Taste

Dumpling delight: Cult favorite Din Tai Fung lands in Las Vegas

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Dumplings and more at Din Tai Fung
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The excitement over Din Tai Fung finally opening a Las Vegas outpost was palpable when it was announced last year. The dumpling house has quite the following, stretching across 13 countries (including locations in California, Oregon and Washington state; Din Tai Fung expanded to the U.S. 20 years ago from its native Taiwan).

The one inside Aria, which debuted in October, is Din Tai Fung’s largest U.S. spot. Taking up the space that was formerly Aria Cafe, it’s a minimalist dream, with soaring ceilings and a 40-foot glass wall overlooking Vdara and Nancy Rubins’ “Big Edge” art installation. The dining space is just as serene, featuring cliffs made from hundreds of stacked stones and paintings by artist Parker Ito.

But it’s Din Tai Fung’s food that draws the crowds, and while the Aria branch is vast, reservations are recommended due to COVID-19 capacity restrictions. Besides, this is a meal you’ll want to savor and slow play, and there are many menu standouts you should order and share with a dining companion or two. All are served family style and in reasonable portions, which allows for more palate experimentation.

You’re here for the dumplings, of course, but start with a trio of salads— cucumber; seaweed and bean curd; and wood ear mushroom ($7 each)—that set up the meal quite nicely. They all have a bright, vinegary tang and interesting texture, and are good to keep on the table as you make your way through more dishes.

Soup is a must, particularly the House Jidori Chicken Wonton ($14). The broth’s crisp and clear, and the wontons perfectly cooked, tender without being mushy, filled with top-quality chicken meat. Nothing at Din Tai Fung is overly seasoned or too salty, setting it apart from other Chinese restaurants. You’ll find the strongest umami punch in the noodle dishes, like the Noodles With Diced Beef and Szechuan Peppers ($13). Otherwise, the quality of the ingredients and the craftsmanship of the dumplings gets to shine through.

Which brings us to the soup dumplings, or xiao long bao, for which Din Tai Fung has garnered a cult of worshipers among the food-obsessed. There are several versions on offer, but the most popular are the Kurobuta Pork ($10) and the Crab & Kurobuta Pork XLB ($13). Each comes in a six-piece steamer, uniformly made with 18 folds apiece. Eating them requires some technique: Pick one up with your chopsticks, bite off a bit of the top wrapping and slurp the soup inside, then dip the rest in a concoction of vinegar and soy sauce before devouring it whole. It truly is one of most addictive things on earth. And good luck if you can eat them as fast as the dumpling artists make them: They produce around 10,000 a day, and you can watch the whole process through the gallery window on the way into the dining room.

There are other items on the menu worth considering beyond the xia long bao, like the Shanghai rice cakes ($15), available in pork, shrimp and vegetarian varieties. Din Tai Fung also serves many types of fried rice and noodles, and the buns ($7) are exceptional, served two apiece in pork, chicken, vegetable or mushroom form.

As filling a meal at Din Tai Fung might be, don’t skip dessert, which looks like its savory counterparts—either in wonton or bun form. You’ll find familiar Asian meal enders like sweet taro and red bean mochi, but chocolate also figures in prominently. Bite into a chocolate bun ($8) and you’ll get a warm gush of molten sweetness. Wash it down with a lovely jasmine tea, and you’ll understand why Din Tai Fung is loved the world over.

DIN TAI FUNG Aria, 702-590-8650. Monday-Friday, 4-10 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

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