Always DTF at Din Tai Fung (DTF) With the Dawgz

I’m always DTF with the dawgz. Get your mind out of the gutter, ya filthy animal. I obviously mean ‘Din Tai Fung’. 

You know, the beloved Taiwanese restaurant chain that has swept the world and put a smile on millions of faces thanks to its piping hot, delicate, juicy, steamed pork dumplings (aka ‘xiaolongbao’ – 小笼包).

I’m in the midst of trying to start a movement. No, not one of those move down to South America in furtherance of establishing a religious commune/utopia and have 90% of the movement drink cyanide type of movement. 

Mine is a xiaolongbao empowerment (and education) movement. One where nobody ever falls victim again to their own gluttony by scorching their taste buds and damning themselves to subsequent weeks of everything tasting like rubber.

Some might say that’s more ambitious and delusional than starting a cult in Guyana. 

I digress. 

The point is, Din Tai Fung is the absolute cat’s pajamas of Shanghai-style dumplings, noodles, and soups. So, consider this a call to action to assemble your crew, prep your taste buds, and make your way over to your nearest Din Tai Fung to slurp back some of the most revered soup dumplings in the game. 

There’s Might Just Be a Din Tai Fung in Your Neighborhood

Just a stone’s throw away (7-minute walk) from Din Tai Fung in Tsim Sha Tsui is one of the best views in the entire city.

Website, Address, & Details: https://www.dintaifung.com.hk/ 

• Location: Shop 306, 30 Canton Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong – There are 3 other locations scattered across Hong Kong (Tuen Mun, Causeway Bay, Shatin). 
• Price: $-$$ – Best shared with a group of people, prices will clock in around several hundred HKD per person. 

Having lived in Taipei for 3 years, you can bet your bottom dollar that I spent more time at the flagship Din Tai Fung location on Xinyi Road and the Taipei 101 branch than I spent in detention during my Catholic school years (hint: I averaged a detention every 4 days). 

Now, I spend the bulk of my Din Tai Fung adventures over at the Tsim Sha Tsui branch in Kowloon – you know, the one that received a Michelin star in 2009 and 2010. 

I’m a sucker for the Star Ferry (who ain’t?) so it’s the perfect excuse to umami it up with my ooh daddies (my dawgz) before a romantic, scenic 10-minute ferry ride back to the Island to retreat for the night into my Mid-Levels shoebox cave.

I had absolutely zero idea that Din Tai Fung existed anywhere outside of Asia up until recently when my YouTube and Instagram feed began bombarding me with 30-second dopamine hit Reels/Shorts of vapid influencers slurping down soup dumplings with more gusto than an OnlyFans model doing the X-rated equivalent of that. 

To say that the world has gone Din Tai Fung crazy over the years would be an understatement. 

As of the date of publication, there are over 170 Din Tai Fung locations, spread across 13 countries, with over 14 locations in the United States alone. 

I’m thankful my crew of Chewbacca lookalikes and magic makers are always DTF at Din Tai Fung after a long day of taking it on the chin from “The Man.” Sometimes, just sometimes, we have to remind ourselves that Hong Kong’s gastronomic landscape doesn’t exist solely between the holy triumvirate of Maison Libanaise, Nood, and Honky Tonks Tavern. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you want to keep the good times rolling with some of the best Chinese/Cantonese cuisine you can find in the city, make sure to check out my posts breaking down The China Club in Central and Dragon State Kitchen in Sheung Wan. 

Din Tai Fung: Michelin Star Dining at Affordable Prices

Not ordering xiaolongbao isn’t even in question when eating at Din Tai Fung, but there’s also a handful of other dishes that the dawgz and I ‘work in’ every trip. 

But first, the soupy belle of the ball. 

Kurobuta Pork Xiaolongbao

Find me a food picture sexier than this and I’ll show you a liar.

Let’s just get the life-saving emergency gustatorial measures out of the way. The proper way to eat a xiao long bao is to bite the top off, carefully slurp/sip the scalding hot soup (or let it cool), add a little bit of vinegar and/or ginger (or both) to your spoon, eat it in one bite, and voilà – you just entered the Operating Thetan Level 8 of soup dumpling eating (where is Shelly Miscavige?). 

I’ve seen people (including myself) go in gustatorial guns blazing, failing to extract the interior soup before biting in, only to end up tasting rubber for the next week. 

Do as I say and not as I do. 

Keep in mind that xiaolongbao is a Shanghainese creation. Din Tai Fung’s founder, Yang Bing-yi, hailed from Shanxi province in Northern China, immigrating to Taiwan at the ripe old age of 20 (in the late 1940s), initially founding a cooking oil retail business. As business thinned, a proprietor of a Shanghainese restaurant and a friend of Yang suggested making and selling xiaolongbao in order to keep the lights on.

The rest some might say is soup dumpling history. 

Din Tai Fung’s xiaolongbao and its nearly 70-year history are felt in each bite. 

The 18-fold paper-thin wrapper, sturdy enough to lock in the soup without imploding. The juicy, melt-in-your-mouth (slightly sweet) pork, properly proportioned and clean in finish (thanks to those Berkshire pigs that made the voyage from the U.K.). The gelatin-rich broth, rendered perfectly in the steaming process, generating a Mario bob-omb of flavor upon first bite. 

Pale Ale Travel Note: 18-folds is the Din Tai Fung golden standard!

You know those people who search for the perfect bite? A Din Tai Fung xiaolongbao is mandatory eating in that quest to see if the perfect bite actually exists. 

Finally, I can’t emphasize this enough but if you are a fan of truffles, make sure to order Din Tai Fung’s steamed black truffle and Kurobuta pork xiaolongbao. It’s a sensual, earthy, and ‘complex’ twist on a classic and surprisingly won’t break the bank. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: I broke down the history of Kurobuta pork (aka Kagoshima black pork) and why it’s so legendary in an article about my favorite ramen spot in all of Japan. FYI, it originated from two crafty pigs that snuck on a ship from the U.K. bound for Japan in the 19th century. The main thing you need to know is that Kurobuta possesses high amounts of intramuscular fat. And everyone knows…fat = flavor.  

Steamed Pork Buns, & Steamed Vegetable & Pork Dumplings

While the xiaolongbao emphatically steals the show, don’t forget to run the dumpling and bun gamut by picking up pork and vegetable steamed dumplings or steamed pork buns. 

The good news is that Kurobuta pork is the go-to meat filling for all dumplings at DTF, so you and Guy Fieri will be capital C cruising into Flavortown. 

Deep Fried Chicken With Sweet & Sour Chili

I see fried chicken on the menu, I order it. Look at the golden brown-orange color on that. I didn’t even use a filter. 

Everything at DTF is in furtherance of balance. It’s light, it’s crisp, it’s tender, it’s perfectly coated in sauce, it’s juicy. 

It’s a contender for one of the best versions of whatever sweet and sour (and slightly spicy) chicken you ate growing up. 

Is the term ‘glossy chicken’ as sexy to you as it is to me? Comment below.

Pale Ale Travel Tip: Another one of my favorite chains in Hong Kong is ‘Paradise Dynasty’. You can find this Singapore-originated Chinese restaurant chain scattered all across the city. Check out my post breaking down why Paradise Dynasty can play for me any day of the week. 

Shrimp Pancake

The term ‘pancake’ doesn’t mean what you think it means when it comes to Chinese/Taiwanese cuisine. It’s more of a crispy golden brown, thin medallion, and/or lightly stuffed fritter. 

Din Tai Fung’s shrimp pancake, while not quite on par with the Korean Haemul-paejon, still rocks a satisfyingly crisp exterior that’s balanced by a juicy, semi-sweet interior of shrimp and other seasonings. 

Crunch and succulence. That could either be a (a) fantastic name for an experimental garage rock band, or (b) the perfect name for a Tommy Bahama-wearing septuagenarian’s first boat.  

The Vegetables: Chinese Kale, String Bean With Minced Pork & Mini Shrimps, & Two Black Fungus Dishes

What more can you say about vegetables than ‘they’re vegetables’? Din Tai Fung just so happens to be one of the few restaurants in Hong Kong where I ensure that I eat a more ‘well-balanced’ meal than usual. 

It helps that it’s home to two of the most underrated types of Asian dishes in existence – string beans with minced pork and mini shrimps (四季豆) and anything that uses black fungus. 

Wood ear mushrooms (black fungus) are like rubbery, crunchy, slippery vegetable chips that are one of the top conduits for carrying a not-so-subtle hint of heat – especially since they are so refreshing. 

Make sure to mix a dish of this into your DTF order, as it acts as a great palate cleanser and might just become one of your favorite vegetable dishes. 

String beans with minced pork and mini shrimps could be a meal in itself and is commonly the number two dish I order if eating solo, as it never disappoints. 

Crunchy is the name of the game with these sides. But savory, spicy, and tender are as well.

Custard Buns

Custard buns are one of the few desserts that as a primarily ‘meat tooth’ I make an exception for. They’re pillowy, gooey, soft, slightly chewy orbs of flowing golden magma – picture me saying “magma” like Dr. Evil in Austin Powers. 

The salted egg yolk satiates both that need for something salty and sweet, never fully tipping in one direction, making these ever-so-crushable and the most serious threat to your waistline since you discovered 27 Kebab House as the perfect drunk snack after one too many overpriced cocktails at Quinary. 

If I don’t finish a meal at Din Tai Fung with custard buns, I don’t even tell people I went…because as far as I’m concerned, I didn’t. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you’re curious about traveling to Hong Kong and are worried about it being prohibitively expensive, don’t worry. But for one or two expenses, traveling to Hong Kong is relatively affordable (if you are somewhat strategic). Make sure to check out my comprehensive post ‘Is Hong Kong Expensive to Visit?’ for an in-depth breakdown of costs you can expect when visiting Asia’s World City. 

Are You Down to Din Tai Fung? 

Get your crew of ride-or-dies and hit up DTF with them, followed by a four-hour nap afterwards. “DTF and nap” will eventually replace “Netflix and chill” as far as I foresee things.

Din Tai Fung is ubiquitous. It isn’t even just a restaurant chain anymore. It’s a mindset. An ethos. A way of life. It’s also a reminder that just because something is a chain that doesn’t mean that quality is compromised. 

So, wherever you are in the world, look up the nearest Din Tai Fung to you and head there ASAP. You won’t regret it. 

If you have any questions about eating or drinking in Hong Kong, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at info@palealetravel.com. 

Finally, for those who want to stay in the know about new restaurants, bars, cafes, and upcoming events in Hong Kong, don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter here. 

Eat well everyone,

Big Body