Art and food collide in Din Tai Fung's second branch
Before the second branch of Din Tai Fung opened to the public, The Moment Group launched a promo awarding the first person in line P12,000 worth of gift certificates. The winner's name is Enzo and he lined up for 28 hours, all for a golden ticket that would allow him to celebrate a dim sum-filled holiday with his family.
This new branch is different from the busy expanse in Mega Fashion Hall—though it will undoubtedly attract the same volume of customers (an effect of the Michelin-starred franchise across the world). Apart from additions to the menu (soon to be included in the flagship), this space is decked out in masterpieces by local artists Mars Bugaoan and Reese Lansangan.
Reese’s beautiful visual pieces are a treat on their own. They decorate the walls in the private room, obviously highlighting the brand's actual showpiece—the soup dumplings. The artist features the xiao long bao in different ways, serializing the mathematics of the flour wrapping to the finished product. Each frame is a simple yet stunning show of mixed media.
Since this branch has wider ceilings compared to Mega Fashion Hall, they've installed a "chandelier" made of heated plastic to hang from the ceiling. Against the light, it creates artful shadows that play on the walls. Mars, who had been fascinated with manipulating everyday objects like plastic and creating a masterpiece out of them, built the monument himself. With the help of an assistant and a ladder, he set them up them, piece by piece, in the restaurant amid construction. The installations are made up of 11 pieces in total, and were built with spontaneity and play. The intention was to create something that was static yet moving.
Aside from their unique art collection, Din Tai Fung BGC also developed a new line of dishes. A fast favorite is the Philippine-exclusive chocolate lava (which, will soon be available in their motherland, Taiwan). On December 8, the branch sold them for one peso, selling a record 6,000 dumplings. They’ve introduced a new xiao long bao flavor, the Pork and Roasted Garlic, as well as dry noodles with spicy shrimp and pork wontons and a black lava buchi.
Pork and Garlic
Spicy noodles
Promoting more than just award-winning eats, Din Tai Fung has begun spreading an eating culture—putting together good food, art, and togetherness in one experience. But then again, their new sharing portions shouldn't be any trouble to those with insatiable appetites, so maybe we'll scratch that last one.
