Trying Din Tai Fung’s delicious soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) is a tasty Taiwan traveller rite of passage – with new Din Tai Fung restaurants popping up all over the world, there is no better place than to try them at the ‘source’ in Taiwan.
Din Tai Fung in Taiwan is a mid-range Taiwan chain restaurant that is famous for its excellent xiao long bao and noodle dishes. Given its popularity, don’t be surprised if you have to queue although they have a simple-to-use ticket waiting system and app; they’ve thought of everything!
If you visit Taipei, head to the original Din Tai Fung where it all began in 1958 on Yongkang Street, or discover over a dozen different outlets across the city, including several in Xinyi.
From how to eat xiao long bao soup dumplings to the cheapest Din Tai Fung prices in the world and their menu highlights, here is our ultimate guide to dining in Din Tai Fung in Taiwan.
This article was originally published on 31 August 2024.
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Din Tai Fung History / the first Din Tai Fung
If you haven’t heard of Din Tai Fung before, where have you been? One of the most popular chain restaurants on the Taiwan dining scene, there are branches all over Taipei and Taiwan plus has outposts as far afield as Australia and the UK.
The very first Din Tai Fung store opened on the edge of Yongkang Street in Taipei in 1958 which you can still visit today (although it only does takeaway orders now).
Din Tai Fung’s Taiwan origins begin almost 100 years ago when Mr. Bing-Yi Yang arrived in Taiwan with just 20 dollars to his name. He decided to open a shop with his wife initially selling cooking oil and the shop was called…you guessed it… Din Tai Fung.
As well as selling cooking oil, Mr and Mrs Yang also made and sold homemade xiaolongbao, which are the basis of Din Tai Fung’s now famous steamed pork soup dumplings. Such was the popularity of the Yang’s xiaolongbao, queues increased and they gave up selling oil to concentrate on dumplings.
‘Din Tai Fung’ was born and it now has over 10 stores in Taiwan plus dozens of outlets worldwide – all hail Mr and Mrs Yang’s delicious dumplings, one of Taiwan’s best known dishes internationally.
Even renowned food critics like the late great Anthhony Bourdain (RIP) and more recently, Phil Rosenthal on Netflix’s Somebody Eats Phil have indulged in Din Tai Fung – so if it good enough for them, why not try xiaolongbao on your next Taiwan trip?
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How many Din Tai Fung restaurants are there?
As of autumn 2024, there are 12 Din Tai Fung Restaurants in Taiwan – nine in Taipei, one in Hsinchu, one in Tainan plus a Kaohsiung branch.
Overseas, there are international branches of Din Tai Fung in Singapore, USA, UK, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, UAE, the Philippines and Malaysia.
The Din Tai Fung prices across the world differ greatly. Later on in this article, we’ll be taking a look at the xiaolongbao Price Index, which shows the cheapest Din Tai Fung in the world (and surprisingly, it isn’t Taiwan…)
When we’ve discussed Din Tai Fung in our Taiwanderers Facebook group before, many travellers have said that Din Tai Fung tastes better in Taiwan than their own country every time.
One follower from Singapore also told us his Taiwan taxi driver reckoned it is because in Din Tai Fung Taiwan restaurants, they used fresh local pork whereas overseas, it is frozen pork.
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Why is Din Tai Fung so popular in Taiwan?
Travellers and locals alike love Din Tai Fung – prices are usually very cheap, although we’ve had a few comments on our Taiwan Facebook group from some Taiwanese saying they find it expensive compared to local restaurants.
As well as an extensive menu, Din Tai Fung is popular because every restaurant has a kitchen with glass windows where you can see the dumpling chefs make every xiaolongbao and other dumplings by hand – it is like a free masterclass or cooking show as part of your meal.
Now that Din Tai Fung have also introduced an online queuing app and ticket system in-stores, the queues seem to go very quickly.
If you download the Din Tai Fung app or scan the QR code at the entrance, you can join the virtual waiting line, continue shopping nearby and then just walk back to Din Tai Fung when your call number is close – this is a smart way to queue!
Plus every branch in Taiwan we’ve been to has been very clean, with lots of seating and an open plan restaurant interior, so you can see the chefs at work.
Children (and big kids like us) also enjoy the Din Tai Fung robot waiters that sometimes lead you to your table from the main entrance, once your queue number has been called.
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Din Tai Fung menu in Taiwan and famous dishes
The Din Tai Fung menu in Taiwan has over 100 dishes to choose from – but of course, you must try their steamed pork dumplings (xiaolongbao), or try their vegetarian dumplings if you don’t eat meat.
We’ll focus on Xiaolongbao in more detail shortly but some of the best other dishes include:
- Har gow – steamed shrimp dumplings, so succulent to eat
- Spicy Wontons in Chilli Sauce – we discovered these recently and they are now our favorite dish at Din Tai Fung after the classic xiao long bao. Try them – you will not regret it!
- Braised beef noodle soup – flavourful slow cooked beef broth served with melt in the mouth beef and egg noodles
- Multiple marvellous xiaolongbao varieties like crab roe and pork roe or green squash and shrimp
- Steam buns like vegetarian mushroom buns or red bean buns, taro or sesame buns and golden lava buns, a hot bun loaded with egg yolk custard
- Soup noodles with dumplings, minced pork or a sesame and peanut sauce
- Desserts like steamed red bean rice cake with walnuts, sesame mochi or pineapple cake
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How to order Din Tai Fung Taiwan
When you first arrive and are seated in a Taiwanese Din Tai Fung, you are usually given a laminated picture menu consisting of lots of dishes. Alongside the picture menu, you’ll receive a printed piece of paper with all the food items on and tick boxes along the side.
More recently on our Taiwan Autumn 2024 trip, a lot of Din Tai Fung restaurants now operate a QR code and online method of ordering using your mobile phone.
Note that the Din Tai Fung menu in Taiwan that you need to complete is usually just in Mandarin – so you either need to use Google Translate or a similar app; or just match back the Mandarin characters from the menu.
Luckily the picture menu and order slip usually follow the same chronological order.
To order, just put the quantity alongside the item you want e.g. x 3, if you want three portions of dumplings. You can also order soft drinks plus beer (usually BIG bottles of Taiwan Classic Beer or Taiwan 18 Days Beer – ganbei)!
Try this – Din Tai Fung meal voucher from Viator >
What are Xiaolongbao?
Xiaolongbao are steamed pork dumplings with soup inside – Din Tai Fung are not the only Taiwanese restaurant to serve Xiaolongbao but they are one of the most famous.
Amazingly, every single xiaolongbao is hand-made with 18 different folds on every single dumpling, and they are served in a bamboo steamer.
When first served, they are extremely hot so there is a special way to eat them and avoid scaling your mouth…
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How to eat Xiaolongbao
One of our favourite Taiwan foods, no trip to Din Tai Fung Taiwan is complete without trying pork xiao long bao. At the time of writing, there are several other xiaolongbao flavours to try including truffle and pork, chicken or mixed greens and squash.
Some branches of Din Tai Fung in Taiwan (including the Taipei Mega City Mall branch) provide a picture menu of the best way to eat xiao long bao.
The best way to eat xiaolongbao is accompanied with some strands of ginger soaked in soy sauce at the bottom of your spoon – according to Din Tai Fung themselves, the recommended mic ratio is 1 part soy sauce to 3 parts vinegar.
You then combine your xiaolongbao on your spoon with a few strands of the salty and savory ginger soy strands – nom!
One important thing to remember – the soup inside xiao long bao dumplings can be MEGA hot so to avoid a burned mouth, poke a hole in the side of the soup dumpling first with your chopstick.
This allows the soup to splurge out onto your spoon that already has the ginger on it – the air instantly cools the soup. You’re welcome!
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Din Tai Fung souvenirs and mascot
If you want a fun Taiwan souvenir, Din Tai Fung have a wide range of cute gifts to take home from packaged pineapple cakes to their own range of cute toys.
There is even a cartoon Din Tai Fung mascot called Bao Bao. There are statues of Bao Bao in most stores plus we’ve even seen Bao Bao plushies.
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Din Tai Fung Taiwan queuing system
Given its immense popularity and the fact most Din Tai Fung restaurants are in high footfall locations, the queue at peak periods can sometimes look a little long.
However, they have an excellent queuing system whereby you can either download the waitlist app (so you can claim a space online) or via their restaurant queue ticketing system.
At the restaurant you just grab a ticket from the counter / tablet outside the store and then wait to be called. It may even give you a suggested waiting time meaning you can go shopping in the then return to eat straight away
The official Din Tai Fung waiting app can be downloaded from the footer of the official Din Tai Fung website here >
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Xialongbao Index / Din Tai Fung prices
Finally, did you know that there is a Din Tai Fung / Xiao Long Bao price index that compares the prices of Din Tai Fung around the world? It was set up in a similar fashion to the global Big Mac index, which compares prices of McDonalds burgers around the world.
The latest price index was announced in summer 2024 and it reveals that the cheapest Din Tai Fung xiaolongbao dumplings in the world are actually in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where they are slightly cheaper than Taiwan.
The most expensive Din Tai Fung in the world are the London and Las Vegas branches, where a set of xiaolongbaos cost 4 times more(!) than Taiwan.
Given the price difference and how many people say the original xialongbao taste the best, this is another reason to make sure you dine in Din Tai Fung next time you are in Taiwan!
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Other things to know about Din Tai Fung in Taiwan
- Most branches in Taiwan are open from around 10am or 10.30am in the morning until 9pm on Friday and Saturdays, or until 8.30pm Monday to Thursdays. Please note last orders may depend on the number of people waiting to be seated.
- A 10% service charge at Din Tai Fung is usually added to your bill – free green tea refills are also included.
- Many Din Tai Fung restaurants have MICHELIN guide ratings including Hong Kong.
- Din Tai Fung is rapidly expanding in the USA in 2024 with new branches opened in New York and at Disneyland California – yes the House of Mouse now does xiaolongbao!
- Din Tai Fung is often busy during Chinese New Year as many families see it as a treat – during Chinese New Year, they also do special edition gift-sets and limited edition dishes to try.
- Personally, we found Mega City Mall Din Tai Fung to have the smallest queues / wait times of any in Taipei – you can also combine this with Capybara Knights capybara cafe on the same MRT line!
- Give the gift of Din Tai Fung with these meal vouchers >
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