Din Tai Fung

Reviews

• Melanie S.

  star star star star star 11 June 2026

  Growing up as a Taiwanese American in the South Bay, the highlights of my year were 1. Going back to Taipei in the summer to eat at the original, multi-story DTF location, and 2. The rare occasions when my family would leave the house at 9 am so we could beat the crowds at the ONLY American DTF location in Arcadia.
  
  A lot has changed since then - there's a handful of DTFs in LA, and even more around the world and in Taiwan. Through the process DTF has lost a bit of its feeling of special-ness and become a higher priced option, but the food is still consistently great. Below is my rundown of every single thing I've ever liked at DTF, so you can decide if you should try it too. I've starred my favorites.
  
  *Pork Xiao Long Bao (soup dumpling): you can't come to DTF without ordering this. DTF has set the standard for XLB in America, and as someone who grew up eating this, it is still unrivaled. The skin is thin, but strong enough not to rip under the pressure of the soup. The pork is juicy but not oily or fatty.
  
  *Hot and Sour Soup: you might be thinking, I can get this anywhere, why would I waste my time at DTF? The answer is because DTF does it so well. The soup comes loaded with wood ear mushroom and tofu, and it comes with a heaping pile of fresh cracked pepper and chili oil to stir into the soup
  
  Vegetable and Pork Wonton soup: this is great, but I don't order it as much because I prefer the version in spicy sauce - see below
  
  *Vegetable and Pork Wonton in Spicy Sauce: spicy is a bit of a misnomer - this is spicy by old school Taiwanese standards, which means not really spicy at all. It has an almost sweet flavor, but it's hard to describe.
  
  *Vegetable & Mushroom Dumpling: It's a dumpling. It doesn't have meat. Honestly sometimes you just need a quick break from the richness of pork in everything, and this is a great way to break that up.
  
  Sticky Rice & Pork Shao Mai: they sometimes run out of this on the weekends, but definitely give it a try if they have it. It's literally carbs (sticky rice) wrapped in more carbs (dumpling skin)... But why wouldn't you want that?
  
  *Sauteed String Beans with Garlic: I know what you're thinking: "this seems a bit expensive for just some vegetables, isn't it?" Well you might be technically correct, but it's worth the price. The string beans are crunchy and fresh tasting, with the perfect amount of garlic, and not too oily.
  
  *Pork chop fried rice: this seems like such a basic thing to order at DTF, but they do it well. Bonus points if you save some sauce from the wontons in spicy sauce to eat with your rice. If fried pork chop isn't your thing, the vegetable and mushroom rice is a great option too.
  
  Shanghai Rice Cakes (either w Shredded Pork or Vegetarian): these are pretty filling and require lots of effort to eat (chewy rice cakes) so I rarely order them. But if you like the texture of mochi or Korean rice cakes (ddukbokki), but with the flavor of a Chinese stir fry, this could be the dish for you.
  
  Sticky Rice Wrap: I'll be honest, I mostly order this when I'm too lazy to drag myself out of bed to get the same thing from a dim sum cart. This is more expensive than at most other places, but it's very fresh tasting and the rice is imbued with that subtle aromatic taste from the leaf wrap.
  
  *Red Bean Rice Cake: I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who orders this (I think the dessert xlb are generally more popular and better for sharing), but I'm glad they've kept it on the menu. Ordering it will get you one single slice of a cake-like dessert, except it's made out of rice, so it's got a bit of a chew - the texture is like if mochi and traditional cake had a baby. There are little pockets of red bean - both in paste and what appears to be whole bean form - to add a bit of sweetness.

• Cari G.

  star star star star star 6 June 2026

  I've heard so many amazing things about this place but was reluctant to go without a reservation due to the wait. I was pleasantly surprised that the wait was 15-20 minutes! Ok, I'm down! So glad I did, amazing! Food, service and overall experience. Our server was Kevin and he was great, super attentive and  pleasant. Ok, now the food...
  Soup dumplings! Yasss! Chicken fried rice, light and delish, ribs... delish, and spicy cucumber salad paired nicely!
  My daughter got the peach slushy and said it wasn't artificially sweetened - which is obvious a good thing :)
  Will definitely be back! No brainer. Only downside, a bit pricy for a casual impulse, but well worth the little splurge.

• Yesenia E.

  star star star star star 5 June 2026

  I had never heard of this place but saw the great views on Yelp.
  
  I added myself on the waitlist and came here on a Sunday.
  It was PACKED!
  But the staff members quickly sat us down upon 10 minutes since we checked in.
  The server Jen was AMAZING!!!!
  She explained everything on the menu and would constantly check up on us
  
  The food was absolutely delicious  dumplings were juicy. Rice was delicious. The desert was the best  the Hennessy oolong Tea was sooooo good.
  
  This place was so amazing I came back two days later to eat.
  
  Would I recommend this place???? Yes yes yes!!!
  A little pricey. But so delicious

• Francine N.

  star star star star star 29 May 2026

  My husband's favorite place! Our first spot to go to after a long flight to LA. Been craving this place for so long. First off, we ordered the cucumber salad as appetizer which was very refreshing to the palate. This was our first time Sesame Noodle in spicy peanut sauce and it was tasty! I usually order the Beef Braised Noodle because the broth is soothing and flavorful. Shrimp and Kurobuta Pork Wonton is a must have! *****
  Overall, customer service is excellent. We got our good in a timely manner.
  
  We went 15 min after they opened, would suggest going there early because there is a very very long line around noon.

• Ace M.

  star star star star_border star_border 19 May 2026

  I came here on a Sunday afternoon and there was a nice line to be seated. I put in a reservation and was able to get a table on time. They won't sit you if your whole party isn't there, even if you have a reservation. Their dim sum is a lot more on the pricey side compared to other places, but it does come with a lot more pieces compared to 3-4 pieces for regular dim sum.
  
  Service 2/5: Once we were seated it took them about 10 minutes to take our order, even though we just had to fill out a paper for our orders. Our waters took a long time to refill and they never brought out extra sauce when asked about it multiple times.
  
  Food 5/5: The service is bad, but the food is excellent. We ordered a lot of different dishes. The star of the food is the Chicken Wontons with Hot Sauce. Its like a really tasty sweet chili sauce. I put the sauce on the other dim sum we ordered instead of the table sauces that you normally dip them in. Other good dishes were the Shrimp and Pork Shao Mai, the Sticky Rice and Pork Shao Mai, Shrimp and Pork Dumplings, and Pork LongBaos.