Hang Zhou Xiao Long Bao (Da'an) — Restaurant in Da'an District

I'd give it about 3.5 stars- had heard good things about this place (comparable to DTF, much cheaper, etc). BUT Xiao long bao are just okay, they get cold really fast and then aren't very appealing. The other food is also just ok, we tried a different type of dumpling and the 高麗菜, which might've been the best dish.

What really bothered me was service- and it's not a foreigner thing. Wait was over an hour even though they had said 30 minutes. Lack of seats to wait (not so great for my 84-year-old grandmother). Then when it was finally our turn, they put us at a table with another family and wouldn't let us separate the tables. The whole time they were rushing us to finish our food. The other family at our table was waiting for a while and kept on asking when certain dishes were coming, and the waitress ended up yelling at them to stop asking.

If you're looking for a deal, I would say price is the selling point because our total bill for 4 people was $1000 NT. But atmosphere and service really sucks. Looking at the pictures from the other location, perhaps that's a better choice if you're trying to take friends/family out. Would rather pay extra and go to DTF where they actually respect...

I couldn't wait for soup dumplings anymore and had to wait for my mom to get to Taipei for our traditional Din Tai Fung visit so I looked online and found this place also mentioned in the Michelin Guide.

It's around the side of CKC Memorial Hall and pretty easy to spot by the line. I came on a Sunday at 2:30pm but a bus load of Korean tourists had just descended so it was about a 35-40 minute wait. I placed my order and handed it over when I was seated.

This place is more causal, more chaotic, less refined but cheaper and with a different menu than DTF so it was a nice experience. I ordered the soup dumplings, the shrimp dumplings, the turnip cake, pork ribs and a tofu soup. I was sharing the table and they also ordered the clams with vegetables which also looked amazing.

I think their soup dumplings aren't as juicy as DTF but the other items that DTF doesn't have were great. If you want a change of pace definitely check...

We went on a weekdays afternoon and the line were crazy long. My number was 80 and calling 60. Apparently, this went by pretty fast as all of suddenly lots of people paying. The wait time about 20 to 25 mins. It's almost like a self service such as you would go out to take your bowl, sauce, and chopsticks, etc. The food arrived fairly quickly and the dumplings steamy hot and juice kept on flowing out on my first bit. I can see why some people would complaints the dumplings cold. If you seat near air conditioning, this can/could get cold pretty fast. So, I did a test and I left 2 dumplings for 5 mins and eat again. Yes, it's cold and no more juice inside. The owner should or a need to redesign the air flow. The other place if left for 5 mins, the dumplings still good. Otherwise, everything are perfectly done. With the exception, there...