Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung is a global phenomenon with over 170 locations worldwide, but it traces its roots back to 1958 when Bing-Yi Yang immigrated from China and opened a cooking oil shop in Taiwan alongside his wife, Lai Pen-Mei. In 1970, they decided to dedicate half of their shop to making and selling xiao long bao, or steamed pork soup dumplings. Their xiao long bao proved to be so popular that in 1972 they phased out the cooking oil business and turned Din Tai Fung into the full-fledged restaurant that it is today.

Din Tai Fung is still run by the Yang family today. They are best known for their xiao long bao (each famously folded exactly 18 times), as well as steamed buns, dumplings, noodle soups, and other Chinese classics. Din Tai Fung was named one of the top ten restaurants in the world by the New York Times in 1993, and the Hong Kong branch has been awarded a Michelin Star five times.