America's Best Chinese Restaurants Part 10: Din Tai Fung Dumpling House

This is part 10 in a series revealing America's best Chinese restaurants. Find part one here, part two here, and part three here, part four here, part five here, part six here, part seven here, part eight here, and part nine here, and stay tuned for the complete ranking.

Din Tai Fung Dumpling House is a popular Taiwan-based chain of dumpling shops that got its start in 1958. Today there are locations all throughout Asia, and six in the United States: three in Los Angeles (in Arcadia and Glendale), one in Costa Mesa, and two in Seattle (in Bellevue and the University District).

As the name might suggest, Din Tai Fung sells a wide variety of dumplings, with fillings including pork, pork and crab, fish, chicken, vegetable, pork buns, soup dumplings, and shao mai. But there are also a wide variety of appetizers (fried pork chop, pork rice bun, soy noodle salad), soups (braised beef, chicken, wonton, hot and sour), noodles (with minced pork sauce, spicy sauce, pickled mustard seed and shredded pork, plus wontons with sauce), fried noodles (with pork, chicken, or shrimp), fried rice, greens, and desserts, including red bean buns.

If you're looking for authentic dumplings, Din Tai Fung is the place to go. If you need any more prodding, the New York Times named the Taiwan flagship one of the 10 best restaurants in the world in 1993, and its Honk Kong branches have been awarded Michelin stars.