'Soup Dumpling King' To Open Seattle Branch

Looks like Seattle residents will no longer have to trek out to Bellevue to get top-quality soup dumplings; the Seattle Times reports that soup dumpling purveyor Din Tai Fung is headed to Seattle by the end of this year.

According to the Seattle Times, the popular dumpling house will open in University Village by November, if all goes well. Din Tai Fung, which originated in Taiwan and is franchised around Asia, only has three U.S. branches, two in Los Angeles and one in Bellevue, Wash. It is also expected to open in Glendale, Calif.

This new location will be slightly larger than the Bellevue space, with 8,500 to 9,000 square feet, meaning all the more seating to house dumpling-starved eaters. There will reportedly be a signature "dumpling showroom" as per usual in the front of the house, where diners can watch the dumplings being made.

When the first Din Tai Fung opened in Seattle in 2010, waits were as long as three hours. We can imagine similar lines here, but the soup dumplings are probably worth it.