Down to Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung is probably the most highly anticipated restaurant opening that Seattle has ever witnessed. The name alone inspires cultish levels of adoration among soup dumpling loving Asians and non-Asians alike. Combine that with a lack of existing soup dumpling offerings in the area, a massive Asian population (thanks Microsoft), and long-awaited opening, and you have all the makings for ridiculous waits and inevitably, some disappointment.

You need a well-thought out game plan if you actually plan to eat here. Waits are generally 2.5 hours - maybe 1.5 hours if you go at a non-peak time. Ridiculous, you say? I agree. Luckily, the restaurant is located right next to the movie theater, so our plan was to put our names down at 2, watch 127 Hours, do some shopping, and then be just in time to eat dinner. The 2.5 hour wait actually turned out to be just an hour, but with a large party, they're nice enough to leave you at the top of the list if you're not around when your table is ready.

I've had my fair share of excellent xiao long bao at DTF in Taiwan and LA, Joe's Shanghai and Shanghai Cafe in NYC, as well as one of the famous stores in Shanghai, so I must say that I was let down by the soup dumplings. The dumpling skin wasn't as delicate and the soup filling wasn't as flavorful (or hot). There was definitely no risk of getting scalded by the soupy contents, which is really one of the fun parts of eating soup dumplings. Luckily, the other dishes we ordered more than made up for those failings. My favorites were the stir fried rice cakes, shrimp fried rice, sweet taro dumplings and eight treasure rice. Other solid bets were the pickled cucumbers, chicken soup and beef noodle soup.

I would like to make a return visit because I'm curious if they can work out the kinks, or at least increase their efficiency. Their dumpling makers look a little on the slow side right now, but I'm willing to give them another chance. But I'm going to let the chaos subside a little before I venture back, especially since there are other solid choices for Taiwanese food in Bellevue.