"Directly across the street from the Winter Garden Theatre, Din Tai Fung should be near the top of your list for a convenient yet special pre-show meal. The Taiwanese soup dumpling empire's largest worldwide location serves up its famous xiao long bao in Midtown West, where you can watch chefs fold their wrappers into 18 precise pleats in a glass-walled kitchen. It’s the best kind of dumpling dinner theater, performed in an enormous, subterranean dining room. Get yourself at least one steamer basket of the shockingly delicious Chocolate & Mochi Xiao Long Bao." - bryan kim, sonal shah, will hartman, molly fitzpatrick, ciera velarde, arden shore
"How Far In Advance Should You Book? For a reasonable reservation between the hours of 6pm and 9pm, three weeks. If you’re willing to eat at 10pm, a day should be fine. When Din Tai Fung, the Taiwanese institution with over 170 locations worldwide, opened its first NYC outpost, the city went wild. But, as with any newly arrived chain, the hype was never going to last. You can easily get a decent reservation as long as you plan a few weeks in advance. If you need somewhere to eat with a group in Midtown, and wouldn’t mind a few perfectly pleated soup dumplings, grab a table. Just keep in mind, the chicken soup dumplings are better than the pork." - bryan kim
"Popular Taiwanese chain famous for its soup dumplings that recently opened its largest local location, offering the signature xiao long bao and other Taiwanese favorites to a wide audience." - Rachel Chang Rachel Chang Rachel Chang is a travel and pop culture journalist who contributes to Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Lonely Planet, and more. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"Starting in July, the dessert menu will feature shaved snow made with condensed milk for a fluffy consistency; it is drizzled with mango sauce and finished with fresh mango on top." - Mona Holmes
"The Taiwanese soup dumpling empire's largest worldwide location yet is now serving up their famous xiao long bao in Midtown West, where you can watch chefs fold their wrappers into 18 precise pleats in a glass-walled kitchen. It’s dumpling dinner theater and the pork soup dumplings are totally solid—but we actually prefer their chicken soup dumplings, which have a little more depth of flavor. However, the best XLB here are the Chocolate & Mochi Xiao Long Bao. The filling tastes exactly like warm brownie batter and the wrapper has a pleasing chew." - hannah albertine, nikko duren, carlo mantuano, molly fitzpatrick