"If LA’s soup dumpling scene were a high school, Din Tai Fung would be the starting quarterback - so prolific you almost want to roll your eyes, but nonetheless, they win every game. Each dumpling is weighed by hand and crafted with some god-like ratio of exactly 18 folds, top-quality pork, etc. It’s all a bit… heady, but in essence, Din Tai Fung has cracked the xiao long bao code. Each dumpling comes out perfectly crafted—uniform, with no soup spilling out. The skin is thin, just membranous enough to keep everything together, and the marinated ground pork pairs well with the hot POP of broth and fragrant ginger and onion." - kat hong