Din Tai Fung Soup Dumplings - Shanghai, China

Xiaolongbao is street food. It is more commonly known as a soup dumpling. This popular treat comes in many styles. My preference is for a dive chain, which I will talk more about in a later post. My first experience with soup dumplings in China was at one of the most popular destinations for this treat, Din Tai Fung.

Din Tai Fung would be considered "upscale" compared to your average xiaolongbao restaurant. Located in a mall in the tourist section of Shanghai, the restaurant generally has a waiting list. We waited. We waited for overpriced dumplings that were genuinely good. Just not as good as the street food version I prefer. Grant it, the skins on these dumplings were thin, which gave them a great texture. They were so thin, that they were subject to tearing when lifted by chopsticks.

I think we waited about twenty minutes before the restaurant could seat our party of six. We shared a couple of pots of tea (if I remember correctly, we had more than one option for tea, so we tried a couple). We came for the Xiaolongbao, but we did try a couple of appetizers. The dumplings are served with fresh ginger. Customers add soy sauce and vinegar to make their own dipping sauce. The thing that shocked me most was the price. Yes, this is located in a mall in a tourist area, I get that. But these dumplings ran about a dollar each. That was for the pork dumplings, which I prefer anyway. The crab version was significantly more. We sampled quite a few different styles between us. When the bill came for over one hundred dollars, I have to admit that I was a bit surprised, considering we didn't have any alcohol with our meals.

One secret about Din Tai Fung...they are not a Shanghai restaurant. The restaurant is actually part of a Taiwanese chain that includes locations on the west coast of the United States. I am okay with chain food. If it's good. I would say that these dumplings were good, but way overpriced. Later, I will post about Yang's Dumplings which is a popular chain in Shanghai. As a point of comparison, Yang's served incredible, delicious xiaolongbao at a price of just over one dollar for an order of four. That less than a third the price you will pay at Din Tai Fung. Yes, it is a different dining experience, but if you are going for the dumplings and not the atmosphere, Yang's would be my recommendation. I don't think you will be disappointed with Din Tai Fung. The food is really good. It is just pricey.