New Restaurant World’s Largest Din Tai Fung in NY

New Restaurant World’s Largest Din Tai Fung in NY

The long-awaited NYC location of the highly acclaimed, Taiwan-based restaurant chain will officially throw open its doors in midtown Manhattan on Thursday, July 18. And in even better news, you can secure a reservation at the Michelin-starred dim sum den as early as tomorrow.

Din Tai Fung is a Chinese restaurant specializing in Xiao Long Bao, or soup dumplings. Since its founding by Mr. Bing-Yi Yang in Taiwan in 1972, Din Tai Fung has become world-renowned for its quality, consistency and service. Originally founded as a cooking oil retail business, Din Tai Fung was reborn as a steamed dumpling and noodle restaurant in 1972. With a menu that now includes steamed buns, handmade noodles and vegan dishes, the brand has won many awards and allocations. Today, Din Tai Fung has over 170 locations in 13 countries worldwide.

The architecture firm behind the space, Rockwell Group, wanted to balance the company’s roots in Taiwan with its future in America. The heart of the room is a 16-seat cocktail bar, which will accommodate walk-in diners. Across from it, a team of roughly 30 chefs will prepare dumplings in a kitchen visible through glass walls, a signature of Din Tai Fung.

The opening marks a new chapter for the international chain. Albert and Aaron Yang, the owners of the American locations, have made several changes in recent years. Their restaurants now accept reservations — they were walk-in only before — and new items have been added to the menu to appeal to American customers, like espresso martinis and chicken xiaolongbao.

The openings have become more strategic, too. “The more high-profile, the more high-foot-traffic locations there are, the more we’re able to share our food and culture,” Albert Yang said last year. Including the one in New York, there are 16 locations in the U.S.