Since July this summer there has been a Din Tai Fung in New York City, and since July this summer, I’ve been wanting to visit. Though contrary to the Din Tai Fung restaurants that I’ve been to in Asia, the Din Tai Fung in New York City requires a reservation in advance, and the restaurant has been more or less fully booked ever since it opened. Though finally, on a Saturday afternoon last month, I managed to get a table.
Din Tai Fung is famous for xiao long bao (XLB, soup dumplings), which they make to perfection. The NYC location is by far the most expensive DTF location I’ve visited.
In the early years, DTF only offered XLB with either pork or pork & crab, but nowadays there’s a range of different soup dumplings on the menu, including some with truffle (tried them in Dubai, not worth the money if you ask me), and dessert XLB with mochi and chocolate. The Crab & Pork XLB are $22.5 (10 pcs) which is expensive, but still worth it if you ask me, as they’re probably the best dumplings you’ll ever eat. This is the only kind of XLB I would order at DTF, because the others just aren’t as tasty. The XLB at DTF are slightly smaller, and the skin is thinner and more delicate than other XLBs I’ve tried. You dip the dumplings in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar and fresh ginger. The suggested ratio is 3 parts vinegar to 1 part soy sauce, but I like 50/50 better.
There’s also a bunch of other items on the menu, so it’s easy to get distracted and order noodles, vegetables and a whole range of other things. This has happened to me many times, and I usually end up regretting it, because it’s the soup dumplings where DTF really excels. Not that the other food is bad. I would say that it’s on par with what you’ll find at your typical midrange Chinese restaurant. Though the prices at DTF are in the fine dining range, and if you ask me, that price tag is only truly justified for the soup dumplings.
Though if you’re curious about other items on the menu, here are my favorites:
Hot & Sour soup: The hot & sour soup at DTF is packed with ingredients. It’s one of the best hot & sour soups I’ve tried, even if it isn’t particularly hot (as in spicy hot).
Cucumber Salad: This is something I would often order to have something to snack on while waiting for the soup dumplings to arrive.
Spicy Wontons: These are usually good, but I’ve noticed that the sauce often tastes different depending on which restaurant you go to. If there’s an option with shrimp and pork, this is the one you want.
At other branches I’ve ordered Noodles with Black Bean sauce, at it has been delicious. Hoping the noodles will make an appearance on the menu in New York City at some point.
Din Tai Fung & Me
I’ve been a huge fan of Din Tai Fung ever since my friend AC introduced me to those delicious soup-filled dumplings back in 2023 at the now closed branch in Arcadia, CA. Since then, I’ve been dined at a number of Din Tai Fungs across Asia. If there was a DTF in a city I was visiting, I would go. So far, I’ve I’ve been to Din Tai Fung in Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, LA, and New York City.
