The History Behind Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung (DTF) is home to the famous Xiao Long Bao (XLB) that everyone and their mama talks about.  I came here on New Year’s day and there was about an hour wait.

Unfortunately, when my friends said “DTF,” it didn’t mean the same thing why people use Tinder.  The hour wait is nothing compared to Richard Marxxx waiting for that one girl to come back.  I wonder where she is now… I bet she’s preggo with kids and totally forgot that she left him at the restaurant.  DTF is notorious for their XLB and the long lines, so I didn’t expect anything less than an hour.  There has been a lot of debate about the Arcadia locations are better than the Glendale.  I haven’t been to the Arcadia locations and don’t care especially when I’m hangry.

They have multiple locations around the world and six locations on the West Coast at the time of this review.  DTF has a rich and long history dating back to ancient China.  DTF and XLB was first seen in China back when Genghis Khan used to wreck havoc on the Chinese people.  What did they do?  They sent Mulan to poison Genghis and his army with XLB.  Hence, the popularity of XLB was born and DTF became a legend.

Anyways, we practically ordered everything on the menu.  I’m not going to give you a run down of everything we ordered cause I’m too lazy to write it.  However, I will let you know what I really enjoyed.

1. Shrimp Fried Noodles – These were awesome.  It was quite oily.  The noodles was chewy but soft.  The shrimp were cooked perfectly and plump due to it being cut on top.  It didn’t make you feel dirty like having someone call you an Uber after sex.

   

2. Sauteed String Beans w/ Garlic – I don’t usually eat spring bean but this was sauteed and had garlic.  The outer layer was crunchy and the inner workings were soft.  The garlic added had me eat the whole plate and the rest of the table asking what happened to it.  I don’t know…
3. Shrimp and Pork Wonton w/ Spicy Sauce – The wontons were extremely juicy and the spicy sauce was perfection.  I usually enjoy won tons with Cantonese Egg noodles but this was a perfect blend of shrimp and pork.  The chili was more for flavor versus sauna spicy where it has you sweating the next year’s water weight.

   

4. Shrimp and Pork Dumplings – This was my favorite of all the XLB I tried.  This was a perfect blend of shrimp and pork.  The dumpling wrap was fresh and the meat was moist.  The juices would fill up your mouth as soon as you take a bite.  It’s extremely hot so be careful like when someone says they love you after the first date.  Well, like that or some chick name Mulan.

   

Overall, I definitely enjoyed DTF and would come back to try other things on the menu.  Everything was delicious and the service was exceptional.  If you decide to try it out, remember to mentioned the Mulan story.