s seafood sauce (S$39.80) and its steamed beef tenderloin xiao long bao (from S$18 for six pieces).

The lobster dry noodles come with tender, flavourful Boston lobster that go so well with the aromatic, seafood sauce-infused noodles. 

To add more “wetness” to the noodles, you should definitely have it with the provided onsen egg. I’d advise going with half the egg first, though, then adding the other half so you can play around with how saucy you’d like your noodles. Adding in some of Din Tai Fung’s signature chilli oil is a must here, too. 

Having loved Din Tai Fung’s regular steamed pork XLB for decades now, I found that the steamed beef tenderloin XLBs took some getting used to. 

It’s not bad, it just has a different mouthfeel compared to the usual well-loved pork XLBs, and could be a good go-between for customers who love XLBs, but can’t take pork. 

A word of caution though, the beef flavours can be intense — order only if you really like beef or can’t take pork. Else, just stick with the basics — its signature steamed pork xiao long bao.

Another new addition at Din Tai Fung’s RWS Weave outlet is oscietre caviar, available at S$90 for 30g or S$160 for 50g.

With such premium prices at a fast-casual concept, we’re hard-pressed to see who’d take this up. Though, if you do make the splurge, it goes great with the lobster dry noodles and the seasonal steamed chilli crab and pork xiao long bao (from S$14.80 for four pieces). 

Being located near Universal Studios Singapore, and in the heart of many kid-friendly attractions, Din Tai Fung at RWS has also upped its dessert offerings, with items such as steamed coconut yuzu bun (from S$3 per piece), steamed kaya bun (from S$3 per piece) and honey chocolate buns (from S$4.20 per piece). 

My favourite of the lot was the steamed coconut yuzu bun, which had a good balance of sweetness and slight tartness from the yuzu.

If you ever bring visiting friends to this outlet, they can also dabao made-in-Taiwan items such as Taiwan chilli oil (S$16), Din Tai Fung’s pineapple cakes (S$32.80), and even an XLB plushie at S$43. 

For more ideas on what to eat, check out this new quaint casual French concept, The Plump Frenchman by the Zouk group, or swing by Lee & Bai, which also sells steamed buns.