Egg yolks for prosperity

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Shrimp Chop Fried Rice

Lunar New Year selections

WHILE Din Tai Fung’s Lunar New Year dishes from last February are still being served, that does not mean that there are no Lenten specials.

Din Tai Fung, a franchise concept brought here by The Moment Group (179 stores in 15 countries), recently invited BusinessWorld over for lunch to test the lucky goodies and taste their Lenten offering (another spiritual entry).

During Lent, Catholics are expected to abstain from meat, but the modern world has given us ways to still indulge, provided the meal didn’t come from poultry, beef, or pork (fish is still on the table). So Din Tai Fung’s Lenten offering is a Shrimp Chop Fried Rice (P395) — essentially a ground shrimp cutlet bound together by egg. It was strangely familiar (like something we’d have at a Binondo joint), and a bit boring, depending heavily on the sweet-and-sour dip for flavor. This chop rested on a bed of aromatic fried rice, which was useful for the Lunar New Year selections that followed.

The Lunar New Year selections are Salted Egg Yolk Lobster Tail (P985), Salted Egg Yolk Pork Ribs (P545), and Salted Egg Yolk Tofu (P285). Had we known these were the earlier offerings, we’d have marched right into a Din Tai Fung on the Feb. 12 release date. They’re now on limited-time offer, available while supplies last.

The Lobster Tail, a bit more expensive than the restaurant’s usual offerings, used the salted egg yolk as a creamy sauce. Served with its former shell, one can taste the rich seafood merging with the salted egg, texture upon texture of pure indulgence. Salted egg yolks symbolize the moon in Chinese culture (hence its appearance on mooncakes in another moon-related feast), and they also symbolize prosperity, making them perfect for this specific promotion.

The feeling of richness extended into a Salted Egg Yolk Tofu (double-fried for extra crispiness and dusted with the egg yolk in powdered form), and the Salted Egg Yolk Pork Ribs. Afterwards, we kept craving for the tofu, small and very crispy salty bites, and they could be served in a party as appetizers. We conclude, then, that all you need for a great lunch is a hefty dusting of salted egg yolks.

The Salted Egg Yolk dishes are available in all Din Tai Fung stores in the country (while supplies last), while the Shrimp Chop Fried Rice is only available from Feb. 18 to April 5. — JL Garcia