Din Tai Fung is Finally Open in Vancouver

The signature xiaolongbao at Din Tai Fung didn't disappoint

Din Tai Fung Vancouver just opened up over a week ago and it's generated a lot of buzz to say the least. We have been anticipating its opening for at least a year and it has finally opened its doors on Alberni Street. Despite a few kinks to iron out, the Taiwanese restaurant chain has lived up to the hype.

I managed to snag a reservation during the soft opening phase by entering my email in the newsletter and we arrived this evening to try dinner here.

Sweet and sour baby back ribs were superb

For years Din Tai Fung has resisted opening in Vancouver, with supposed claims there was too much competition here (Chinese food is already excellent), they typically open in a shopping mall, or it just didn't make sense financially to set up shop here.

But perhaps they did finally find the right place -- a massive space on the second floor of a hotel/serviced apartment in downtown Vancouver. Perhaps if Din Tai Fung opened in Richmond it would be too much competition. There aren't many Chinese restaurants downtown, though Din Tai Fung happens to be a few stores down from Kirin!

We arrived a few minutes early and the reception area was absolutely chaotic with lots of people waiting around. I checked in with one of the three staff there who said it would take 20 minutes to be seated. Excuse me? That wasn't the answer I was expecting...

Sweet and crunchy Taiwanese cabbage

When tables were ready, staff would wander around to the different groups standing around, asking if they were so-and-so to take them to the dining room. It seemed inefficient and tedious, but perhaps they didn't want to go through the number-calling or name-calling route.

In the end we waited less than 10 minutes and were seated in the main hall where down at the end was a giant pane of glass where cooks in white uniforms and caps rolled out dough or wrapped dumplings. Later did I find out the restaurant was massive because down another hall there was yet another large dining space and a smaller "patio" one that was sort of enclosed.

Staff were friendly and asked if we needed instructions on how to order, but since we had eaten at other Din Tai Fung locations, we knew the drill. Was surprised to find there was no picture menu; diners had to scan a QR code to see pictures of the dishes.

Vegan dumplings choc full of vegetables

Disappointed to see no hong shao kaofu on the menu, though every other table had spicy cucumbers, as influencers had pronounced it an "iconic dish"... if that was the case, what would the xiaolongbao be described as?

We made our order on a slip of paper, and then waited. And waited. And waited... almost half an hour before our sweet and sour baby back ribs arrived. But boy were they delicious. The meat was so tender and the thick sauce whetted our appetites.

Next came the chicken xiaolongbao, as indicated by a small chicken carved out of a carrot. Both this and the kurobuta pork xiaolongbao have a mouthfeel to them; the pork in the xiaolongbaos in the Din Tai Fung in San Diego was so finely ground they were too smooth.

The vegan dumplings wrapped in green wrappers were very good, light with various mushrooms, tofu, jicama, wood ear fungus and vermicelli. We also liked the wontons in soup, a small whole shrimp wrapped with kurobuta pork in a savoury clear broth with lots of chopped green onions in it.

Braised beef shank with egg noodles in soup

For vegetables we had the string beans with minced garlic were crunchy, and the Taiwanese cabbage that had a sweetness to it, also with fried garlic slices. 

We couldn't not order the braised beef noodle soup, with a tinge of spice. The chunks of tender beef were of the shin shank, with bits of tendon in it, together with house made egg noodles and bok choy. We were pretty much full by this point, but had to try dessert...

The red bean and mochi xiaolongbao were much smaller than the savoury ones, and filled with red bean and had a slightly chewy texture from the mochi. We had 10 pieces and wished we could have split half the order with another flavour, like taro. I already gave this suggestion in the feedback survey. It's quite boring to have to eat three red bean and mochi dumplings.

The bill came to C$172.21 with tax, and including tip just under C$200 for three.

Red bean and mochi xiaolongbao for dessert

Nevertheless, despite the soft opening glitches, the food was already at a high standard and service was friendly. Hopefully the logistical issues will be sorted soon and Din Tai Fung will be the hot spot in Vancouver for a while yet.

Din Tai Fung Vancouver

1132 Alberni Street

Vancouver