![]() Soup dumplings are now prominent in Taiwan and it can be difficult to find a Taiwanese person without an opinion on their favorite soup dumpling restaurant. The original Din Tai Fung Restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan. Bite into a soup dumpling and you experience a surreal combination of opposing textures - an elixir of hot broth and meat all encased in thin dough. Called xiao long bao (‘little dumpling in a basket’ in Chinese), soup dumplings are originally from Jiangsu, a province on the central eastern coast of China known for savory, yet sweet dishes, often accented with the sharp taste of vinegar and fresh seafood. It was these mainland Chinese immigrants that introduced dishes like soup dumplings to Taiwan. Aaron’s grandfather and the founder of Din Tai Fung, Bing-Yi Yang, was part of this Chinese immigration wave, moving to Taiwan from Shanxi, China. For centuries, mainland Chinese people have immigrated to Taiwan, bringing with them their various Chinese regional cuisines. Taiwanese cuisine is complicated, the result of Chinese immigration, Japanese colonization, and generations of cultural intermingling. With locations from Las Vegas to Dubai and accolades from New York Times reviews to a Michelin Star, Din Tai Fung has become the international standard for soup dumplings and a global ambassador for Taiwanese cuisine. But Aaron’s family restaurant isn’t a typical restaurant - it’s Din Tai Fung. The story of Aaron’s childhood will be familiar to many restaurant kids - formative years spent juggling schoolwork and family responsibilities. Aaron transformed as well, morphing from student to a restaurant Swiss Army knife: swiping credit cards, helping the kitchen and serving food. However, evenings produced a different beast - the dinner rush, transforming the restaurant to coordinated chaos. Afternoons are generally a lull time in the restaurant business and Aaron took advantage by doing homework, tuning out the sounds of servers cleaning tables and a kitchen prepping for dinner service. ![]() Located in the suburban city of Arcadia, California, the restaurant was quiet when he arrived. As a child, Aaron Yang always went to one place directly after school - his family’s Taiwanese restaurant.
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