TAIPEI: Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐

台北市忠孝東路三段300號B2
B2, No. 300, Sec. 3, Zhongxiao East Road (inside SOGO)
Hours: 10:00AM-9:30PM
(02) 8772-0528

PRICE: $$$ (approx. NT$400/person ~US$15/person)
RATING: YYYY (I strongly recommend this place!)
DIRECTIONS: Take the MRT to Zhongxiao Fuxing
RESERVATIONS: Not taken, you have to wait
MENU: Chinese, but there are pictures!
MUST GET: Pork soup dumplings (aka xiao long bao)
WEBSITE: http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/ch/index.asp

Din Tai Fung is an institution in Taiwan. I don't know anyone that doesn't like the place. The wait may be long, but trust me it's worth it. You cannot come to Taiwan without going to this place. This place is so good and so popular that it has 42 restaurants around the world in countries like America, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, Singapore, etc.

I have always been a big fan of this place since I was young. Whenever I came to Taiwan, I always begged my parents to bring me here. We used to go to the original store, but after I discovered that there is one in Sogo this is the only one I ever go to now. There is ALWAYS a wait at this place, the usual wait is about an hour sometimes you might get lucky during the off hours and just wait about 15 to 20 minutes. However, since its in SOGO all you have to do is walk around the department store and do some shopping to kill time, they will hold your place until you get back. How convenient is that?

DTF is known for their pork soup dumplings (xiao long bao). These dumplings are by far one of my favorite Chinese dishes, so I've definitely had my fair share of them at many, many places and still DTF is my favorite. The meat is so soft and juicy and the dough on the outside is just the right thickness. It may not look like much from the pictures, but I'm craving them already just from writing this article.





You pair these soup dumplings with vinegar and ginger. For those of you who have never eaten this, don't worry they have a paper explaining how you should eat them in multiple languages!

And while, I can eat two baskets of these dumplings on my own, the other dishes at DTF are also good so I always try to make space for other things. One of the things I always get is:



This plate of veggies doesn't even have an English name. It's Chinese name is just A菜, which is A vegetable in English. It's a simple dish where the vegetables are just sauteed with garlic, but it lives such a fresh flavor in your mouth. It's also my favorite vegetable dish, which makes this restaurant even better because it always has them year round.



During this trip, I also ordered wontons because I was craving the kind from home. While they were good, they are sadly no match for the ones my mom makes. I know I may be partial, but I can't help it. I would still recommend them to those who love wontons however.



And Joe got an ordered of pork chop noodles which he devoured. I love the soup for these noodles and of course the pork chop itself. (The noodles itself is good, but to be honest I've never been one to eat much carbs. Not because I'm on some sort of diet or whatever; I've just never been a big fan of noodles, rice, or bread.)

Also, usually when I go to DTF with my parents we order their chicken soup. Joe and I didn't order it this time since both of us got soup dishes (wontons and noodles), but their chicken soup is also another one of their signature dishes so make sure you try it when you make your rounds to DTF.