Message: | Recently there have been several posts on good Chinese dumplings. Well, I have found one that takes the cake. It's in Arcadia, and I have neglected to get the correct spelling and address of this place, but I will confirm later when I dig out the business card. According to my translation, it's called Din Tai Fung, on the corner of Duarte and Baldwin in Arcadia. For those of you familiar with the area, it's south of the mall. You'll see a Charles Schwab from the street.
The restaurant originated in Taipei, there's one in Japan, and at long last now the one in Arcadia. Warning...there is always a long wait, they are open Tuesday to Sunday, 11-2 and then open again at 5:00 for dinner. We got there at 2:00 on Saturday, assigned a number and a clipboard to order the food. I find it to be a good system so you are ready to go as soon as you get a table, which took us almost half an hour (although technically, they should have been closed at the time). The menu/ordering form has both Chinese and English you're covered! A bonus is that they are next to Life Plaza, which is a bookstore/restaurant, and they have 2 for 1 boba tea. That in itself took 20 minutes to order (mostly overflow from Din Tai Fung).
What to order...the shao loong bao with crab is their "signature" dish, and deservedly so. We also ordered the non-crab variety, and that was just as good. The wrapper is made fresh (you can actually see the cooks preparing this popular dish through a window), and with the meat and broth together, it is just a fantastic dish. The niu ro mein was excellent, the beef brisket being very tender and the broth was spicy, noodles nice and chewy. We also got the shumai, which wasn't bad, coming from a non-shumai fan. As dessert we had the red bean bun, and that was just as fresh as anything else. So all in all, everything was excellent! I can't wait to go back with my parents, in-laws, friends, etc. Living in Orange County, it's well worth the drive!
Once I find the business card, I'll get the name of the restaurant and address posted, unless there's someone out there that can beat me to it! |