Din Tai Fung Jungceylon Phuket — Restaurant in Patong

Our first meal in this well known Taiwanese chain restaurant definitely got a 10 out of 10!

We came quite hungry after skipping lunch that day, which was a good choice so we were able to enjoy a variety of their huge menu. The concept of this chain is that you get a page with their menu, and just check the boxes of whatever dishes you want to order and the amount, which we really liked as there's no pressure on ordering and you don't really have to wait for a waiter. The food is freshly made by order and to was served very quickly, although the restaurant was quite busy as it was the peek of dinnertime.

We started with their famously known crunchy mini cucumber in spicy sauce, and could tell it's popular for a good reason - the cucumbers were really crunchy and the combination with the spicy sauce created the perfect fresh bite to accompany our meal. One of the dishes that was the highlight of our dinner was their famous steamed pork xiao long bao - steamed dumplings filled with pork. When you take a bite you sip a little of that amazing soup stock that lays inside the dumpling, then just shove the whole thing into your mouth and get a perfect bite with delicious stock, tender pork filling and very thin dough. Another type of dumpling we tried was the oriental wantons with black vinegar & chilli oil - I think these were definitely another highlight and a must-have dish! The dumpling melt in your mouth and the sauce was sooo delicious but not too spicy, we just wanted to drink whatever was left of it in the plate after finishing eating the dumplings.

Another dish we tried but was probably the least successful one was the crispy golden prawn pancake - as expected, since it's deep fried it had a strong oily taste that we usually don't like, and it just felt too greasy.

Continuing on to the noodles section, we had 2 amazing dishes. The first was their dan dan noodles - thin noodles served in the creamiest peanut sauce where every bite felt like heaven. And just when we though this was the best part of our dinner, we tried the noodles with shrimp & pork oriental wantons in spicy sauce and these were even better. The combination of the dumplings, the thin noodles & the spicy sauce was just divine and we slurped the entire dish at the blink of an eye.

For something a bit more fresh we couldn't skip our favorite dish, stir fried spinach with garlic, that complimented the rest of the dishes perfectly with a strong garlicy flavor, just the way we like it.

Of course we couldn't skip dessert and ordered the steamed sesame bun which was sooo delicious and not too sweet, with flavor that really reminded us of halva and we loved it.

To conclude, we would definitely get back to the other branches of this restaurant wherever we'll be able to, and we just can't wait...

We’ve always loved Din Tai Fung — it’s a trusted favourite of ours. Having dined at their branches in Singapore and Dubai on many occasions, we were genuinely excited to see a Din Tai Fung in Patong and returned especially after finding it closed the night before. Unfortunately, our experience here was deeply disappointing and far below the standard we’ve come to expect from this brand.

Food Quality: • The chicken soup arrived with a black hair in it, which appeared clearly to be human hair with dye residue on it. When we raised this with the staff, we were told it was chicken hair, which felt dismissive and implausible. • The mushroom dumplings were served cold and one contained what appeared to be a small shell fragment or hard grit inside — quite unpleasant. • Overall, the dishes lacked the usual flavour, depth, and freshness we associate with Din Tai Fung. The finesse and balance the brand is known for simply wasn’t there.

Service: • The staff were polite but poorly trained in handling complaints. Instead of acknowledging the issue and offering a genuine apology or resolution, the hair incident was brushed off in a way that left us feeling unheard and frustrated. • When we sent back the dumplings, there was no follow-up or offer to replace them, just a quiet removal from the table.

Ambience & Cleanliness: • The restaurant looked neat on the surface, but based on our experience with the soup and the dumpling, we now question the kitchen hygiene and food preparation standards. • It lacked the vibrant energy and professional polish we’ve come to associate with the international branches.

We understand that each location has its own team, and some variation is natural — but this experience simply did not reflect the global Din Tai Fung brand promise. It felt rushed, careless, and not worth the premium prices they charge.

Verdict: If you’re a loyal Din Tai Fung customer, you may want to temper your expectations at this branch or reconsider visiting until significant improvements are made. We left not only disappointed, but also concerned by the lack of accountability around food hygiene.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5) — 1 star for the name, 1 for the staff’s general politeness, but serious issues around quality and...

Of all the Ding Tai Fung branches we have been to around the world this is by far the worse. My chicken soup lacked flavour and had a somewhat off aftertaste and to make matters worse there was a human hair in my soup! To add insult to this they tried to tell me it was chicken hair and brought the bowl of soup back to me from the kitchen expecting me to eat and pay! I firmly declined. The mushroom and Turffle dumpling had a hard red shell in which hurt my tooth and we were just too embarrassed to even bring it up to the waiter as at this point there were too many flaws. The chicken dumplings however were hot and had some good taste. Spicy pork and shrimp wantons in a broth were considerably smaller than the portions we have had in other countries. Stir fried Chinese romaine lettuce which came highly recommended was the first thing to be served and was cold by the time the rest of the food arrived; the flavour was yet again disappointing and the description said it was finished with golden garlic which you’d assumed would add a nice crunch - there was no golden garlic and only what looked and tasted like raw garlic. The rest of the food was disappointing and nothing like the quality we have had in Singapore, Dubai and London. We did eat the food as we were hungry and didn’t have time to order elsewhere. Some serious changes need to be made here as this is not the true authentic experience, quality and taste of...