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<p>A sleek interior complements state-of-the-art dumpling production at Din Tai Fung's Sydney Outlet.</p> — A sleek interior complements state-of-the-art dumpling production at Din Tai Fung's Sydney Outlet.

Din Tai Fung is so popular that nearly every outlet from Los Angeles to Jakarta has lines out the door. If you are caught in the rush hour,you can amuse yourself watching the dumpling delivery system through a huge glass wall.

People in white hats and hygienic masks work against a backdrop of non-stop rising steam being sucked into giant exhaust fans. One person lines baskets with scalloped white cloths,others stretch the dough and cut it into discs,roll and fill and twist and crimp them,then load the baskets and cook what are known as xiaolongbao or little basket buns.

This is state-of-the-art dumpling production. The skill in creating firm,elastic,transparent dough skins of the exact same size and thickness,which don't tear or unravel,requires discipline and extreme quality control.

Inside the restaurant,attractive young men and women with name tags on their black-and-white outfits (how short are those skirts?) rush around with headphones. These transmit information from the two smiling meet-and-greet hostesses about how to rearrange tables as they are vacated. Though the staff take your order on paper,it's then punched into computer touch screens.

At the bar,young men in masks take care of drinks. There is a huge installation of steamer baskets on back-lit perspex as a feature,another of different-sized white porcelain bowls,turned upside-down,and yet another of different-sized white porcelain spoons.

Red pillars,angled mirrors,slate-tiled floors and umpteen wooden tables fill the large,L-shaped space on the first floor of World Square. This rather grey plaza dominated by shops selling sports shoes has a big red sign pointing up the stairs to Din Tai Fung,so you can't miss it.

Once you have a seat,you're rewarded with a menu the size of a banner,which is rather daunting until you see the helpful photos. We resort to the tried and true method of"we'll have what they are having".

The table next to us,also two people,has just been delivered enticing-looking pork soup dumplings,braised beef soup and garlic shoots with smoked ham. We throw in an extra set of pork and prawn jiao ze dumplings.

The beef soup arrives with chunks of fall-apart meat in a black broth that is surprisingly elegant and gingery. The garlic shoots crunch and there's a wok-fried breath of smoke from the charred ham bits.

Don't get carried away and fill up before the soup dumplings. These impossible-to-believe pieces of pastry engineering are dainty,thin-skinned,pleated parcels filled with a dollop of seasoned pork and a scoop of broth. They bulge ominously,as though about to break. They only do so in your mouth and let loose an intense hit of juiciness and meatiness at the same time.

They can be eaten with a few shreds of complimentary ginger and a dip of soy but I suggest you try the naked dumpling.

Same with the half-moon pork-and-prawn dumplings,which also have machine-stitched lines and a clean spin on a standard garlic-infused filling.

We're both surprisingly full from what doesn't seem like that much food,and wonder:is it because these dumplings punch above their weight,flavour-wise? Or could it be the rich master stock in the braised beef?

But that doesn't mean we're going to wimp out on dessert. The same precision pleating marks the translucent black sesame dumplings and the cloud-light red bean paste buns. Their fillings are so sweet,however,you can barely taste black sesame seeds or the red bean paste.

Time to leave. The crowds outside are still clamouring to get in,perhaps because they know that the kitchen closes its lunch service at 2.30pm - giving the dumpling engineers a well-deserved,non-steamy break.

Sydney is the latest and,by my count,36th Din Tai Fung outlet around the world and you can bet it won't be the last.

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