Jump to content

Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese Chain Specializing in Soup Dumplings and Noodles - Several Area Locations


Recommended Posts

I ate at Ford's just under a year ago, and I was underwhelmed. And since then, I've eaten several times at the place directly next door--Tender Greens--which has fresh, inexpensive salads/grilled meat/eat outside, very Southern California. The crowds next door at Ford's are very loud and young. Much better food can be had nearby at Beacon [Closed Jan 16, 2011], which is Asian fusion (no sushi). The owner-chef spent 20 years running the kitchen at ChinoisWolfgang Puck's place in Ocean Park.

Thanks, I'll keep that place in mind. My brother says we're not eating anything but Chinese in L.A., and he picked Din Tai Fung for lunch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The last day, we got up nice and early to go to Arcadia, CA to Din Tai Fung dumpling house for their famous crab & pork soup dumplings. I also liked their fish dumplings and vegetarian dumplings. They are a chain from Taiwan that are world famous for their xiaolongbao. I think ol_ironstomach went to a place in Toronto that had the same name, but was a knockoff version of this original chain.

I was disappointed with a long-awaited trip to Din Tai Fung.  While the XLB were masterfully made and tasty, the rest of our dishes weren't that well executed and some were quite bland. We tried the cucumbers, sea weed and bean curd salad, fried pork chop, clear beef soup, fried rice cakes, fried rice, and steamed dumplings. For every dish besides the XLB, I'd much rather have eaten at an A&J. Which is out here, by the way!! I must seek them out.

I did it right this time!!! I enjoyed my recent visit to Din Tai Fung whilst passing through town, sticking w/ the XLB, fried rice cakes w/ pork (not chicken! Too bland!), and clear chicken (this is the special soup they are known for, not the beef) soup.  The XLB were excellent, the rice cakes were flavorful and fried to chewy perfection, and the soup was pure essence of chicken.

Din Tai Fung. (Chain--dined at Arcadia location) Um, of course, I had to come here. While it did not completely satisfy my XLB expectations, it blew everything else I had around the DC area. My friend and I did a steamer of regularshrimp with wintermelon, and another dish I could not recall. Since the wintermelon was not cooked down enough to where its juices really married with the shrimp, it was not as juicy and left the combination lacking something. Still, it was an interesting flavor to try. I was happy to go and would still recommend this place.

I've been to DTF a few more times, always getting the XLB and sometimes getting the rice cakes or a veg dish (doesn't really matter, the XLB are the star). I've heard about the epic waits but had always been lucky with the wait (Arcadia Baldwin location) by going at slightly off times, never having to wait more than a few minutes. We were headed out to Joshua Tree on Monday after the Xmas weekend, and thought we could stop in for a bite along the way. No such luck, even with a 11:30 AM arrival. I guess it was a "weekend" day for most people, because the wait was already partway down the plaza. We didn't even bother to find out about the length of the wait and instead grabbed some items from JJ Bakery (it's in the same plaza). 10 minutes later when we got out , the line at DTF was even longer. I think XLB makes people crazy! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love DTF, and I agree with you- the XLB are the reason to go. My sister is in LA and it is a regular stop for us. We waited a long time last winter break- but we went to JJ Bakery (delicious and cheap) and then walked around the neighborhood for a bit. I wouldn't do it every weekend, but for a special vacation thing- it was totally worth it. We also got the cucumbers and spinach- I loved the cucumber but the details escape me a year later- but the reason to go is the XLB. My friend in Pasadena tells me you can walk in on weeknights at 6 pm with no wait.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of their Singapore locations turned out to be in a shopping plaza directly under our hotel.  I had heard of it, but in the event just stumbled into it.  It's all true.  Hard to get enough of the stuff.  The truffle one is worth a try once, but not fabulously better than the plain XLB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been advocating for the Walter Reed development to try to get one here in DC. Given how crowded Oriental East is for dim sum, this could clean up in the area and IMO draw people from as far away as Philadelphia as I have heard through friends on the West coast of people making pilgrimages to eat at DTF.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DTF in Costa Mesa (Orange County) is pretty good. The restaurant is huge, located in the a corner of the Costa Mesa Mall, and constantly has a line (so I've read). They even have a special text-ahead line! We managed to snag the last couple seats at the full-service bar and bypassed  the ~15-minute 6 PM weekday wait. XLB are great per usual (thin, stretchy skins, full of soup, didn't break, good porky flavor), and it was fun to watch the crew making them in the window. The stir-fried rice cakes and green beans were also good, albeit both a touch greasier than desired. The pork and rice dumplings are very starchy (by their nature) and kind of bland. The chicken fried rice is expertly fried and very prettily mounded on the plate, but also quite bland. The steamed pork bun is great, but quite expensive for what you get ($3! And not for a giant bun, just a normal-sized bun). In other words, this location reflects previous experiences at other DTFs - stick with the XLBs and noodles. I can't quite remember but the prices in this location seem to be a touch higher than in Arcadia. Portions are adequate but not huge, particularly at this price point (though worth it for XLB). Team service is a bit rushed but effective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't remember if this is true for other locations, but at the Baldwin Ave location in Arcadia, they give you a thin form/list to fill out and order your items, similar to ordering sushi. They also have regular-sized menus with pictures and descriptions, upon request. I don't think the larger menus have more items; they are just intended to give you a better idea of what you're ordering. 

The bean curd/seaweed salad dish is light on the seaweed and heavy on the curd, with some cellophane noodles thrown in. It has a bit of stinky tofu flavor and is a small, dim sum portion. 

Stir-fried rice cakes were fine but really greasy. XLB were perfect.

It was nearly full with no wait for a two-top at 4:30 PM on a Sunday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/29/2016 at 6:13 PM, Sundae in the Park said:

I can't remember if this is true for other locations, but at the Baldwin Ave location in Arcadia, they give you a thin form/list to fill out and order your items, similar to ordering sushi. They also have regular-sized menus with pictures and descriptions, upon request. I don't think the larger menus have more items; they are just intended to give you a better idea of what you're ordering. 

I believe all locations have the thin form to fill out. I recall doing so in Taiwan locations, too. I believe the servers just need to punch it in the computer, instead of them marking + punching it in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, goodeats said:

I believe all locations have the thin form to fill out. I recall doing so in Taiwan locations, too. I believe the servers just need to punch it in the computer, instead of them marking + punching it in.

It works really well! This is one Chinese restaurant that really had its service down pat. The computerized ticket is placed on your table and servers tick off each item as they drop them off until your order is complete. The roving service team is also really great about refilling water, tea, etc.

So, lots of news. The original location in the US, the Arcadia 1108 S. Baldwin location, is temporarily closed as of Monday (yesterday)! The annex at 1088 S. Baldwin is apparently closed for good. In the meanwhile, a huge, brand-new location is now open down the street at the Westfield Mall (400 S. Baldwin) and is apparently intended to serve as the new flagship location. The 1108 location will eventually reopen in a more limited capacity. Glad I got in there one more time last week (3 orders of XLB for 3 hungry people is not enough if you are all greedy!).

They will also be opening a new location in Torrance in a few more months. 

I notice that the newer stores seem to be in nicer, higher-end spaces, such as in malls (Glendale, OC, this newest iteration, and the Torrance-to-be) versus strip malls. While that is good for logistical considerations like accessibility (oh man, the parking situation in the original location was brutal, and apparently a major contributor to the move) and customer flow (not that they had a problem with that before), it will be interesting to see if quality and prices can be maintained in these larger spaces with perhaps a less discriminating customer base. On the other hand, at my one meal at the OC mall location, I saw almost exclusively Asian faces in the crowd, so it might simply mean that the same customers will have a shorter wait for a table. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I went to the Din Tai Fung in Glendale. It is indeed basically part of the Americana mall. the entrance is on the street level though. It should be noted this is an outdoor mall around a large square, so while still a mall (hi Apple and Anthropology) it isn't like being in Montgomery mall. The wait was about 45 min for 3 of us at 1 pm on a sunday. The food was more than worth it. We had the XLB (2 orders), spicy shrimp dumplings and pan fried pot stickers (along with cucumbers and spinach.) Total was a little over $20 a person. I have paid so much more for so much less.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...