Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

[savvysearch]

I've heard great things about this place. Has anyone been here? The original in Taiwan is supposed to be very popular. My friend raved about it.

http://dintaifungusa.com/

[rjwong]

savvysearch,

I've been to Din Tai Fung Dumpling House by myself a while back. I remember ordering two things. Wait, let me check my menu file... Found it!!

I think I had one order of "51. Juicy Pork/Crab Dumplings (10 pcs)" and one order of "54. Shrimp & Pork Shiaomai (10 pcs)" .

I'm more familiar with the more typical Cantonese-styled dim sum. This is more Taiwanese. It's definitely fresh. Each dumpling has a little broth inside. You nibble a little opening into the dumpling skin, savor the broth inside by maneuvering the dumpling with your chopsticks and Chinese soup spoon, then eat the dumpling.

You should go as a group, so all of you can try different things. I went there when they opened for dinner (5 pm) on a weeknight. So, it wasn't busy at all. However, during weekends for lunch (11 am), it is apparently crowded. There is one item that's very popular and only served on weekends: "56. Small Dumplings with Soup (Weekend Limited)." I know, not too descriptive, ehh??

Din Tai Fung is located in Arcadia on 1108 S. Baldwin Ave. Coming from OC, you should go up the 605 to the 210 going west towards Pasadena and take the Baldwin exit, going southbound. It's located on the eastern side of Baldwin Ave.

If you want, I can go there again for you to see if the food is still good.

[tejon]

A group of us went there back in '03: LA dumpling lunch

The food was amazing, especially the soup dumplings. Definitely worth a wait in line!

Edited January 24, 2005 by tejon (log)

[johnnycab]

My friends and I go there a lot. I take out there a good amount too. I love the place. The little pork dumplings with broth inside are heavenly. Their other dumpling are excellent too. I find their fried rice to be the best I've had anywhere. The Shanghai rice cakes are pretty good too.

I find the food there very clean-tasting - which appeals to me a lot. I think that others don't like it for that very reason.

The only problem with the place is that it's relatively pricey. There's another place called J&J at 301 W Valley Blvd in San Gabriel which is much cheaper, but not as good. But they have Shanghai-style dumplings - called Steamed Pao on the menu. Also - when I take out from there - there's this funky, Asian-market sort of smell that permeates everything.

[savvysearch]

Mmm. Sounds delicious. May have to try going this weekend or on Friday.

[tissue]

I would suggest you go early on a weekend because the wait can be long. I like their veggie and pork dumpling and I also like their shrimp fried rice. Flavors are really clean.

[rjwong]

FYI Din Tai Fung is mentioned in the LA Times article (Jan. 26, 2005), Real fireworks / by Charles Perry and Linda Burum

[savvysearch]

savvysearch,

I

I think I had one order of "51. Juicy Pork/Crab Dumplings (10 pcs)" and one order of "54. Shrimp & Pork Shiaomai (10 pcs)" .

I finally went recently and the place was packed. But it was only about a 15 minute wait. The service is fantastic. Very quick and efficient. My favorite was the pork/crab dumpling. I like to wait about 3-4 minutes, or until you can hardly see the steam before eating it, so you can eat it whole. That way the broth just bursts in your mouth when you bite into it, rather than draining the dumpling in the spoon. The appetizer was fantastic. They just call it "the appetizer" but it was a bean sprouts, tofu, vermicelli, bell pepper salad. There is a picture of it in Tejon's link above. I recommend ordering 2 dishes total per person in your group. I went in a group of 4 and we had about 8 or 9 dishes total. The dough they used was very fresh tasting. Beautifully made.

Edited February 5, 2005 by savvysearch (log)