Taipei Travel

Love this restaurant, I go to this restaurant twice a week whenever I visit Taipei. Service are great and so are food.

The first Din Tai Fung dumpling restaurant was established in Xinyi Road, Taipei, in 1972. Its famous "shao lung bao" (steamed buns) became very popular, and the restaurant still flourishes. The dishes that can be recommended include the "pot stickers" and the "hot and sour soup." Din Tai Fung has now spread around the world, in the process winning several Michelin stars. By the way, the shao lung bao originated in Shanghai, the idea is to nibble the bun and suck out the broth. Be careful, because the broth is very hot.

My husband and I visited Taipei for 3 days, and we stumbled upon Din Tai Fung on our first day. The food was so delicious that we ended up eating here again two more times during our stay. Highly recommend.

First trip to Taipei, and all the guide books have this restaurant picked out as as a must-try, so what to do? Well, taking a cue from the Romans in Rome, we went to see if all the hype was worth it. We arrived just after opening time and found a group of fifty to sixty diners waiting to get in. Thankfully, we only had to wait about forty minutes and were led to the third floor to a small table. Walking to our table, we passed a number of kitchens on different floors. The rooms in the building the restaurant was housed in were long rather than broad and thus had a rather squeezy feel to it but there was adequate space for everyone. But really, no one was there to admire the decor. The food was as advertised - succulent and very tasty steamed pork soup-filled dumplings (xiaolongbao) that made the chain famous. But there were many more options on the menu that were also worth trying, and we managed to try only but a few of the dim sum and dessert items. Was it worth it? For the experience of saying one's been to the original branch, sure. But for the price? Perhaps not so much. And note that this is the only branch that doesn't accept credit cards.

One of many DTF outlets in Taiwan. The waiting team is professional and informative. Food is excellent as always.