Din Tai Fung

Purists insist that the original Taipei location is superior to the Singaporean outpost. But it is hard to find fault with the fab xiao long bao: tiny rounds of pleated pastry filled with sweet minced pork and fragrant soup. Each silken mouthful is an explosion of flavours – sweet, salty and sour, gingery and vinegary. Before you know it, a whole basket has been consumed. The braised beef noodles are also superb.

In late 2010,  Din Tai Fung introduced its new East-meets-France truffle xiao long bao. Inside is an additional shaving of the heady black fungi imported directly from France. This variation is available now while others – the chicken xiao long bao, angled gourd and shrimp xiao long bao, and the fish dumpling – will be available in the first quarter of 2011.