Worth the trip: Din Tai Fung

When you think of restaurant chains, you might not think of the finest culinary fare. Yet there is an exception: our favorite chain, Din Tai Fung, which you can find all over Asia.

At Din Tai Fung, you can eat the most divine xiao long bao on earth. These are dumplings filled with minced pork and a rich broth. Soup in your dumpling—how does that work?

Because of the large amount of gelatin, the broth is solid at room temperature and easy to place in the dough. Once steamed, the broth melts, giving you a mouthful of soup in your dumpling. Beforehand, you dip them in a mixture of soy sauce, rice vinegar and fresh ginger.

Pillows of happiness
You become completely zen when you see how these pillows of happiness – as our hero Anthony Bourdain affectionately calls them – are prepared in the kitchen. A whole army of dumpling folders stands behind a huge window, folding as if their lives depended on it.

Besides xiao long bao, there are plenty of other delicious things on the menu. The other favorite is the dumpling in spicy red sauce with vinegar (filled with minced pork or vegetables, depending on the location).

Daydreaming

But we also regularly look back wistfully on the noodles in spicy sauce with wontons, noodle soup and fried pork chop. So if you ever happen to be nearby, do yourself a favor and order as much as you can eat. You won’t regret it

The first Din Tai Fung location is in Taiwan, but by now there are locations throughout almost all of Asia. Singapore is teeming with Din Tai Fungs, but you can also get your ultimate dumpling fix in Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Jakarta.

For more information, visit the Din Tai Fung website.