By Lilah Nick, Restaurant Critic 

Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese restaurant that specializes in Xiao Long Bao and noodles. The restaurant has won multiple awards–like the Michelin star five times (dintaifungusa.com). It is also one of the largest chains in the world with over 170 locations (dintaifungusa.com). Michelin stars are given to restaurants that have very high standards and are exceptionally good. Thus, it’s no surprise it was named one of the top ten best restaurants in the world by the New York Times. Din Tai Fung has recently been popping up on my social media accounts. I came across many different videos of people eating there and saying how good it was. So, in February, I went to the Santa Clara location and got to see what the hype was all about for myself. 

First, I tried the Iced Green Tea with Passion Fruit.

It was amazing…until I took another sip. I was super thirsty and then got this cold tea and was excited. The first sip was super good, and then I took another, and I wanted to spit it out. It just tasted like hand sanitizer. I had my family try it, and they all agreed with me–not yummy. 5/10

Spicy Chicken Wontons

The chicken wontons were good, but the chicken wasn’t flavorful enough. I could tell it was there, but I couldn’t really taste it. The only real flavor was the spicy sauce. The sauce was good though; it wasn’t too spicy where it overtook the rest of the food. Overall, they were good but pretty bland. 7/10

Spicy Vegetarian Noodles

So far in the meal, these were my favorite. The spicy sauce was the same as the one from the wontons, and it was honestly great. It’s a simple but good dish. 9/10

Garlic Broccoli

Wow. Just wow. This broccoli was AMAZING. Honestly, my favorite thing I had. I’ll eat broccoli, but it’s not my usual go-to. Din Tai Fung’s had the perfect amount of garlic, and it was also perfectly steamed. I could have eaten the whole bowl. 1000/10

Chocolate Buns

I had these when I got home, so I have to admit they had been in the fridge for a bit. I microwaved them and then ate them. They were probably 70% bun and the rest was chocolate. They would have been super good if there was more chocolate because I was pretty much eating buns with a little piece of chocolate melted in the middle. 6/10

Din Tai Fung happens to be one of Ms. Zachik’s favorite restaurants. Her favorite items are the Xiao Long Bao pork buns and the spicy shrimp wontons.

“I dream about their shrimp wontons.”

Ms. Zachik

Ani Madanyan, writer for The Bird on Fire blog, also loves this restaurant.

“Their cucumber salad is the best thing I have ever put in my mouth in my 15 years of living, and their chocolate buns are extraordinary. If you’ve ever been to a Din Tai Fung you will never go back to Panda Express.” 

Ani Madanyan

My mom didn’t think Din Tai Fung was that great either.

“The food was bland and the wait was wayyyy too long. I don’t understand why it is so popular.” 

Ms. Paige Brown

Overall, I think that Din Tai Fung is overhyped. I was so excited and expecting top-tier food that would have been the best meal of my life, and I was kind of let down. There was a huge line to get in, so I thought it was going to be perfect. The food was good. Not very good, just good. It could definitely be better for how popular it is and for receiving a Michelin star.