The very first Din Tai Fung restaurant on the East Coast opened in New York City in grand style Thursday.
The 25,000 square foot Taiwanese restaurant is the largest of its 171 worldwide locations, reported Axios.
The Michelin-recognized restaurant is known for its soup dumplings or xiao long bao.
The 450-seat restaurant opened at 11 with a ribbon cutting and by noon, every seat was filled, according to Eater.
“I have been wanting to visit Din Tai Fung for years,” said Tiffany Kung to Eater. “When I saw that they were opening here, it wasn’t even a question.” She took a train from Boston just for lunch.
Another customer came in from Washington, DC for the opening. Kamyar Dastani said the train ticket cost more than the actual meal.
“This is their first store on the East Coast,” he says. It was a must for him.
The Din Tai Fung first announced its plans two years ago and many have been waiting with anticipation.
Time Out describes the New York location as a glass cube with a winding marble staircase. A bronze statue of its mascot Bao Bao is at the foot of the stairs to greet guests.
Chefs all dressed in white fill the dumplings with Kurobuta crab, chicken, pork and shrimp. For an extra $28, the kitchen staff will add Italian truffles.
Axios says there are currently 16 Din Tai Fung restaurants in the United States. All are run by Aaron and Albert Yang who are part of the third generation of the family which has run the restaurant from the beginning.
“We’re blessed to have such a strong customer base and we have a responsibility to be able to share this experience with as many people as we can,” Albert Yang told Axios.
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