鼎泰豐 新生店 Din Tai Fung (Taipei Xinsheng HQ)

Review Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Highly Recommended)

Address: No. 277, Section 2, Xinyi Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
Google Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MB9qWWXVJzMiPbqc6
(Please refer to the Timings provided in the Google Map Link for the Operating Hours.)

Introduction and Brief History of Din Tai Fung (DTF)

Alright, Let's kickoff the Taiwan Food Reviews with the Famous Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐! ♥️ This is a Taiwanese Franchise that originally started interestingly not as a Restaurant but rather as a Cooking Oil Retailer in 1958. 😅 I won't go into too much Details as you can easily google them if you are interested.

If you are interested, you can refer to the Past Reviews I've written for their Malaysia JB Branches:
JB City Square Mall: 鼎泰豐 Din Tai Fung

JB The Mall, Midvalley Southkey: Din by Din Tai Fung (Halal) 

 Here is the 2025 Full Menu of the Eatery/Restaurant.
Prices are Accurate as of the Date of the Post.

If you are only here to compare Prices, here you go. 👍

Note: Minimum XLB you can order in Taiwan DTF is 5 Pieces compared to 6 Pieces in Singapore and Malaysia. 🤔

1st Comparison will be Taiwan DTF Price 2019 vs 2025 to see how much the Price has Risen in 6 Years. 🤔 Quite lucky to still have the Receipt that I took back in 2019. To be Honest, Didn't Rise Too Drastically. Less than S$1.00 Per Year actually, consider quite 合理. 👍

🇹🇼 Taiwan DTF 2019 Price

小笼包 Pork Xiao Long Bao (5 Pieces) = TWD110 (S$4.50)

猪排蛋炒饭 Pork Chop Egg Fried Rice = TWD240 (S$9.75)

🇹🇼 Taiwan DTF 2025 Price

小笼包 Pork Xiao Long Bao (5 Pieces) = TWD140 (S$5.70)

猪排蛋炒饭 Pork Chop Egg Fried Rice = TWD310 (S$12.56)

I would say DTF Prices don't rise alot. Very Comfortable Inflation Rates unlike Eateries in Singapore where every year raise at least S$1.00+ or even more. 😅 It makes me wonder how is DTF able to keep up with Slower Inflation Rates? 🤔

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2nd Price Comparison will be 2025 Price with TW-DTF, SG-DTF and JB-DTF:

小笼包 Signature Xiao Long Bao

🇹🇼 2025 Taiwan Price = TWD140 (S$5.70)
Note: Taiwan DTF only has 5 Pieces compared to 6 Pieces in SG/JB

🇸🇬 2025 Singapore Price = S$13.50

🇲🇾 2025 JB Price = RM18.10 (S$5.60)

猪排蛋炒饭 Signature Pork Chop Fried Rice

🇹🇼 2025 Taiwan Price = TWD310 (S$12.56)

🇸🇬 2025 Singapore Price = S$14.30

🇲🇾 2025 JB Price = RM30.17 (S$9.20)

As you can see, 🇸🇬 Singapore is the Most Expensive to eat DTF, while 🇹🇼 JB is the Most Affordable.  🇹🇼 Taiwan sits in the Middle and of course it is the Original Place to eat DTF.

The Original 1st DTF is actually their Xinyi Branch where I ate in 2019. After Covid however, it is now ONLY for Takeaways 🤔 and their Nearest Dine-In is their Xinsheng Branch which is just a 3 Mins Walk Away. 🚶

All about Taiwan DTF at Xinsheng

The Dine-in Location at Xinsheng is a Huge White Coloured Standalone Building with their Name Proudly Emblazoned on it. 👍 Even before their Official Opening Time at 11.00am, 🕑  there were already Crowds of Customers waiting outside even on a Weekday Morning. 😳 Most Customers are understandably Tourists and I noticed especially that most of them are Japanese or Koreans. 🇯🇵🇰🇷

The Staffs are Well-Groomed, Professional and Polite 👍 and are Obviously Very Busy. But despite that, it is Amazing that they can still maintain a Professional Demenor when handling the Massive Crowds. 👍

No issues with the Customer Service at all. Most People would have completely Cracked under the Pressure. 😅 The Staffs here know that they represent THE ACTUAL MAIN DTF HQ in Taiwan 🇹🇼 watched by Visitors from all over the World 🌏 and their Customer Service absolutely reflects this. 👍 Not Easy Job and Very Impressive Indeed. 👍

How to Join the Queue:

1) Take a Q Ticket from the Entrance Staff. 📃 They will give you an Estimated Time when it will be Ready. 🕑

2) As the Time Draws Near for your Q Ticket, your Number will be Broadcast on LCD Screens. 👍 When your Number is Called Out, simply pass your Q Ticket to the Staff, 📃 who will then direct you to which Floor you are Designated. There are 3 Floors in this Place. For People with Mobility Issues, they have an Elevator within. 👍

In addition, I noticed the Q-Numbers are given based on how many people are in your Group: 1-2 People, 3-4 People 5-6 People, 7 People and Above. 🤔 This will determine which Floor you will be designated.

Protip: Obviously Come Early for this. 👍 I came here at 10.20am before their Official Time of 11.00am, was given an Expected Entry of 10.50am and eventually got in at around 10.55am. 👍 Plan properly to come on Weekdays instead of Weekends too for Obvious Reasons.

I'm not kidding about coming early to this Place. 🤔 When I entered at 10.55am, I noticed the Expected Queue on the LCD Screen for Customers who come at that time was an Expected 65 Mins! 😳 When I eventually finished my Meal and left, the Queue Time for Customers coming at around 12.15pm stretched to Over 95 Mins! 😳

 

Back in Xinyi Branch, I remembered Solo Travellers have a Special Advantage because as long as you are Only 1 Person and is willing to Share Tables with Others, you can actually get in even Faster. ♥️ Not sure if this is the same with this Xinsheng Branch though. 🤔 So if you're a Solo Traveller and cannot make it early, you can try your luck with this. 👍


If you are able to enter the Restaurant, this is the Main Lobby that awaits you.

Interior of the Restaurant

Nicely Furnished as how you'd expect from a DTF as you can see from my Photos. 👍 Like I mentioned in my Past Review, it doesn't matter whether you eat DTF in 🇹🇼 Taiwan, 🇸🇬 Singapore or 🇲🇾 Malaysia. Everything is the same experience, from the Delicious Soup Aroma to the General Vibe of the Place. ♥️

Unlike Malaysia JB DTF, there are Bag Baskets in Every Table for you to put your Bag. 🎒 Not only that, I appreciate that the Staff will actually come over and even put an Additional Cloth Cover to cover your Bag too. ♥️ Never seen any other Restaurant do this.

Before you even order, there is a Free Cup of Chinese Tea available in the Price. 🍵 Top Ups are Free and Unlimited and the Staffs will go around and Top Up Automatically without even asking. 👍

As for the Tea itself, I have no idea what it is, except it tastes like a Typical Chinese Tea, 😅 Not Particularly Strong or Very Atas Tasting, but also Not Watered Down and Dilluted. Hey, I'm not Complaining. 👍

The Staffs really are the Highlight of this Place. ♥️ It was Fascinating to see them Busy Running Around and still Maintain that Iconic DTF Professionalism. 👍 They are also Multi-Lingual and it was Amazing to see them Automatically without Skipping a Beat, switch from speaking Fluent Japanese 🇯🇵 for One Table, to Speaking Fluent Korean 🇰🇷 for another and Speaking Very Courteous Fluent Mandarin 🇨🇳 to Me.

Ordering of Food

You can either order thru their QR Menu or order Directly from them if you want. Every Item has a Picture Image 📷 of how the Dish looks like and the Menu even have the Descriptions in 🇨🇳 Chinese, 🇬🇧 English, 🇰🇷 Korean and 🇯🇵 Japanese. 👍

It took about 7 Mins for the Pork Chop Fried Rice and 9 Mins for the XLB. In total, it took 9 Mins for Everything to be Served Up. Not Bad Timing considering how Crowded it was. 👍

Available Condiments in DTF

Other than their Soy Sauce and Rice Vinegar to mix for their XLB, I was surprised that there were No Other Condiments, not even Chinese-Styled Spicy 红油. 🌶️🤔

小笼包 Pork Xiao Long Bao (5 Pieces) = TWD140 (S$5.70)

Surprisingly, the Minimum Number of XLB you can order for Taiwan DTF is 5 Pieces instead of 6 Pieces for Singapore and Malaysia DTF. 🤔

When it was served, I was Slightly Disappointed that they used Parchment Paper as a Base 🤔 instead of a Piece of Cloth that is used by Malaysia JB DTF. This made it look so Mundane and Not as Premium as JB DTF actually. 🤔

Appearance of the XLB are about the Same Size with the Same Delicate Folds as the Ones in Singapore and Malaysia. 👍 Taste-wise, I also feel are roughly the Same. 😋 Amount of Soup given also Same.

The Pork Filling I thought tasted Slightly More Meaty Savoury, 🐷 but really if you were to Blindfold Me, I will probably not know the Difference. 😅

猪排蛋炒饭 Pork Chop Egg Fried Rice = TWD310 (S$12.56)

Compared to the XLB, their Pork Chop Fried Rice is Noticeably Different when Compared to Malaysia JB. 🤔

Quality of the Pork Chop

For one thing, I felt the Pork Chop Size was Smaller and Noticeably Lighter Coloured compared to JB's More Caramelized Look. 🤔 Same as JB version, it is also Cut into 6 Pieces. 🔪 The Skin has a Slightly Crispier Bite. Meat looks Dry but still Juicy. 😋

What I noticed especially is that Taiwan DTF Pork Chop don't have a Bak Kwa Taste compared to JB DTF. 🤔 That said, I thought it had a Much More Noticeable Meatier Taste, and the Original 原味 Natural Taste of Pork is More Prominent. 🐷 It is also Slightly More Peppery. I reckon this difference is probably due to the Type or Breed of Pig that is used. 🐷🤔

Quality of the Fried Rice

When the Pork Chop is removed from the Bed of Fried Rice for me to take a Look, I can immediately see a Big Difference between JB-DTF and Taiwan DTF. 🤔 Again, it also uses Taiwan 珍珠米. 🍚

But for one thing, Taiwan DTF's Fried Rice certainly looks Much More Vibrant and Beautifully Bright with Noticeably a More Generous Amount of Scallion Slices. ♥️ There are also Noticeably Bigger Cuts of Egg Pieces and the Ratio of Egg White and Egg Yolk are Very Even. 🍳 👍

If you refer to this Photo Comparision, the Difference will be even Clearer. 📷 JB-DTF Fried Rice looks more 死死 "Dead Look" 🤔 compared to Taiwan DTF Fried Rice Much More Vibrant and "Alive" Look. 👍

Especially the Generous Amount of Scallion, this was Very Important because only in Taiwan's DTF do I taste a Fresh Scallion Hit to it which I did not taste for JB DTF Version. 🌿

There is a Slight Amount of Wok Hei, but not Too Overpowering. 🔥 Rice is Moist and Delicious. 🍚

Eating both Fried Rice and Pork Chop together

Eating both Items felt like they worked in Harmony with each other with neither item trying to Outdo the Other. ♥️ The Combination of the Moistness of the Rice with the Savoury Meatiness of the Pork Chop never Clashed and were Delightful. ♥️

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Conclusion and Closing Thoughts

At TWD140 (S$5.70) for the Signature 小笼包 Pork Xiao Long Bao, this Price lean Closer to 🇲🇾 JB DTF Price 🤔 although I was surprised to find only 5 Pieces compared to the 6 Pieces for JB DTF. 🤔

Quality and Taste is Pretty Much the Same although I was Surprisingly Disappointed that Taiwan DTF felt less Premium when they used Parchment Paper instead of Cloth that is used in JB DTF. 🤔 In fact I'm abit surprised that this Cloth is not a Standardized Thing across all DTF apparently. 🤔

At TWD310 (S$12.56) for their Signature Pork Chop Egg Fried Rice, this Price lean Closer to 🇸🇬 SG DTF Price and as such I feel is Not as Affordable. 🤔

The Pork Chop Meat felt slightly Smaller and I was very surprised of its Lighter Colour too. 🤔 The Fried Rice Component was Noticeably Done at a Much Higher Level than JB DTF for sure though with its Much More Vibrant Appearance and Bigger Pieces of Egg and a More Generous Amount of Scallion Slices. 🌿👍

Overall, I'm surprised that while Taiwan DTF did most things better, like Customer Service Level 😄 and Free Cup of Tea, 🍵 I'm surprised that there are certain things JB DTF actually did better especially when using Cloth as Base 👍 which felt More Premium rather than using Parchment Paper. The Difference in the Amount of XLB was also quite surprising for me. 🤔

In Terms of Taste Quality, I would say both are actually Similar with some Minor Difference that will only affect you if you are specifically looking for it. 🤔

The Customer Service for Taiwan DTF for me was the True Highlight. ♥️ Throughout my Whole Meal, I thought the Service had a More Premium and Personal Touch ♥️ with the Little Things they did such as taking the Effort to even Cover Up my Bag with a Cloth Cover. 🎒👍

I was lucky to have had the Chance to dine in their True Original Xinyi Shop in 2019, 😄 but this New Place in Xinsheng does lives up to its Name. 👍 In fact, I thought the Queue System here felt Slightly More Organized compared to Xinyi. 👍

Coming to the Actual Main HQ of DTF to eat DTF in Taiwan was of course a Really Exciting Experience! ♥️

Of course, because Din Tai Fung is such a World Famous Brand, there will definitely be Critics or People who just don't like them for whatever reason. 🤔 But thats ok, because Everyone's Taste is Different and this Review is just my Own Personal Opinion. 👍

All I'm doing here is just report as best as I can about my Personal Experience. Come here and give it a Try and make your own Decision. Ultimately, it is Your Own Taste that Really Matters. 👍

Thank You for Reading this Long Review. 😄

While you're here, don't forget to check out the Past Reviews I've written for their Malaysia JB Branches:
JB City Square Mall: 鼎泰豐 Din Tai Fung

JB The Mall, Midvalley Southkey: Din by Din Tai Fung (Halal)