Din Tai Fung

Finally, Din Tai Fung has dine in now. Make sure you make a reservation online before coming in.

We always leave this restaurant feeling full and satisfied. I must say it is on the pricier side but it is worth it.

Today we ordered the following and we cleaned out our plates!

Beef braised noodle soup
Sautéed garlic and broccoli
Xiao long bao shrimp and pork
Spicy dumplings

After 20 years of service, the original US location of Din Tai Fung will permanently close June 11. Known for their signature XLBs, Michelin awards (2010 Star in Hong Kong, other recognitions), 2-hour lines, classy interiors, and hearty Taiwanese dishes.

I mean sure, this family-run brand has come a long way since their humble strip mall beginnings. You can find Din Tai Fung at upscale shopping centers all around SoCal: Del Amo in Torrance, South Coast Plaza in the OC, Americana at Brand in Glendale, Westfield Century City in LA, and even Westfield Santa Anita... a mile away! Complete with sleek glass display cases to view the magic being made, immaculate bars serving cocktails alongside soup dumplings, and private dining rooms charging $50 minimum per guest. Judging from the green awnings and signage here, the OG Arcadia storefront looks more like a typical Asian restaurant, not a world-renowned chain.

Inside was quite dated given how long ago this place opened. However, their attempt to modernize and match the aesthetic of their other restaurants was like putting new rims on an old car. Adding dark wood paneling and ornamental decor felt cheap and tacky. Waiting in line was the novelty of dining here, but it got old. The location closest to me usually seats us in 15-30 minutes. But all is forgiven once the food arrives on the table...

Must get:
Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao - Classic!
Crab & Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao - Fulfilling!
Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Shao Mai - Juicy!
Braised Beef Soup (or w/ Noodle) - Flavorful!
Noodles with Kurobuta Pork Sauce - Savory!
Jidori or Shrimp Fried Rice - Complementing!
Jidori Chicken Fried Noodles - Umami!
Any Sauteed greens for ;) balance - Healthy!

Maybe try:
Chocolate & Mochi Xiao Long Bao - Interesting
Shrimp & Kurobuta Pork Wontons - Spicy

Hit or Miss for me:
MILK TEA AND BOBA - Mushy
Shanghai Cakes - Bland

Dishes are kinda sharable. I would say two orders are fulfilling for the average person. YMMV (I'm not a credit card churner).

Very sad to see this location gone, but I will continue to support their other restaurants.

=== Pandemic Pickup ===

Panic! at the DTF: every location got dragged for their handling of Mother's Day surge; which semi-coincided with a majority of LA denizens jail breaking. "You offend my mom, you offend me"

For my special occasion a few days later:
* No line
* Order was ready 15 mins early
* Online order / text / email - all smooth
* Food hit all the familiar taste buds
* Expertly packed - you'd almost think they were a Korean business :)

Reheating was necessary (DTLA is a trip): Steam pot works great even on the next day. Just be careful not to rupture the XLB skins. The XLB juices absorb into the dumpling skins the longer they sit uneaten tho; best to eat promptly.

This location is close to the mall but since that one is closed I had to get my DTF fix at this location.

I placed my order through Postmates and it was ready to be picked up within 20 mins! Luckily, I live right next door!

I got my usual plus extra because I mean why not sit at home and eat my feelings? Anyways, I ordered chicken fried rice, jadori chicken noodles, shrimp noodle soup, green beans with garlic, chicken dumplings and vegetarian dumplings. This was enough for my small family of four, with quite a bit left over!

Highly recommend this location for after quarantine. It's less packed than the malls and you can get a table quickly!

So goooooood.

We ordered a whole bunch of items for our table of four.

We got there first thing in the morning, about 15 minutes before they opened and there were about two families in front of us. So the wait wasn't bad at all. We were seated as soon as they opened.

We ordered:

- 2 xiao long bao's - really great quality dumplings here. Served hot and very juicy on the inside.

- Potstickers - very nice and crispy, perfect savory taste.

- House chicken soup - hits the spot on a chilly day. Feels rather light and healthy too.

- Cucumber salad - a favorite and many of my top Taiwanese restaurants. Cucumbers cut a little thick, but still tasty.

- Taro dumplings - WOW. I was really surprised at how delicious this dessert would be. Amazing. Not overly sweet either.

I've been to the Din Tai Fung in Taipei many times. This satisfies the Xiao long Bao cravings for sure.

I'll be back.

This place can get packed but the food speakers for itself.

Came here for my friends birthday and I ordered pork and crab dumplings, longbao, and beef braised soup. I can see why the place was so packed. all the food I ordered tasted wonderful and I enjoyed the Braised Beef Noodle Soup a lot. The food came pretty fast and the waiters were very attentive to us which is always a plus in a restaurant.

Prices for some of these food items were a little pricey for the portion you get but I must admit it is worth it.

OG Din Tai Fung is lit. Gorged myself here to the point of shame on numerous occasions and stuffing my fat face with Xiao Long Baos until my bulging cheeks are begging "mercy milord, have mercy!", is by bloody orgasmic.

Service is mediocre, but perfectly acceptable, more professional at their new locations, in fact, service at all other DTFs (dined at every CA location) is superb, whoever made your SOPs, we can be life-long pals, call me!

Food is consistently exquisite and speedy. Xiao Long Baos bursting with rich yet delicate juices drowning your taste buds in mind-blowing bliss, OMFG! Braised Beef Noodle Soup, Hot & Sour Soup, Spicy Wontons, and a smörgåsbord of plumpy sautéd greens, UGH! Hurt meh.

Do you like Chinese food? I like Chinese food. Alas, more often than not dishes originating from the land of China or Taiwan are too oily or doused in MSG. However! DTF is legit, from their ambrosial XLBs, soups, and simple yet satisfying veggie dishes, every morsel on their menu, minus the dessert baos and ribs (well executed but not my cup of tea), is worthy of infinite praise, HAIL!

TBH aye, have tried better XLBs at lower costs at more Mom & Pops, but as a successful restaurateur/chef, it's easy to see how DTF will continue to thrive, gradually annihilating competitors, and expanding for centuries.

Dear DTF, my Mom enjoyed one of her last grand meals here before she wasn't able to process food due to cancer. Your food always made her laugh and smile, I really enjoyed seeing her happy as we stuffed our bellies full of XLBs, thanks for being good to her, we appreciate you, RIP Mom.

With the COVID-19 Isolation, dining habits have changed from reservations to take-out lines with six feet of separation.  At 3:00 PM, people still order take out from this remaining open Din Tai Fung take out, as Jazz Cat bought the neighboring store and the mall is now a Ghost Town.  I'm going to have to check whether the Din Tai Fung at Santa Anita Westfield is open, but I kind of doubt it.  The food is still as tasty as before, and is nicely packed in its characteristic to go containers.  I cleaned our dining table for the traditional Yelp photos, and ended up climbing a chair for a full photo of the feast; Something you can't do at a normal restaurant...  I'm hoping the isolation ends soon, but am cautiously optimistic that no one will mess it up by passing along the gift that keeps giving...

This is the original and first location of the Din Tai Fung in the US. It was originally slated to be closed down when the new location in the mall opened. I think it was kept opened to handle the overflow from the new store and it continued to stay open since.

Probably because this is not one of the "flagship" stores the quality has deteriorated over time. For example, the stir fried rice cake has always been perfectly done at other locations; but the one we had here was undercooked and lacked flavor. I also don't ever recall having SLB served in an aluminum steamer at any of the Din Tai Fung locations. I recalled an interview by the president of the chain touting the superior quality of their SLB partly because they insisted on the bamboo steamer.

I hope this is not a sign of overly rapid growth by the chain.

This location is right by my house.
I remember my dad telling my siblings and I about restaurants nearby, and he didn't like coming here because of how business it was. Once we came, the wait time was so bad we ended up getting take-out.

Reading about DTF in Fresh Off The Boat and hearing about it from friends traveling to Taiwan, I was astonished to see just how big of an impact around the world. Was it really that good? The irony dumpling restaurant by our house?

Now, DTF has greatly expanded, finding another home a little ways more down the street and in more malls around the U.S.

Anyways back to the experience with the og location. My sis and I went a little after 11AM in hopes of getting our order in. The night before, we were frantically trying to get our Postmates order in, but since they had just announced they were closing, everyone was frantic trying to have a last taste from the "better tasting" location. Upon arriving, we were told we had to call to order and they weren't doing in person orders. When we called, there was a whole queue of people waiting to get their orders in. We were number 30, and the entire call was half an hour long! They were out of a lot of things, so we ended up ordering two XLB, seasame and Mochi XLB, and chocolate XLB.  The employee taking our order was very efficient and communicated well with us. After half an hour, it was ready and we picked our order up (half an hour later). Although it was their last day of operations they still did their best to enforce social distancing measures and being kind to customers. Kudos to them on that.

P.S. The chocolate XLB may be expensive, but I highly suggest trying it, especially if you are dining in. The warm chocolate is very rich, so taking a bite of gooey chocolate is h e a v e n l y.