There’s vegetarian dumplings there. I’ve tried brocolli dumplings. They’re sooo good. I also like the chicken soup.
hello? since when is chicken soup vegebafuckatarian?
The NY times article is the one in the window.
I live on Hsin Yi b[/b] a few blocks down. Have never seen a night guard there.
The food is fabulous. Going with a group of 4 or more makes the trip worthwhile as you can sample several things.
Another claim to fame for the joint is that it pioneered the “secret service” fashion that seems to have infiltrated every mom and pop joint. Din Tai Feng was the first place in Taipei to have its hostesses equipped with ear phones and mics so that they could expedite the crowds in and out.
I’ve noticed sometimes you do have to be careful about the differnce between ‘vegetable dishes’ and vegetarian dishes’. Ie ‘cai bao’ sometimes have meat in them, so you have to ask. The only times I’ve been scared is when I’ve been halfway through something I thought was kosher and someone’s said ‘that’s not vegetarian’ ‘aaarghh’ ‘it’s got spring onion in it’ ‘phew’.
Forget about DTF; it’s overrated, overpriced, and overpopulated. The best vegetarian steamed dumplings I’ve had in Taipei are found in Zhu Ji on RenAi Rd. across from the Air Force Headquarters (The traditional Chinese style architecture is easy to spot). I’m pretty sure they’re meatless but have eggs in it.
I absolutely second that opion on DTF. I also went to some great place on RenAi, somewhere between Fuxing Road and Jianguo Road, I’m not sure it was the same. But the dumplings were great and we had a good time there without having to shout at each other or being rushed out because the next guests were waiting for a table.
Yup, that must be Zhu Ji. The full name by the way is “Zhu Ji Xian Bing Zhou.” It’s on the south side of RenAi, closer to JianGuo than FuXing.
I like the gold chicken garden (jinjiyuan) down on Yongkang Street, south of where all the restaurants (and the original DTF) are. For my own unsophisticated tastes, the steamed dumplings taste great and xiaolongbao are $70NT a steamer. 
I also like the deep fried bread thingy.
Eat the xiaolongbao fast since they’re really juicy, but if they sit around too long the juice seeps out.
So the quality might not be as awesome as DTF, but it’s half the price (or less, don’t remember how much a steamer of xlb costs at DTF) and never as crowded.
Yes, that drives me crazy! That’s why I have never set foot inside the effing place …and never will.
If I am going to go out with friends or the missus and eat some good food, I want to go some place that is relaxing and fun and suitable for chatting - NOT SHOUTING - and where we do not have to eat and run because people are waiting! Ridiculous!
Anyone who eats that way and PAYS for the “privilege” deserves to be … to be … [you fill in the word…]___________________-!
I like the place called GaoJi right around the corner on Yongkang Street. Seems just as good if not better and usually less crowded.
I was in there the other day. OK suan la tang (but not la enough) and excellent crab dumplings. OK chicken soup. Mediocre niu rou mian (noodles good, meat good, soup not so good - it’s supposed to be HOT!). They give you an article by Ken Hom with the menu telling you how great the place is (why? I’m already there).
I remember going there after the newspaper article came out (1993?) and thinking exactly the same thing as you - what’s with this place in Wales ?
But I will go back to DTF - the dumpling are worth it.
Din Tai Feng now has a central kitchen and we all know what that means.
Second, too many people (hour waits)
Third, the article NEVER said it was one of the top 10. It was in the NY Times.
Fourth, there are two better restaurants down the street on Yong Kang (or is it LiShui?) which are also much cheaper and no nonsense about waiting in line.
The last visit (few months back) two of the 10 (smallish) tang bao broke with the chopsticks.
The stirfried pea plant greens were covered in thick, cheap industrial-grade oil (peanut?)
Service was pushy and brusque. In and out in six minutes. Set me back NT$360. Hardly a “dining” experience.
Over-rated but popular with Japanese tourists who go like sheep to ALL places marked by the X in their guide books. Ironically, this has made it popular with Taiwanese country cousins who get their guidebooks and guided tours with the mandatory stop included (think prestige restaurants like Russian Tea Room in NYC no wonder they finally closed only tourists).
But the attention it gets keeps it crowded which is how many Taiwanese determine whether a restaurant is good. That with the hoopla and voila a combination that will take an act of G-d to break, but hey, I am around the corner without the lines and getting better food at cheaper prices so perhaps DinTai Feng is a useful lightning rod for drawing those who are attracted to name more than food. So I forgot why I was complaining.
The other dumpling place referred to earlier on Renai Rd between Fuhsing and Jianguo closer to Jianguo is Zhuji (across from air force academy). Look for the “ancient” Chinese portal. Great food at great prices. Dinner rush is from 6:00 to 7:30 so try to go after this. Lunch by 12:00 on the dot or after 1:15 to guarantee getting a table.
I’d take Zhu Ji over DTF any day, though on a recent unintentional visit to DTF (we happened by and were shocked to see that there was no line due to the SARS scare), I was quite impressed with the precautionary measures DTF has taken. Besides the now-standard temperature taking at the door, they sprayed our hands with alcohol before admitting us. When you get up to leave, they once again spray the table and chairs with alchohol and wipe everything down. Good food or not, the place is sanitary. That’s for sure.
I agree - Zhu Ji is fabulous. No pretence just damn fine food
A branch of DTF in Alhambra (LA’s suburban Chinatown). Sits in an unassuming strip mall, but still has the long wait. Bamboo steamers aren’t allowed by the heatlh department, so they have to use steel. No “secret service,” however. You can buy “boba” tea (zhen zhu nai cha) next door while waiting.
Amid all the dumpling dishes that DTF is known for, one dish that’s often overlooked is their hot-and-sour soup. Very nice. Gotta give them credit for that.
Did they open a new branch in Alhambra? The one I went to in LA was in Arcadia, another suburban “Chinatown.”
I agree! Thought it was the best I ever had.
Alhambra, Arcadia, San Gabriel, Monterey Park… they all have large Chinese populations and border on each other, more or less. I guess the DTF is in Arcadia. My mistake.
A bit late for this thread maybe, but one of the things that separates DTF from many other restaurants of its kind is the attention to detail in the food preparation. The Chinese are big on matters of how delicately the ingredients of a dish are chopped and what not.
I think that some of the complaints about DTF have a little to do with the fact that the right dishes were not ordered. Every Chinese restaurant has its specialties or a few particular dishes that it does better than others. For DTF, I don’t think that it’s noodles are amongst those, and neither are other items I saw mentioned such as the xiao long bao and dumplings.
I would recommend the xiao long tang bao (as opposed to the xiao long bao, but you have to get there before 11AM or so to get it), shrimp/xia ren(2) shao mai(4), you(2) dou(4) fu(3) xi(4) fen(3), beef or chicken soup (no noodles, these soups are rich in flavor with much of the fat and oil separated out), the fried rice (light, flavorful and evenly cooked without being greasy), and almost any stir-fried vege dish (ingredients are picked from most tender parts of plants). Some of the desserts are quite nice, too - qian chen(2) gao and dao(4) sha gao or dao(4) sha bao, the latter 2 if you like dao(4) sha. If you do order dessert, be sure not to do so until you are almost finished with the rest of the meal.
When all of the food factors (delicacy of prep, quality of ingredients, etc.) are considered, I don’t think that Gao Ji or the other place on Yung Kang St. quite compare, although they are quite good restaurants as well. There’s no doubt that Zhu Ji is also a great restaurant, though its style and food are actually quite different from DTF in spite of some similarities.
Obviously, DTF is very noisy and crowded, and I can’t comment on the complaints about being rushed out of DTF, as I have never had that problem there and have always been quite impressed at how decorously the wait staff handled crowd-related issues. In fact, there have been many times where we have sat around sipping tea quite some time after having finished eating during the full rush of the early afternoon on a weekend.
Just as a side note and back to an earlier point, nearly all Chinese restaurants have the problem of having a lot of dishes they just don’t do very well while only having a select few that they are very good at. As such, it’s often dangerous to go somewhere and order your favorite dish just because it’s on the menu and you feel like having it, as sometimes even the most seemingly basic dishes might be done differently, and you just might end up at a place that mangles it regardless of how they do it.
As such, it’s particularly important to remember which dishes to order at which Chinese restaurants.