Din Tai Fung Covent Garden

"Din Tai Fung is a casual Taiwanese restaurant on Henrietta Street that specialises in dumplings. Yes, there are soup and rice dishes on the menu, but if you don’t get the chilli crab xiao long bao and pork wontons in black chilli, then you’re doing it wrong. Despite being a pretty huge restaurant, this place fills up quickly, so book ahead or get there early. Or bring some of your favourite people so they can entertain you in the queue." - sinead cranna, jake missing, rianne shlebak, daisy meager

"Almost the whole Din Tai Fung’s menu is now available for delivery, from their special noodle soup with braised beef through to wontons and steamed buns. Sadly the xiao long bao aren’t on the menu for now, but their shao mai, jiao zi, and steamed buns are all available in a number of varieties." - oliver feldman, heidi lauth beasley, jake missing, rianne shlebak

"All day If Din Tai Fung could have trademarked the xiaolongbao, they more than likely would have. Stop by solo for five pieces of the earthy truffle ones to congratulate yourself for surviving another hump day, or schedule a quick catch-up to swap and slurp land and sea style, with a medley of crab and pork options. They’re the ultimate feat of steamer engineering. When you’re 99% sure the slick, chewy dough is going to split, crisis is averted. Other dishes worth ordering at the casual, sprawling Covent Garden spot, are the crispy pork wontons, golden prawn pancake, and bouncy crab and pork buns. It’s all available until closing too." - jake missing, heidi lauth beasley, rianne shlebak

"We know, we know, Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese restaurant best-known for being Disneyland for xiao long bao-lovers. But two bites into this Covent Garden spot’s prawn pancake and you’ll start Googling whether it’s OK to put prawns in a blender. The teeny tiny bits of prawn are layered throughout the softest part of the pancake, creating little pockets of fishy goodness, while the outer layer is gloriously fried." - heidi lauth beasley, rianne shlebak, sinead cranna

"We have a very complicated relationship with Din Tai Fung. Our therapists are pretty sure it relates back to a traumatic queuing experience involving Thorpe Park and a melted ice cream when we were six. Or maybe, it’s just the fact that we just really, fucking love dumplings and have no patience. You see, to get to Din Tai Fung’s world-renowned soup dumplings you’re probably going to have to queue first. Is it worth it? Yes. Especially if you also get involved in the prawn and pork shao mai on top of the go-to xiao long bao order." - heidi lauth beasley, jake missing