Din Tai Fung Xinyi Road

Din Tai Fung began in Taipei, and the Xinyi Road restaurant is the place where the story started. The business was founded in 1958 by Yang Bing-yi, who came from Shanxi, and his wife Lai Penmei, as a shop selling cooking oil. Around 1970, when tinned oil began to eat into their sales, a friend who ran a Shanghainese restaurant suggested turning half the shop over to xiaolongbao, the soup-filled steamed dumplings. They were such a success that the shop became a full restaurant in 1972, and the brand has since spread around the world. The shop sign on Xinyi Road carries calligraphy by Yu Youren, who was then president of the Control Yuan.

The reason to come is the steamed pork dumplings, the xiaolongbao for which Din Tai Fung is famous, each folded with a precise number of pleats, traditionally eighteen. Eat them carefully: lift one onto a spoon, pierce the skin to let the broth out, add a little vinegar and ginger, and then eat. Other classics on the menu include steamed chicken soup and fried rice with egg and shrimp, and the restaurant also serves wontons in red chilli oil, available with shrimp and pork or with pork and vegetables. Order a few dishes to share and add more if you are still hungry.

The restaurant is efficient, and the tourism office credits its computerised operations with improving speed and service. It suits almost everyone: families, groups, solo travellers and first-time visitors who want a reliable introduction to Taiwanese dining. Prices are moderate for a sit-down meal in Taipei, and the menu is easy to navigate.

Opening hours are 10:00 to 21:00 from Monday to Friday and 09:00 to 21:00 at weekends and on public holidays. Expect a queue at peak lunch and dinner times, especially at weekends; register at the door and use the waiting time to decide on your order. Arriving at opening time, or in the mid-afternoon, usually means a shorter wait. Allow about an hour once seated.

The restaurant is on Xinyi Road in the Da'an District, and the nearest MRT stations are Dongmen and Daan Park on the Tamsui-Xinyi Line. Daan Park and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall are both within reach, so a dumpling lunch fits easily into a day of sightseeing in the city centre.