Have you ever been to Din Tau Fung in Arcadia, California (in Los Angeles)? Well, this dumpling restaurant just expanded – in the same location, according to this article in the Pasadena Star News in June, titled “Din Tai Fung Dumpling House: Dumpling heaven“:
“There are dumpling houses scattered throughout the San Gabriel Valley, some hardly larger than a walk-in closet, almost all of them good, and every last one of them costing less than you can imagine possible. (When the bill comes, it’s hard not to believe a mistake has been made. The reasonableness of a feed at a dumpling house is the near side of shocking. Not that I’m complaining.) Despite this abundance of dumpling shops, there’s nothing that quite approaches the Din Tai Fung Phenomenon. Din Tai Fung isn’t so much a restaurant, as it is an institution. And now it’s an institution with a second branch, which somewhat curiously opened right next to the original Din Tai Fung. Indeed, if it weren’t for a very narrow air shaft between the two restaurants, they’d share a common wall. Now, you have a choice of dining at Din Tai Fung One and Din Tai Fung Two – which are exactly the same restaurant. Except that they’re not. Which I’ll get to in a moment.”
Din Tai Fung was started in Taipei, Taiwan and has franchises all over Asia. I’ve been lucky enough to try Din Tai Fung in Taipei, Shanghai, Beijing and also in Arcadia. Overall, I would have to say that the Shanghai Din Tai Fung has the best decor, then maybe Beijing’s. I heard that the only reason why Din Tai Fung had a restaurant in Los Angeles was because the son of the owner wanted to live in Southern California. Ever so often, I will write via the web site to Din Tai Fung that they should open a franchise in the Bay Area. The place would make gazllions if they had a restaurant in Milipitas, Cupertino, Palo Alto or along the Embarcadero / Ferry Building in San Francisco. At least that is my opinion.
If you live in Southern California, you should check out Din Fai Fung as soon as you can:
Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
1108 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; (626) 574-7068
1088 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia; (626) 446-8588
About John
I'm a Taiwanese-American and was born & raised in Western Massachusetts, went to college in upstate New York, worked in Connecticut, went to grad school in North Carolina and then moved out to the Bay Area in 1999 and have been living here ever since - love the weather and almost everything about the area (except the high cost of housing...)
