Outstanding xiaolongbao: Din Tai Fung.
Quick fact…even though it’s at University Village, this is the first Din Tai Fung in the US! I suspect it had something to do with a previous WA state governor being the Chinese Ambassador a few years back.
Pick anything on the menu…it is all very good. Be prepared to wait, if you don’t have a reservation, at least 30 minutes…the wait can be as long as 90 minutes or more. You can beat a bit of this by visiting early or late for lunch, etc. They take your cell number and will text you when your table is ready…so do a little shopping while you wait.
The cuisine leans heavily toward xiaolongbao but there is a large selection of dim sum (I’m told by my Chinese friends that this isn’t dim sum since it isn’t Cantonese) and other Chinese staples. Highly recommend the shrimp & pork wontons with spicy sauce, garlic green beans, potstickers and chicken fried rice. Looking for dessert? If on the menu,you have to have the shaved “snow” with mango. Makes Hawaiian shaved ice seem like a very distant second!
IMHO it’s the best Chinese food in Seattle!
