Did you really go to Taiwan if you didn’t go to Din Tai Fung? I’m sharing what I recommend to order at Din Tai Fung and more below.
DIN TAI FUNG (鼎泰豐)
Din Tai Fung is my favorite restaurant in Taiwan. If I was leaving Taiwan forever or a really long time, I would want my last meal in Taiwan to be at Din Tai Fung.
It is the quintessential Taiwanese food. The restaurant is famous world-wide for its amazing xiaolongbao (小籠包 soup dumplings). Therefore, whenever I see Din Tai Fung in other countries, my heart is so happy to see a small piece of Taiwan making it around the world.
BEST TIME TO GO
Din Tai Fung doesn’t take reservations and is on a first-come-first serve basis. However, you can easily check the wait time on their website and app here. There is often a long wait time. I’ve seen wait times that are 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and even 120 minutes. The best time to go is 3-4:30pm.
TIP: Sometimes you can circumvent the wait time by telling the hostess you don’t mind sharing a table with another party. If there aren’t big parties, they’ll use the big tables and put 4 parties of 2 at one big table if you don’t mind sharing the table. Whatever food you order is still your own.
NOTE: I am writing this during COVID times. Because foreign tourists are currently not allowed to enter Taiwan, the wait times for Din Tai Fung have gone down immensely. As a result, the longest wait time I’ve seen is 50 minutes during peak times. At 7pm, the wait time is 20 minutes.
IS IT WORTH THE WAIT?
Absolutely! I cannot recommend Din Tai Fung enough, but some planning is required. Go to a location where you can get a number. Meanwhile, you can walk around a bit and go back when your number is called. I highly recommend the branch at Taipei 101 and Dongmen. These two places are busy and enough to see to entertain you while you wait for them to call your number.
Read more: Taipei Travel Guide
WHAT TO ORDER AT DIN TAI FUNG
You can’t really go wrong in Din Tai Fung. Everything on their menu is delicious. That being said, I have been to Din Tai Fung dozens of times and after trying a lot of the things on their menu, I think I’ve come up with the ultimate meal for you to experience.
MY TOP 5
These are my favorite dishes to order at Din Tai Fung.
- Pork Xiaolongbao (5 for $110 NT) – This is the restaurant’s specialty and the dish that made Din Tai Fung so famous. These are without a doubt, the BEST soup dumplings in the country.
2. Spicy Vegetable and Ground Pork Wonton ($150 NT) – I love spicy foods and I love dumplings. This is the perfect love child of the two.
3. Pork Fried Rice ($190 NT) – At first, fried rice wasn’t on my radar, but it was highly recommended by a lot of friends. I tried it and now I order it EVERY time I go to Din Tai Fung. It’s not too salty or oily. It was perfect. Don’t underestimate the fried rice. It’s so good!
4. Braised Eggplant ($110 NT) – This is one of their small appetizer dishes. It’s locally grown Chinese eggplant dressed with a special blend of sauces. I love eggplant so it’s my favorite dish. If you don’t like eggplant, you can still try it because Chinese eggplant is a bit different from American eggplant.
5. Golden Lava Buns (2 for $90 NT) – I usually don’t have room for dessert, but if you do have room, these sweet custard buns are amazing!
RECOMMENDED MEALS (WITH PRICING)
For one person (Total: $200 NT)
- 5 pork xiaolongbao ($110 NT)
- Traditional hot-and-sour soup (small $90 NT)
TIP: Din Tai Fung is best to eat with a group of people, but sometimes you don’t have a group and I love Din Tai Fung so much, I’ve gone on a weeknight to eat there by myself. I learned that there are a few dishes where they sell smaller portions and is perfect for solo diners. For example, a normal order of spicy wontons is 8, but they also sell 4 if you’re worried you can’t finish it all. So, definitely ask if you are dining as one person.
For 2 people (Total: $410 NT)
- 10 pork xiaolongbao ($220 NT)
- Noodles with spicy sesame and peanut sauce ($110 NT)
- Sesame buns (2 for $80 NT)
For 3-4 people (Total: $985 NT)
- Spicy-pickled cucumber ($75 NT)
- 10 pork xiaolongbao ($220 NT)
- 10 Steamed shrimp and pork shiaomai ($360 NT)
- Hot-and-sour soup (medium $150 NT)
- Golden Lava Buns (4 for $180 NT)
For 5-6 people (Total: $1560 NT)
- braised eggplant ($110 NT)
- spicy-pickled cucumber ($75 NT)
- pork fried rice ($190 NT)
- spicy vegetable and ground pork wonton ($150 NT)
- hot-and-sour soup (large $200 NT)
- stir-fry water spinach ($190 NT)
- 15 xiaolongbao ($330 NT)
- noodles with minced pork sauce ($140 NT)
- chocolate xiaolongbao (5 for $175 NT)
Indeed, there is a lot to choose from their menu, so don’t be overwhelmed by all the choices. Most importantly, have fun! Order something you’ve never heard of or tried. Or, order whatever the party before you ordered without knowing what they ordered. That way it’ll be a surprise. Overall, Din Tai Fung is great with allergies and vegetarian options so look for those options on the menu.
MENU
Their menus are easy to read and very English friendly. Their “foreigner” menu includes Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean. See below, for the full menu.
SERVICE
There is a 10% service fee with every meal and it is worth every cent. The service here is OUTSTANDING every single time I go. As such, the service fee is more than justified. For example, empty plates are always cleared the second you finish eating it. Your tea cups are never empty. In addition, the waiters and waitresses also have little flag pins to represent which languages they speak.
DIN TAI FUNG IS NOW IN CONVENIENCE STORES
The other day, I was browsing a 7-Eleven, when I saw the Din Tai Fung logo on one of their items. And I was so surprised and ecstatic to see they had boxes of my favorite golden lava buns at 7-Eleven. They had some other Din Tai Fung items, but I didn’t look closely.
Moreover, Din Tai Fung also did a collaboration with Family Mart and there are some new items, like the chicken rice ball by Din Tai Fung and sold only at Family Mart. Din Tai Fung is a trusted brand, so if you see their product at a convenience store, definitely give it a try.
LOCATIONS
They have a couple locations around the city, but these two are the ones I frequent the most.
Taipei 101 Branch
This store is right next to exit 4 of Taipei 101 MRT Station, so very accessible. It’s in the Taipei 101 mall and they have a great window to watch the chefs make the soup dumplings. However, if you need to use the bathroom, you have to exit the restaurant and use the bathroom in the mall which is close by.
Address: B1, No. 45 Shifu Road, Taipei
Business Hours: 11:00 – 21:00
Xinyi Branch
This store is also very convenient. It is a stone’s throw away from exit 5 of Dongmen MRT Station. This location is well known as the very first Din Tai Fung to open. I like this branch because it’s in a good location and the bathrooms are excellent. Unfortunately, this location is not wheelchair accessible. The stairs are a bit narrow and there is no elevator.
Note: This location is cash only.
Address: No. 194, Sec 2, Xinyi Road, Taipei
Business Hours: Monday – Friday 11:00 – 21:00, Weekends and Holidays 10:00 -21:00
Most important of all, have fun eating. I hope this post will help you enjoy your meal at Din Tai Fung.
Happy Eating!
xx Tina
