Taiwan's Din Tai Fung woos world with dumpling diplomacy

Din Tai Fung blends tradition and technology, turning dumpling craftsmanship into a quiet force of diplomacy.

At a time when Taiwan is striving to expand its global presence beyond cross-Strait tensions and semiconductor diplomacy, Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐), the Taiwanese restaurant chain known worldwide for its soup dumplings, grew from a small Taipei oil shop into a major international brand and is playing an unexpected but influential role. It is not a government-funded cultural export—there are no Ministry of Culture logos, and no political messaging on the menu.

Yet Din Tai Fung's impact is unmistakably diplomatic. When a banker in London, an influencer in Los Angeles, or a salaryman in Tokyo lines up for a basket of Xiao Long Bao, they’re engaging in a quiet cultural exchange with Taiwan.

This is soft power at its most subtle—persuasion through precision, consistency, and care. It offers a humanizing, everyday encounter with Taiwanese identity.

In many ways, Din Tai Fung stands in Taiwan’s culinary vanguard, similar to how sushi once carried Japanese culture to the West. Through flavor, design, and hospitality, the brand presents Taiwan not as a geopolitical flashpoint, but as a source of warmth, refinement, and global relevance.

Financially, Din Tai Fung stands out. As of mid-2025, Restaurant Business reports it has the highest average unit volumes in the restaurant industry, pulling in US$27.4 million per location in the US—nearly double the next closest competitor and outperforming big names like The Cheesecake Factory and top steakhouse chains.

This success comes from its unique position between fast-casual and fine dining, offering premium prices with quick turnover. But the real secret is its strict focus on quality and a carefully crafted customer experience. Din Tai Fung doesn’t just sell food—it delivers a consistent, enjoyable, and disciplined dining ritual.

Humble origins

Din Tai Fung began in 1958 when Yang Bing-yi (楊秉彝), a Chinese immigrant who fled mainland China after the Communist takeover, opened a cooking oil shop on Xinyi Road in Taipei. The business initially sold bulk oil to local customers, but by the early 1970s, supermarkets made this trade unprofitable.

Adapting to the change, Yang and his wife started selling Xiao Long Bao, or soup dumplings, from a few small tables at the front of their shop. What started as a practical side business eventually grew into a global brand.

By the 1980s, Din Tai Fung had built a reputation for its careful dumpling-making process, with each dumpling folded 18 times, weighed precisely, and steamed for the exact right time. In 1993, the New York Times named it one of the world’s top ten restaurants, bringing international attention to the once-small dumpling shop.

Despite the growing fame, Yang stayed humble, focusing on quality and craft rather than business expansion. Still, the global reach of Din Tai Fung had begun to take shape.


A global brand, crafted with surgical precision

Unlike many fast-casual chains that expand rapidly worldwide, Din Tai Fung’s growth has been careful, methodical, and culturally aware. Its first international location opened in Tokyo in 1996, where Japanese customers appreciated the brand’s cleanliness, precision, and minimalist style, which aligned well with local tastes.

The brand entered the US market in 2000 with a location in Arcadia, California, followed by openings in Singapore, Sydney, Hong Kong, Seoul, Dubai, and Jakarta. Each new site was adapted to local preferences while maintaining Din Tai Fung’s core values.

In 2025, Din Tai Fung withdrew from Australia amid a scandal involving underpayment of employees in Sydney and Melbourne, drawing significant public scrutiny. Despite this setback, the company now operates over 100 locations across more than a dozen countries, including the US, UK, Canada, UAE, China, Japan, Korea, and various Southeast Asian nations.

Learning curves

The restaurant has had its share of controversy. In June 2025, the restaurant chain agreed with the Seattle Office of Labor Standards to pay US$567,361 in restitution to 1,245 current and former employees over allegations of wage theft and failure to provide proper rest and meal.

In April 2024, the company was fined $3.89 million in Australia after the country's Fair Work Ombudsman found that between 2014 and 2018, three Din Tai Fung branches in Sydney and Melbourne deliberately underpaid 17 employees and falsified salary records.

Unlike other global chains, Din Tai Fung avoids franchising and maintains tight control over its restaurants, either owning them outright or partnering closely. This approach preserves strict standards in both technique and customer experience, even as the brand scales.

The New York and London statements

The Arcadia location may have marked Din Tai Fung’s US debut, but the Times Square flagship, which opened in July 2024, was its most ambitious statement yet. With over 450 seats and a design blending Taiwanese modernism with cosmopolitan flair, the New York restaurant positioned the brand firmly on the global dining stage.

Reviewers described the space as both “cathedral” and “theater,” with its glass-walled kitchens turning dumpling-making into a performance. Xiao Long Bao are prepared with precision and served as part of a choreographed dining experience.

In London, Din Tai Fung expanded in February 2025 with a new location in Canary Wharf. The design reflects the district’s business-oriented character and introduces new dishes tailored to its local clientele.

Despite the adaptations, the brand’s core remains unchanged. Diners still receive piping-hot dumplings, made by hand, served in bamboo steamers, and marked by the same translucent wrappers that signal technical excellence.

Both the New York and London locations reinforce Din Tai Fung’s global identity. They showcase not only the brand’s consistency but also Taiwan’s growing influence in global culinary culture.

Soft power served steaming

At a time when Taiwan is striving to expand its global presence beyond cross-Strait tensions and semiconductor diplomacy, Din Tai Fung plays an unexpected but influential role. It is not a government-funded cultural export—there are no Ministry of Culture logos, and no political messaging on the menu.

Yet its impact is unmistakably diplomatic. When a banker in London, an influencer in Los Angeles, or a salaryman in Tokyo lines up for a basket of Xiao Long Bao, they’re engaging in a quiet cultural exchange with Taiwan.

This is soft power at its most subtle—persuasion through precision, consistency, and care. It offers a humanizing, everyday encounter with Taiwan.

In many ways, Din Tai Fung stands in Taiwan’s culinary vanguard, similar to how sushi once carried Japanese culture to the West. Through flavor, design, and hospitality, the brand presents Taiwan not as a geopolitical flashpoint, but as a source of warmth, refinement, and global relevance.


Automation with a Human Soul

One of the more compelling aspects of Din Tai Fung’s growth is its selective embrace of automation. The brand integrates technology where it enhances consistency—using precision dough-rolling machines and digital queue systems—yet insists that each dumpling remain hand-folded by specialists trained over months.

This isn’t nostalgia—it’s intentional. Automation at Din Tai Fung supports quality, not replaces craftsmanship. Machines handle standardizable tasks like dough division and temperature control, but the artistry of Xiao Long Bao remains a human craft. It’s a modern yet philosophical approach: efficiency without losing meaning.

On a public post shared on his social media, Pierre Yang Tzu-pao (楊子葆), former Deputy Minister of Culture and a prolific gastronomy writer, reflected on a conversation with the company’s owner. Sharing his French experience, he noted how in France, top chefs are not just artisans but cultural stewards—often more honored than even engineers.

He recalled how the owner’s eyes lit up during their exchange. The restaurateur expressed a hope that one day, Taiwan—long celebrated for its technology—might also come to cherish its culinary masters with equal reverence.