We’ve been playing a tasty game of Musical Dumplings in downtown Glendale, with the Singapore-based chain Paradise Dynasty — famous for its rainbow dumplings — replacing Din Tai Fung in The Americana at Brand. And Din Tai Fung moving a few blocks west to the born-again Glendale Galleria — to what’s said to be a bigger space than the already massive space it occupied at The Americana.
After writing about Paradise Dynasty a while back, a visit to Din Tai Fung’s new Glendale home seemed in order. And anyway, I’m always hungry for soup dumplings. Isn’t everyone?
The funny thing about the growth, and additional growth of Din Tai Fung locations, is that the restaurant began in a modest mini-mall space on Baldwin Avenue in Arcadia. Which was, in turn, an American branch of the original storefront Din Tai Fung in Taipei, Taiwan. (Which has long been on my bucket list — a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Xiao Long Bao!)
There was a line of hungry believers from the first day it opened. And in time, Din Tai Fung grew to 165 branches in 13 countries, 17 of which are in the United States, with nine in California. Almost all in shopping malls — though the largest in the USA is a three-story office building complex in New York City.
The new incarnation in the Glendale Galleria is totally inside the Glendale Galleria; The Americana branch faced the street, but the Galleria outlet is surrounded by shops like JC Penney, Foot Locker and Van’s shoes. But beyond that, it’s a sprawling destination to a shrine of dumplings — a pilgrimage for those who believe shao mai to be God’s gift to those with a mastery of chopsticks.
We are blessed with a multitude of options for dim sum — which, along with sushi, defines the joys of eating out here in Southern California. Dim sum can be found in any number of pleasantly casual storefront shops, where aside from plating shiu mai, dumplings are sold by the dozen, frozen in plastic bags visible in freezers both upright and horizontal.
And yet, despite all these grand options, I find myself returning to Din Tai Fung, again and again. Which even with its massive locations in shopping centers, complete with full bars, remains a joyous experience. The crowds are constant, relentless, obsessive, with dumpling aficionados flocking to Din Tai Fung at all hours, happy to wait however long it takes to get in for a meal that takes considerably less time to consume, than the wait itself.
Service is pretty much instantaneous. Ingestion isn’t leisurely. This is the very essence of the feeding frenzy incarnate.
I like just about every dumpling and bun served at Din Tai Fung. It’s amazing to watch a small army of cooks filling and folding and steaming and baking — and sending the food forth to feed the hungry many.
The place to begin is with any of the eight appetizers — especially the requisite sesame oil and rice vinegar pickled cucumber slices, always a palate-cleansing pleasure. The soy noodle salad is hard to resist as well. But resist it you should, for there’s much more to come. Perhaps a bit lighter is the seaweed and bean curd salad. Or maybe it’s just very good. Hard to say.
Even more essential is an extensive selection of dumplings — including the “juicy” soup dumplings (the Xiao Long Bao), which must be eaten with care for the liquid inside is extremely hot. Patience is rewarded; let them cool for a moment, and they can be inhaled — which is how most of us eat them. No one makes them better.
If there’s room, they make a reputable hot-and-sour soup. The house bone-in chicken soup is hearty enough for a Jewish deli — and probably just as good for you. (It also comes with bone-in short ribs.)
There are six different greens available — spinach with garlic, string beans with garlic, broccoli with garlic, bok choy with scallion-infused oil, Taiwanese cabbage with garlic, and kale with garlic. And, yes, I do get the sense that what they’re really serving is garlic with assorted vegetables.
All go well with the dumplings. There’s always room for noodles with sesame sauce. And spicy sauce. And minced Kurobuta pork. And diced beef with Szechuan peppers.
Somehow, a fried pork chop has wandered onto the menu. I’m not at all sure who orders it. Not when there are potstickers to consume.
There’s dessert as well — chocolate buns, red bean sticky rice wrap, and sundry desserts described as “XLB” (which stands for “xiao long bao”).
Soup dumplings for dessert? I guess. But for me, I prefer the sublime (and staggeringly expensive!) desserts at Bacio di Latte, across the street in The Americana. Followed by a long walk around the mall. Dim sum is good soup for the soul … walking is good for the heart.
Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.
Din Tai Fung
- Rating: 3 stars
- Address: Glendale Galleria, 1164 Galleria Way, Glendale
- Information: 818-551-5561; www.dintaifungusa.com
- Cuisine: Dim sum
- When: Lunch and dinner, every day
- Details: Full bar; reservations essential
- Atmosphere: The insanely popular Din Tai Fung dumpling house moves from The Americana at Brand to the nearby Glendale Galleria, replaced by a branch of Singapore’s Paradise Dynasty dumpling house, moving from a massive space into an even more massive space, with a following that continues to verge on addictive.
- Prices: About $35 per person
- On the menu: 8 Appetizers ($9-$14.50), 3 Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) ($17-$21), 10 Steamed Dumplings & Buns ($9.50-$18.50), 8 Wontons ($16), 6 Greens ($15-$16), 6 Noodles ($12.50-$14.50), 4 Noodle Soups ($15-$20), 10 “From the Wok” ($17-$20), 5 “Specialties & A La Carte” ($10-$32), 10 Desserts ($8.50-$13.50)
- Credit cards: MC, V
- What the stars mean: 4 (World class! Worth a trip from anywhere!), 3 (Most excellent, even exceptional. Worth a trip from anywhere in Southern California.), 2 (A good place to go for a meal. Worth a trip from anywhere in the neighborhood.) 1 (If you’re hungry, and it’s nearby, but don’t get stuck in traffic going.) 0 (Honestly, not worth writing about.)