Arcadia: Din Tai Fung

Oddly, I thought I had written about Din Tai Fung ages ago but it appears I’ve been remiss and only referred to it in other juicy dumplings posts.  Heck, I might even have to do another dumplings crawl in order to write about Dean Sin World and Mama Lu’s plus all the new XLB shops that have sprung up in the last few years.

But back to the godmother of them all, DTF. I first started going there over 10 years ago. When the original Arcadia location opened, I dragged everyone there. We always had a great time. Through the years, I feel the dumplings have gotten smaller, less juicy or perhaps it’s just I’ve eaten better XLBs. I recall loving their crab and pork but now I prefer just their pork. The crab had an odd shredded quality to them that I didn’t like.

Under the appetizers, you’ll find an odd little salad that comprises of seaweed, beansprouts, tofu and chile. It’s entirely addicting and I blame it on the sesame oil and vinegar dressing. I noticed the next table got two of these…for just two people.

I usually get some sort of greens. Invariably, it’s spinach.

I usually get the pork chop but for some reason, went with the minced pork this time around. Meh, the sauce was oddly sweet and the noodles were terribly overcooked. I would not order this dish again.

As I mentioned the XLBs were on the smaller side and barely had any soup. I did like the pork. Both Arcadia locations are extremely busy still but I know there are other dumplings to be eaten elsewhere. The only thing that is spectacular about this place is it’s very clean, the service is great and they have these fun knick knacks to amuse young and old alike.

Din Tai Fung

1108 S Baldwin Ave., Arcadia, CA 91007 – (626) 574-7068