World's largest Din Tai Fung opens in New York
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Din Tai Fung company leaders, including family owners, at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the grand opening of Din Tai Fung in New York City. Photo: Hope King/Axios
The world's largest Din Tai Fung — a Taiwanese, Michelin-awarded dim sum chain famous for its soup dumplings or xiao long bao — opened to the public in New York on Thursday.
Why it matters: Din Tai Fung's rise in popularity reflects a growing obsession with Asian cuisine across the U.S., NBC News notes.
- Asian cuisine, the most common of which is Chinese, has become ubiquitous in the U.S., according to Pew Research.
- Social media has played a role, with Japanese, Indian and Korean foods among the most commonly posted on Instagram as of last year.
Context: Din Tai Fung's 25,000 square-foot space on Broadway in Manhattan is its first on the East Coast, and the 16th U.S. location for the global restaurant brand owned by a single family since its 1958 launch in Taipei.
- Aaron and Albert Yang are third-generation operators and in charge of the North America business.
- There are now 181 total global locations in 13 countries.
What they're saying: "We're blessed to have such a strong customer base and we have a responsibility to be able to share this experience with as many people as we can," Albert Yang told Axios when asked why they wanted to open such a large location.
The vibe: Like the iconic Apple Fifth Avenue store slightly further uptown, Din Tai Fung has a glass facade entrance that leads guests down to its dining area below street level.
- The atmosphere inside is much more intimate, elegant and upscale than many of the locations I've visited in the Seattle and Los Angeles areas.
- The service and food itself were identical in quality if not better, which, given its grand opening, was not surprising.
Behind the scenes: The Yang brothers have been busy traveling back and forth between the coasts to manage this opening and a new spot that opened a few weeks ago in Anaheim, California.
- The team is still ramping up hiring to be able to serve over 450 people at capacity.
- They've also moved workers from other locations to help train staff in New York, with one server originally from San Diego telling me he's expecting to be in the city for about a month.
Best bites: Din Tai Fung's steamed soup with chicken, signature pork xiao long bao, bok choy (I prefer these steamed), shrimp and pork wontons, and red bean sticky rice wrap.
- The sweet and sour pork baby back ribs, braised beef noodle soup and pork sticky rice wrap also slap.
The big picture: Asian Americans aren't just opening up minds to new foods, but also "to Asian experiences," Krishnendu Ray, director of the food studies Ph.D. program at NYU, told NBC News.
Hope's thought bubble: I can't tell you how many times I've guided people through their first soup dumpling experience. Watching someone discover how much they love something I've loved since I was a kid is one of the best feelings in the world.
- 🥟 My preferred method is to pluck one gingerly from the steamer with my fingers, place it on a big spoon already loaded with vinegar and ginger, then taking a small tiny bite of the dough through which to slurp the soup and let out the steam, before devouring the whole thing whole. Do not @ me.
Disclosure: Axios received a discount on the bills.
