Din Tai Fung in New York

The New York Din Tai Fung requires a reservation a month in advance. After waiting for a whole month, I finally got to eat there, but the long wait had somewhat dampened my enthusiasm. 🍔 On a Monday noon, the space was quite large and there were many empty tables. 🌇 Ordered: 🥒 Cucumber Salad - $9 Just ordinary cucumber with spicy oil dressing. Nothing special. 🍲 Hot and Sour Soup - $15 After trying every branch on the West Coast, Seattle, and Las Vegas, I can confidently say this is the best quality hot and sour soup. 🌟 🍚 Shrimp Fried Rice - $19.5 It’s average, nothing extraordinary. 🦀 Black Pork Crab Meat Dumplings - $22 I think they’re much better than the West Coast ones. After all, there aren’t many authentic dumplings here. 🍤 Black Pork Shrimp Shumai - $12.5 Very ordinary. Not recommended. I asked if they had glutinous rice, and they said yes, but there wasn’t any. 🥟 Black Pork Shrimp Wontons - $17 Not as fragrant as those in China. The sauce isn’t quite right. 🥬 Taiwanese Cabbage - $16 It was undercooked and crunchy. 🥒 Average cost per person: $45-$50 Everyone says New York prices are very expensive, but that’s only in comparison to other countries. The most expensive place in the U.S. is actually the Vegas branch. Compared to the West Coast, the prices are only about $1-$2 higher. Maybe it’s just the opening phase, and they’re still short-staffed. They’re still figuring things out, and some dishes really aren’t up to par yet. Currently, reservations are still required. No walk-ins or takeout allowed. Don’t come if you’re in a hurry. 🕰️ #NewYork #NewYorkEatsDrinksFun 🌟