Dim Sum Giant Din Tai Fung Joins the Beijinger's Dining Hall of Fame

For the second year running, the Beijinger's 2016 Reader Restaurant Awards Ceremony invited members of Beijing’s F&B industry to recognize their peers by electing new members to the Beijing Dining Hall of Fame.

Din Tai Fung, a consistently high-quality Taiwanese restaurant, was one of four venues voted into the Hall in 2016.

RELATED: 2016's Dining Hall of Fame Inductees

While some newcomers may think of Din Tai Fung as having its roots in Beijing or Shanghai, the successful franchise actually got its start in Taipei.

Founder Yang Bingyi was born in Shanxi province, but moved to Taiwan in 1948 as a result of the Chinese Civil War, and went on to found Din Tai Fung in Taipei 1958 – not as a restaurant, but as a cooking oil retailer.

In 1972, he transformed the business into a dumpling and noodle shop, and a year later hired a Shanghainese chef to made their first ever xiaolongbao (小笼包), or soup dumpling. The rest is a long and prosperous history.

Since that time, Din Tai Fung has grown considerably. to where it now has franchises in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, the United States, Thailand, and Dubai. There are 12 branches in mainland China, including six outlets in Beijing.

Din Tai Fung is renowned internationally for its aforementioned xiaolongbao. However, it is also highly regarded for its chicken soup, seaweed, bean sprouts, and mung bean noodle xiaochi (snacks), all of which guarantee to please – bursting with flavor and transporting diners back to those early days.

It's these seemingly simple dishes served in elegant surroundings that have made Din Tai Fung so special, and have made the once modest restaurant an authority in how to maintain quality and a refined touch for more than 30 years.

In our review of Din Tai Fung in 2015, we said, "from Forbes Magazine to Hong Kong star Chow Yun-Fat, Din Tai Fung can count many famous names amongst its list of supporters. In fact many of the the popular Taiwanese chain's locations around the world devote entire walls to plaques signed by superstars that have dined there."

Din Tai Fung was named one of the top 10 restaurants in the world by New York Times in 1993. In November 2009, the restaurant's first Hong Kong branch in Tsim Sha Tsui was awarded one Michelin star by the Hong Kong and Macau 2010 edition of the Michelin Guide. In December 2010, the restaurant's second branch in Hong Kong at Causeway Bay, Yee Wo Branch (怡和店), was also awarded one Michelin star.

It's obvious that Din Tai Fung continues to wow guests with its expanding menu, but it's what it has done for centuries that keeps us coming back for more, and now takes its rightful place in our Dining Hall of Fame.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tracywang@thebeijinger.com
Twitter: @flyingfigure
Instagram: @flyingfigure

Photos courtesy of Din Tai Fung, Kyle Mullin