Soup Dumpling Index: How prices compare around the world

• New York, Las Vegas and London are the most expensive cities in which to slurp down Din Tai Fung's legendary xiao long bao.
• That hasn't stopped the new Manhattan location from being solidly booked out.
• Kuala Lumpur and the restaurant's native Taipei are among the cheapest locations.

The big picture: By comparing the cost of the world's most popular soup dumplings, it's possible to navigate one of the most fascinating boulevards of global gastronomy across four continents.

• If you look at xiao long bao prices through the lens of the economic theory of "purchasing power parity," you'll infer that residents of New York and London have less purchasing power than residents of Taipei or Kuala Lumpur — and that therefore, at least when it comes to soup dumplings, the dollar and the pound are overvalued relative to the New Taiwan dollar or the Malaysian ringgit.

What we found: The Big Mac index finds that the McDonalds burger is, similarly, cheapest in Malaysia and Taiwan.

• The Big Macs in those countries cost about 57% less than they do in the U.S., while the soup dumplings cost about 66% less.
• In reality, the American soup dumplings cost diners even more than we're charting here, since the U.S. prices exclude sales taxes and service charges, both of which are included in most other countries.

Follow the money: "There's no theory that says the price of non-tradeables will converge around the world," says University of Michigan economist Justin Wolfers.

• "If I spent $10 to buy 16.6 dumplings from Kuala Lumpur, they would be cold gloop by the time they got to me."
• More to the point, labor is non-tradeable too, and is cheaper in Malaysia than it is in New York.

The intrigue: Prices are determined not only by the cost of production — including the cost of rent — but also by what economists refer to as the price elasticity of demand.

• Midtown Manhattan has a large number of relatively price-insensitive tourists; it also has a lot of rich New Yorkers who expect any dinner out to cost well over $100 per person.
• There are therefore plenty of diners willing to pay Din Tai Fung's highest prices. Given how booked out the restaurant is, there's no real incentive for the Taiwanese chain to lower them.

How it works: Din Tai Fung, founded in Taipei in 1972, is a restaurant chain that has perfected the xiao long bao, or soup dumpling. It takes 12 weeks to train a cook to make a single perfect dumpling, each one weighing exactly 21 grams and featuring 18 folds.

• The Chinese-American chef Ken Hom gave the restaurant a glowing NYT review in 1993, in a list of 10 global "restaurants that inspire a pilgrimage." Three years later, in 1996, Din Tai Fung opened its first foreign branch, in Tokyo.
• The chain now has more than 170 locations in 13 countries. While most of the restaurants are on the Pacific Rim, there's one outlet in London, one in Dubai — and, now, one in New York, where 10 soup dumplings will set you back $18.50.
• By contrast, in Taipei you can buy 12 dumplings for NT$250, which is about $7.60.

The bottom line: There's no shortage of great value soup dumplings, even in New York. But if you want the Din Tai Fung version in particular, you'll be best off in Asia.

Editor's note: This chart has been updated to reflect that xiao long bao at the Las Vegas Din Tai Fung would be 4.4 for $10, not 7.4 as previously shown.