Din Tai Fung – Taipei, Taiwan (8.5/10)
Jun 14th, 2006 by admin
Din Tai Fung‘s xiao long bao (Shanghai steamed soup dumplings) are considered to be the best in the world, and the Taiwanese restaurant chain has many branches world-wide, including Beijing, Shanghai (of course), Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and the US.
During our five day stay in Taipei, my friend and I walked past one branch of the restaurant numerous times, but never thought we would be able to eat there because of the extremely long queues, controlled by an electronic ticketing system. On our last evening, we tried one last time and were amazed to be able to simply walk in at about 6pm, beating the queue which started to form not long after we started eating.
The xiao long bao come with various fillings – meat, seafood or vegetables – and are eaten dipped in a small dish of vinegar and slivers of ginger. It’s important not to pierce them with your chopsticks while picking them up, otherwise the delicate outer skin will rip and the soup will leak out. I place my bun on my spoon, poke a small hole in the skin at the top with a chopstick, spoon some vinegar and ginger over it, then I eat it from my spoon but still using my chopsticks. This way, none of the precious juices are lost, but be really careful as the contents of the xiao long bao are very hot. And watch out for spurts!
We lost count of how many bamboo steamers (ten dumplings each) we managed to get through, along with plenty of fresh green vegetables. As they’re best eaten nice and hot, order one basket at a time. The restaurant only takes cash, but it’s really cheap to eat here and a must if you visit Taipei…
Other posts you might be interested in – What are Xiao Long Bao and How To Eat Xiao Long Bao. And another great restaurant is just round the corner from Din Tai Fung, Slack Season Tan Tsi Noodles.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
Contact Details:
Din Tai Fung Restaurant
218, Zhong Xiao (Chung Hsiao) East Rd
section 4 (enter from Lane 216)
Taipei
Tel: (02) 2721-7890
Hi Helen,
I recently ate at the Sydney branch of Din Tai Fung, which has received much food blogging attention. Queues to eat here are also common, although at 6pm, I managed to be escorted immediately to a table. Service is top notch, and I loved watching the open kitchen where staff wearing face masks covering their mouths churn out the xiao long bao. However, I felt that it was more style over substance. I was disappointed that I was not “blown away” by their xiao long bao. There is strong dumpling competition in Sydney, and there are many Shanghai/Northern Chinese restaurants which offer excellent xiao long bao for about half the prices of Din Tai Fung. Nevertheless, it was an experience to remember!