鼎泰豐 (NT$814) — Taipei Din Tai Fung!
Taipei Din Tai Fung flagship — XLB and small plates spread for NT$814. The pilgrimage stop at the original Xinyi outlet.
Taipei lunch with BB — Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) flagship at NT$814 for the full XLB and small plates spread. The pilgrimage stop at the Taipei original.
We ordered:
- 小笼包 (xiao long bao) — pork
- 蟹粉小笼包 (crab roe XLB) — premium upgrade
- 蝦仁炒飯 (shrimp fried rice)
- 紅油抄手 (red oil wontons)
- 酸辣湯 (hot and sour soup)
Total: NT$814 (~SGD $37) for two.
Din Tai Fung’s Taipei flagship is the original. The Singapore outlets we frequent run the same system, same training, same 18-pleat XLB standard — but eating it at the source has its own small ceremony attached. The queue is the same disciplined wait, the pager system is the same, the open kitchen with the masked-and-hatted pleat-counters working in formation is the same.
The standard pork XLB held up to every comparison. Skin thin enough to see through, holding the soup without leak, the 18 pleats stamped on top in the iconic crown shape. Each one bursts hot soup with the first bite — the gingered-vinegar dipping ritual the proper accompaniment.
The crab roe XLB was the upgrade order. Yellow-orange tint from the crab roe mixed into the soup and pork filling, with the deeper umami sweetness of crab coming through against the standard pork base. NT$814 budget stretched to cover this premium variant.
Shrimp fried rice was the underrated order. Each grain coated in egg, plump shrimp distributed through, the light wok-flame seasoning that doesn’t overpower. Eat it between XLB rounds as the substantial carb.
Red oil wontons hit the sweeter Sichuan side of the menu — silky wonton skins floating in the slightly sweet chilli oil base. Hot and sour soup arrived hot enough to need the slow-spoon approach.
Pilgrimage worth making.
Overall: 4.8 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Excellent Taipei Din Tai Fung — every trip, every time.
