The Find: Din Tai Fung, Arcadia
Din Tai Fung, a popular soup-dumpling house in Arcadia, has a new branch an annex, really and can serve double the number of patrons. Plus there’s more parking. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
Din Tai Fung’s house-made vegetarian dumplings are great, with fabulously fresh greens and roots minced into impossibly small, uniform bits they pack lots of crisp texture and bright flavor. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
The size of the crowds at Din Tai Fung means fresh, fresh dumplings steaming their way out of the kitchen every minute. Here, a tray of vegetarian dumplings. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
The restaurant’s “juicy pork/crab dumplings” are remarkable: The tiny pockets of dough are filled with deliciously seasoned meat with a spoonful of fragrant broth in each. Bite in and the hot juice carries the flavors to your palate, with the chewy texture of the dumpling extending the wonderful experience. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
The Din Tai Fun wait staff is experienced, deft and helpful, if sometimes brusque, or amused by the wild-eyed ordering of first-timers facing so much activity and so many choices. Here, Cindy Cheng delivers dumplings to a table at lunch time. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
Shanghai rice cakes are a favorite choice for some. The mound of what looks like sliced scallops is instead made up of appealingly glutinous half-dollars of rice cake, served with sliced sautéed onions in a mild oyster sauce. (Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times)
