Din Tai Fung (;

Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Pha̍k-fa-sṳ is an orthography similar to Pe̍h-ōe-jī and used to write Hakka, a variety of Chinese. Hakka is a whole branch of Chinese, and Hakka dialects are not necessarily mutually intelligible with each other, considering the large geogr ...

: Tín-thai-fûng) is a Taiwanese restaurant chain. Outside

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, Din Tai Fung also has branches in Australia, China,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, Japan,

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

History

Founder Yang Bingyi, an immigrant from Shanxi, initially worked ten years at Heng Tai Fung (), a cooking oil retailer in Taiwan. He then wanted to branch out on his own to support his family. With his

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

wife, Lai Penmei, he founded a cooking oil retailer in 1958. They named it Din Tai Fung by combining the names of Yang's previous employer, "Heng Tai Fung", and their new supplier, "DinMei Oils". Around 1970, tinned cooking oil became prevalent, and business diminished drastically. Heng Tai Fung's owner suggested that to survive, Yang and Lai convert half the shop to making and selling steamed buns (

xiaolongbao ''Xiaolongbao'' () refers to a type of small Chinese steamed bun (''baozi'') traditionally prepared in a ''xiaolong'', a small bamboo steaming basket, hence the name. '' Xiaolongbao'' are often referred to as a kind of "dumpling", but should not ...

). The buns grew so popular that the store stopped selling oil altogether and became a full-fledged restaurant in 1972. The original restaurant is on Xinyi Road in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. They soon opened another restaurant in

Taipei 101 Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...

. In 1996, the first international location opened in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, and the first North American store opened in Arcadia, California in 2000. Their first branch in Indonesia opened at the upmarket shopping mall Plaza Senayan Arcadia in Jakarta,

on April 24, 2005 - as of 2022 having as many as 13 branches spread across the

Greater Jakarta The Jakarta metropolitan area or Greater Jakarta, known locally as Jabodetabek (an acronym of Jakarta– Bogor–Depok–Tangerang–Bekasi), and sometimes extended to Jabodetabekjur (with the acronym extended to include part of Cianjur Regenc ...

area with three outlet formats (regular Din Tai Fung, Noodle Bar, and Chef's Table) and

halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with '' haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification k ...

or non-halal selections available. The first European branch was opened in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in December 2018. Due to the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the United States restaurant industry via government closures, resulting in layoffs of workers and loss of income for restaurants and owners and threatening the survival of independent restaurants as a category. Wit ...

, the first North American restaurant closed permanently on June 11, 2020. There are still multiple Din Tai Fung restaurants operating in The United States, located in California, Washington, Oregon and Nevada.

Reputation

Din Tai Fung is known internationally for its paper-thin wrapped

with 18 folds. In November 2009, the Hong Kong and Macau 2010 edition of the

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

awarded the restaurant's first Hong Kong branch at

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsi ...

, Silvercord Branch (), a Michelin star. The Michelin Guide recommended the restaurant's second branch in Hong Kong at Causeway Bay, Yee Wo Branch (), in December 2010, as well as Hong Kong's Silvercord Branch in 2013. In January 2019, Din Tai Fung voluntarily closed their Westfield Sydney location after discovering rats, which nearby construction had displaced. The city council also required the restaurant pass health inspections before re-opening. At Din Tai Fung, the chefs can be seen churning out the dough for the dumplings in a small kitchen at the front of the restaurant, surrounded by huge steamers that are spewing smoke.

References

External links

* /www.dintaifung.com.tw/ Din Tai Fung official website(Global) * * {{Food chains in Singapore 1958 establishments in Taiwan Taiwanese restaurants Chinese restaurants Culture in Taipei Fast-food chains of Singapore Restaurants established in 1958 Restaurant chains Restaurant chains in Australia Restaurant chains in Singapore Restaurant chains in China Restaurants in Indonesia Restaurants in Japan Restaurants in Los Angeles Restaurants in Orange County, California Restaurants in New South Wales Restaurant chains in Taiwan Asian restaurants in Washington (state) Taiwanese brands

History

Reputation

See also

References

External links