We were at Mi Piaci earlier this week and had some great pasta; unlike some other restaurants, the amount of sauce here was perfect, neither too little nor too much. The wine selection was decent, and not too expensive; we found a 1/2 bottle Pinot Noir for $20.

Whatever you order – pasta, rustic pizza, seafood – make absolutely sure to end any meal at Mi Piaci with one of their freshly made desserts. We ended the evening with tiramisu and double chocolate cake. If you ever visit or are around Pasadena, California, we highly recommend Mi Piaci as a Italian dining spot or late night dessert crave.

Since this was my first time at Din Tai Fung, I made sure to sample their “xiao long bao”, or soup dumplings; their pork and crab dumplings; and their fish dumplings. Admittedly, the fish was a daring, albeit poor choice; the filling was fairly bland, and the dumpling skins were a bit thicker than I expected. The pork and crab dumplings were better, probably because the filling was made of a more savory meat; still, the skins were a bit on the tougher side. The regular soup dumplings were mediocre; besides the skin problem, there wasn’t nearly enough soup inside the dumpling. The portion sizes were a bit smaller than other dumpling houses, and we had to order two more Taiwanese noodle dishes to feed a party of three.

Overall, Din Tai Fung’s dishes were on the bland side, which suits my taste; my colleagues, however, thought it lacked flavor. To their credit, Din Tai Fung does not use MSG, as I wasn’t too sleepy after the meal. Visitors looking for a flavorful, savory dumpling should beware – there are bigger, and better ones out there.