Din Tai Fung - World Famous Soup Dumplings (aka XLB)? I think not! (Arcadia)

Outside Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung, one of the most famous names in either side of the Pacific when the topic of Xiao Lung Bao (XLB, soup dumplings) is mentioned. I've had it a few times in the two stores in Taipei (which has since expanded to 3 stores), and I was also dragged there a few times to the Arcadia location when I first moved to Southern California. Everytime, my reaction to eating here was a "meh." I was never impressed, but since I never took food pictures then, I figured it was about time to try Din Tai Fung again. I joined Jackie of citynitz and her boyfriend David for some XLB, since it's been awhile since we each had DTF.

"Hey Amigo!" I'm looking at you!

Dining room of the new wing of DTF

Workers wrapping the dumplings

Similar to what Anthony Bourdain had mentioned previously in No Reservations about restaurants in New York City , the Mexicans actually dominated the kitchen at Din Tai Fung, more specifically, the wrapping area. Even though I have no real gripes about this, I personally prefer an Asian person making the XLB, but hey, that's just me. I mean, do you really want to see a Chinese dude making your burrito? Same concept, but ya.....I'm going too deep with this. The new wing of DTF has 2 areas in the dining room, but most importantly, takes out the hour(s) long waits DTF had previously. Now, onto the food...

Menu

Beef Noodle Soup (NRM) - $7.50

I'm not sure why I ordered the NRM here, because I recall it wasn't very good when I had it in my previous visit, and at over $7, it's definitely more expensive than most places in the SGV. Not only it was expensive, the bowl was probably 2/3 the size of a bowl of NRM found elsewhere, it just wasn't very good. The noodle had a slight "somen" texture, and the soup was quite bland. In addition, there were probably about 3-4 pieces of beef in the bowl, so we were lucky enough to get piece of beef each. I wouldn't recommend this bowl of NRM to anyone.

Pork Chop Fried Rice - $7.25

I admit, I liked this dish, but don't be fooled by the picture, the portion was pretty tiny. Actually, to stop repeating myself, EVERYTHING at DTF were small. The pork chop was pretty juicy laid over a bed of flavorful egg fried rice. A solid dish, but I wish it was either cheaper or the portion size was bigger.

Juicy Pork/Crab dumplings - $9.25

Juicy Pork Dumplings (XLB) - $7.50

Since we're at Din Tai Fung, how can we not order their soup, or how they have it on their menu, juicy dumplings? We decided on the crab and the regular pork versions to compare. Honestly, I'd avoid ordering the crab juicy dumplings as it's not worth the $2 extra as it lacks any real crab essence, thus tasting similar to the regular pork version. What I do like about the XLB here is their thin skin, which made it really enjoyable to eat, but overall, the flavor was not much better compared to Dean Sin World, Mei Long Village, and various other San Gabriel Valley XLB hotspots. Now, to the million dollar question, was this XLB worth the extra $2-3 compared to other locations? No, it really wasn't. I know this place is world famous, and has attracted millions of Japanese tourists to the streets of Taipei, but I'm just not very impressed.

Stir Fried Rice Cakes, Shanghainese style - $7.25

This was a tasty, but nothing noteworthy. Honestly, I had a better version at Ding's Garden on Valley/San Gabriel the following week, but at $2 dollars less the cost compared to here, and 50% more in terms of portion size.

After eating here, the only conclusion I made was that this was my last visit to this overrated dumpling house. I never understood the lines, I never understood the NY Times article that pimped this place back in 1993, and I never understood all the people I've met previously that raved about the Xiao Lung Bao found here. It was disappointing, to put it nicely. The space is really nice and clean, and definitely a place you could bring your non-Asian friends to for a satisfying meal. I, on the other hand is done with this place. For $15/person, we had to do a 2nd, but much enjoyable dinner at Sin Ba La. Honestly, the other fools can have their DTF, I can just chill at my hole in the wall XLB place and not worry about lines nor do I have to worry about paying $15 for a meal that I wasn't too keen about.

Final Grade

• Taste: 3 out of 5
• Decor: 3.5 out of 5
• Service: 3 out of 5

*Update* I was probably too harsh with Din Tai Fung. I might not like it, but it's probably better than a "2" for taste. I still won't go back though.

Din Tai Fung
1088 S. Baldwin Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007
www.dintaifungusa.com