Last month my family went to an Asian restaurant called ‘Din Tai Fung Dumpling House’ located in Los Angeles, CA. To be a little more specific it is placed in Arcadia, about 2 ½ to 3 hours north of San Diego. This eatery is best known for their Chinese delicacy; steamed dumplings. Different variants of fried rice, noodles, and fried or steamed vegetables have been added to their menu over a span of 9 years. My favorite entrée was the steamed pork and shrimp dumpling. Each dumpling is steamed and served searing hot with different meats drowning in soup and wrapped in freshly made won ton wrappers. As you walk into the restaurant, you can see the workers mass making fresh ingredients. When you get to the table, you receive individually wrapped chopsticks with instructions on eating and enjoying your meal. First I use the chopsticks to grab the top of the dumpling and place it carefully on my spoon. Next I bite off a bit of the top to let the steam escape and then comes my favorite part; sipping the soup out of the dumpling. Finally, I like to finish it off by putting a small drop of vinegar and soy sauce with a small sliver of ginger and put it all into one big bite. Each serving comes with 10 individually wrapped dumplings of your choice. Most people order in bulk. No one person goes into that eatery to only order one order of each item on the menu because the average wait for a single table is at least 40 minutes long. They have been so successful the last few years that they were able to open second building adjacent to the first. This place is so unique and is the only Din Tai Fung in the United States. Although the wait is long, it is completely worth it. I would either get there right when it opens or put in your name as soon as you get there and go around the building to enjoy a hot bowl of black sticky rice at the ‘Phoenix Food Boutique’ while you wait.
