Reviewer: Foodnut.com Din Tai Fung 700 Bellevue Way NE Ste 280 Bellevue, WA 98004-4154 (425) 698-1095 |
Why did we dine here? – Din Tai Fung is a popular Xiao Long Bao (small bamboo steamer bun in Chinese) – Shanghai Steamed dumpling restaurant with locations in Bellevue, Los Angeles, Taipei, Japan, China, Singapore, and several other countries. We have dined at the location in Din Tai Fung’s Shanghai’s touristy Xintiandi and Din Tai Fung Hong Kong. The Los Angeles location is in Arcadia with Yelp reviews unfortunately indicating it is a step down from the ones abroad, although some say it is better than the original in Taiwan.
This restaurant started in Taipei City and has expanded over the years based on the popularity of their Shanghai steamed dumplings. We were near the Seattle and decided to refresh our Xiao Long Bao dumpling memory. This Din Tai Fung is located on the 2nd floor of the a shopping/office tower, across the Street from a major mall. Waiting time Sunday for lunch was 90 minutes! This restaurant is popular, and the diners were a nice mixed crowd.
Insider Tip – Go early to avoid the lines
Cuisine – Chinese Shanghainese – Taiwanese
Location – Bellevue
Opened – November 2010
Service – Din Tai Fung was friendly and very efficient. The servers even taught us how to correctly eat dumplings.
Verdict – Din Tai Fung Bellevue is definitely a great place to go for top notch Shanghai steamed dumplings. You may have to fly across the Pacific to eat something more authentic.
Din Tai Fung Signature Dishes – Shanghai Steamed dumplings, other dumplings
Din Tai Fung’s Menu is pretty extensive with lots of appetizers, dumplings, noodles, greens, buns, and dessert. Lots of pictures make it easy to order. They with a lot of vegetarian and gluten-free options.
Dumpling Creation Process
Din Tai Fung Food Picks:
How To Create Shanghai Steamed Dumpling Dipping Sauce
D1. Juicy pork dumplings or Xiao Long Bao ($9.50 for 10 pieces) contain lots of hot and tasty soup with good meat flavor, thin wrapper (but not overly fragile), even though they were small sized dumplings. The dumplings took about 10 minutes to arrive. We would rate these very good, better than the vast majority in the United States. It is hard to remember how they would compare to the real deal in Shanghai. They may be at least 85% equivalent. One of the keys here, is consistency. 18 pleats each and 21 grams before steaming. We remember having some dumplings with no soup San Francisco’s Shanghai Dumpling King! Shanghai Dumpling Shop in Millbrae is a better bet.
D2. Juicy Pork and Crab Dumplings ($12 for 10 pieces) were made with a new recipe, the waitress stated. They use local snow crab. This dumpling have a mild flavor, yet they were still very good.
D6. Fish Dumplings ($9.75 for 10 pieces) were a bit juicy, and pretty tender inside. Not really a must order.
D11. Truffle Dumplings ($25 for 5 pieces)are extremely expensive, at $5 a bite. We love truffles, so we had to try them. The waitress instructed us to cleanse your palate before eating them. No need to dip them either. Nice rich flavors, not overwhelming, lots of tasty soup.
A1. Cucumber ($4.50) was a nice basic starter with fresh crispy cucumbers.
A5. Soy Noodle Salad ($4.50) is the classic small dish with tender noodles.
S6. Shrimp and Pork Wonton Soup ($8) came with lots of wontons, but the broth was pretty bland.
S7. Fried Bean Curd Puff with Vermicelli Soup (pork) ($6.50) is served all over Shanghai. This version was solid.
F5. Shanghai Rice Cake with Pork ($8) is another Shanghai staple, this version look messy but proved to be chewy and possible.
G1. Sauteed Spinach with Garlic ($9) was cooked in a healthy manner, not very greasy or salty.
W2. Sweet 8 Flavor Rice ($4.50) consists of sweet glutinous Rice along with some raisins and nuts. Not too sweet, soft red bean filling.
B5. Sweet Taro Buns ($4.50 for 2 pieces) was a bit on the expensive side, and took forever to come. The filling was not too sweet.
T8. Boba Milk Tea ($3.75) was slightly above average. T-pumps still rules.
T10. Matcha Milk Tea ($3.75) was the better version than the standard milk tea.
OK: (Order if you like this dish)
None
Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None
5 Comments
Shanghai Dumpling Shop, Millbrae | Foodnut.com
May 15, 2013 at 8:55 pm[…] are so big that they seem to be super sized for America with lots of meat! The ones in China or at Din Tai Fung in Bellevue are not this big. A decent amount of warm flavorful soup inside and many with no soup, […]
Koi Palace, Daly City - Lunch, Dim Sum | Foodnut.com
May 15, 2013 at 8:55 pm[…] as good as dumplings from a place like Shanghai Dumpling Shop in Millbrae. The ones in China or at Din Tai Fung in Bellevue are not this […]
Shanghai Dumpling King, San Francisco | Foodnut.com
May 15, 2013 at 8:56 pm[…] ones in China or at Din Tai Fung in Bellevue are not this big. Definitely one of the better ones in the San Francisco Bay Area, […]
Little Shanghai Restaurant, San Mateo | Foodnut.com
July 15, 2013 at 5:02 pm[…] good. Decent but not spectacular. We would rank these below of Shanghai Dumpling Shop in Millbrae. Din Tai Fung is miles […]
Five Happiness, San Francisco | Foodnut.com
September 4, 2013 at 4:24 pm[…] Pork Dumplings or Xiao Long Bao ($4.50) were six pieces of deliciousness. Not a lot of juice but the meat inside was very flavorful. Wrapper was just right. A pretty good version that is one of the tops in the SF Bay Area. These are far larger than the real deal in Shanghai or at Din Tai Fung. […]