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Ding Tai Fung
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
100 reviews for Ding Tai Fung
Review Highlights
"As others have said, the xiao long bao are awesome."
(in 20 reviews)
"Soup dumplings explode with umami goodness."
(in 24 reviews)
"the fried green onion pancake is awesome."
(in 9 reviews)
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99 reviews in English
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Review from Larry L.
1/14/2012
Ok. This review is overdue, but it's got to be noted that whenever or wherever I am having Xiao Long bao (XLB's), I always compare it to this place.
Anything that I've had here, is always compared to wherever I am and nothing compares to this.
I think the only thing bad, I've had here is the slippery floors in the washroom, but that's it.
Who cares if the service is a tad slow now and then when it's busy. It's busy for a purpose.
Every business trip to this part of town deserves a trip here. Nothing compares so far.
To the people of Markham, Richmond Hill, Toronto and Mississauga. I'm so jealous.
Boo! -
Review from Josephine C.
Markham, ON
2/9/2012
Came here several times for lunch/dinner. It's a popular restaurant here at First Markham Place.
I usually order the spicy beef noodle soup here, or a rice dish. I remember years ago when the spicy beef noodle soup was amazing. Then a few years ago, they changed the recipe, and I rarely came here ever since. It's now called "double boiled" I think it was, and has a strange deep fragrant. Wish they had the old recipe again.
Recommended for good Taiwanese food in Markham area. -
Review from WaYnE c.
Maple, ON
1/28/2012 5 photos
As much as DTF has some of the best Xiao Long Bao in Canada...
My Family/Relatives or even Friends rarely if never suggest to eat here.
I'm not sure their reasoning for selection process but that's fact.
Another fact is I have a different preference for Xiao Long Bao.
Very weird in fact, since I guess I grew up eating Cantonese Dim Sum ones.
I prefer the Meat Filling consistency to be almost HK Meatball style.
Ones you feel very little texture on the tongue but much more bite/bounce back.
But none of those had the Thin Wrap or the fresh Soup like these.
I even prefer these to ones in Richmond BC.
Xiao Long Bao's are pricey in the overall Chinese realm.
I've started to think of it in line with Tapas, maybe that'll help a bit.
As a Shanghai restaurant, it doesn't fully cater to all the needs.
Have you ever notice it's only busy during the morning rush?
It's purely a one-hit-wonder but that SINGLE is all DTF needs.Listed in: Northern Chinese Cuisine
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Review from Tanya N.
Updated - 1/18/2012
This place has still got it. It was one of my first stops coming back home (there's no place like home!).
Ever since I had their tan-tan noodles, I've been checking out places around Mountain View but nothing is as good as this place. Tan-tan (or dan-dan on some menus) noodles are noodles in a peanut broth. Yes, it sounds a bit odd, but it's worth a try and one of my favourite dishes here. It's not like peanut butter over noodles, if that's what you're thinking...just try it. If you like peanuts, I'm pretty sure this will be a winner.
The other dishes - xiao long bao, green onion pancake etc are all still fantastic.
Service is quick and the food is great - you don't know how good Chinese food is around Markham (and Toronto). *heart*Listed in: Chinese Food, My Comfort Food, Mmm, Yummy Pillows of Meat
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/6/2011
This place is the place to go for xiao long bao as you can probably see from all the other reviews.… Read more »
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Review from Devon D.
2/13/2012
One of the best soup dumpling (crab) I've had in a long long time!!
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Review from Joyce P.
1/5/2012
What more can I add? It's amazing Chinese food.
I recently took a trip with some friends and family to Toronto just to eat the Chinese food there. Of course, we had to hit up the global empire that is DTR, and it definitely delivered. We ordered quite a bit, but I was ravenously hungry and devoured my portion with ease. We ordered the xiao long bao, the large chives dumplings, the wontons in the spicy broth, dou miao, beef noodle soup, and some bao zi.
Favorites: xiao long bao (could probably eat this forever), the wontons in spicy broth, and beef noodle soup. Mmmm.
Warning: Will lead to major food coma!
Totally worth the trip.Listed in: The Yelp 100 Challenge!
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Review from Jonathan L.
Richmond Hill, ON
1/2/2012
The food is exceptional, but you will never get a table here from Friday to Sunday. The wait is almost always over 30 min for a table. The price is decent, however, I find it a bit on the high side for Dim Sum type food.
Be warned: It is an extremely noisy environment. This is not somewhere you go if you want to have a conversation with a large group of people. -
Review from D'Arcy L.
Terrebonne, QC
1/13/2012
Had a fantastic lunch here with a work colleague! The shanghai pork dumplings are awesome! So is the cold chicken marinated in wine! So is the peanut noodle soup! Actually everything I have had here is pretty awesome! i'd recommend coming early as it is popular with the HK'ers and mainland people living nearby Markham-Richmond Hill.
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Review from Vivek S.
10/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
Are you DTF[1]? I wouldn't have made the gargantuan trek up the DVP to visit for a UYE if I wasn't. Ding Tai Fung is located at Woodbine and Hwy 7 and is tucked into a strip mall packed with Asian eats. When we walked in on Sunday morning it was packed to the gills, but fortunately Edwin A had planned ahead and snagged us a table in the VIP room. Edwin even setup an impromptu wireless hotspot so us yelp nerds could check in on the mobile app. Now that's baller.
As I learned from my table-mates, this place serves Shanghai style dim sum. I didn't find my typical har gow or CSB here. The selections skewed toward the more steamed side rather than fried, and there were a few things I had not seen before like soup dumplings and a fluffy egg white pastry dusted with icing sugar and filled with either red bean or black sesame paste. OMG, I love that black goo.
The selections were quite excellent. I really enjoyed the soup dumplings (once I learned the Skewer and Suck technique) and these rice rolls with sweet or salty fried tofu inside (they came wrapped in plastic) were OTH. I was also impressed with their Shanghai noodles. I could have slurped those down all day.
The service was PDQ and friendly compared to other dim sum places I have frequented in downtown Toronto. Normally when you order a drink, they don't mention it until you're walking out the door, or back for a third visit. At Ding Tai Fung, our dumplings and drinks came out in a flash!
I'd probably be back more if it were closer to home, but I'm happy to know that this place exists.
Obligatory Title Pun: At first you DING succeed, TAI, TAI a-FUNG.
Menu Readability: Jennifer "mama bear" K took care of the ordering. Thank you!
Need to mention: You can get iced and hot coffee or tea here. It was pretty bitter though, not sure it's to my taste.
What this place teaches me about myself: Sometimes my puns need to be read in a thick accent. I suggest Gungan for this one.
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[1] Here is a breakdown of the TLAs used in this review.
DTF = Down To Feast
DVP = Don Valley Parking-lot
UYE = Unofficial Yelp Event
VIP = Very Important Playerrr
CSB = Char Siu Bao
OMG = Oh. My. Grampa.
OTH = Off The Hook (cf. Off The Heazy)
PDQ = (Pretty... pretty... ) Pretty Darned Quick.
TLA = Three Letter Abbreviation (not acronym. There's a difference.)Listed in: Dim Sum and then Sum
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Review from Kiki I.
Toronto, ON
11/20/2011
I chant and cheer D.T.F at the top of my lungs prior to leaving the city. Whoever is lucky enough to come with me on such an adventure will rejoice the name Ding Tai Fung! Some city folk may think its too far for dumplings but trust me its worth the drive to Markham! This is my go to spot for dumplings....I crave this place more than a pregnant lady craves her pickles and ice cream.
Its like a ritual when im there i have my order down to a science! First comes out a bowl of the best hot and sour soup, then i have the spicy wontons i believe its 10a or 10b on the menu. followed by steamed chive dumplings. Then i have to contain my excitement eek i want one right now ...the best for last ... CRAB AND PORK SOUP DUMPLINGS! it explodes like a volcano in your mouth ... beware not to give yourself blisters for it is as hot as a volcano ;)
other things i will occasionally order are green onion pancakes, beef pockets, shrimp and pork sui mai
Everyone who comes with loves it!
D.T.F 4 LIFE! -
Review from Kat K.
10/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
hrmm, last time I was here it was almost a year ago. Not much has changed in the passing of time.
This place is pretty much serves all day Shanghai-style dim sum. Food-wise, it is pretty consistent and decent and it shows because if you hit this place up at peak time, it can be pretty packed.
This visit was a UYE, thanks to Edwin A. for organizing and we got a private room, due to the fact that we were a large party, (13-14 people).
I'm not sure if it was the norm if you get the private room; but we definitely got the A++ service chinese-style this time around.
On the menu today, we ordered the famed siao lung boa that DTF has to offer pork, pork with crab and pork with dried scallop. Over all taste, pretty good and soupy as it should be, I think the one with crab meat was my favorite; with just pork not too far behind.
Their pan friend buns weren't too bad, but I've been to at least one other place that might be smidgen better.
Their chao len goh is pretty good too, with just the right amount of chew to the fried rice cakes, the option to get shanghai-style or the ching-chow, I recommend the ching chow, since it is without the soy sauce, and shanghainese food is generally heavy of the salt and soy-sauce.
The only small tiny tiny grippe I had was about their savory soy bean soup... it was ok, but I missed the hit of heat from the chili oil and I didn't get salty part of it this time around and why is there yuk soong in it? It makes the soup feel all fuzzy... which feels weird and off putting. Also their egg white souffle balls dusted with icing sugar and stuffed with red bean or Black sesame weren't too bad either, just a triffle overdone.Listed in: 30 days of Yelping
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Review from Thuy T.
Woodbridge, ON
This is one of those places where you ask you're self...........Is the food more important or the service?????????
Restaurant Rating:
0(Too Sad), 1(Horrible), 2(Poor), 3(Ok Lah), 4(Good), 5(Excellent)
Food: 3.4
Clean: 3
Service: 2.5
Atmosphere: Casual
Will I Return? Depends
Keep in mind all food postings is according to personal preferences and taste buds. Therefore, it's best to try the places out for yourself and see if it suites your taste. -
Review from Grace T.
12/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
My new favorite Chinese restaurant!! My hubby and I went at noon on Boxing Day and we waited for about 10 minutes. It was busy but not stupidly busy with people standing everywhere like in other Chinese restaurants farther south in this area. We ordered the crab and pork soup dumplings , fried squid tentacles, hot and sour soup and a shanghai spring roll. Everything was delicious!! Served up hot and fast, the service was efficient and zero problems. Easily my newest favorite restaurant!
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Review from Lauren M.
Tony F took me to Ding Tai Fung before our big trip to Walmart to try on DD bras and look for red one-piece bathing suits.
They gots some delicious dumplings here! My favourite was the wontons served in a spicy oily sauce. We used to the remaining sauce on all the rest of our dumplings, yum!
We also tried one of the soup dumplings, green onion pancake and a some different kind of shui mai that had rice packed on top.
The soup dumplings and green onion pancake were both really good. The rice shui mai was very bland though, wouldn't recommend ordering that. Meh.
The service was okay, but I was really quite offended that the server asked if I wanted a fork. Listen lady, I am an egg! Give me some credit, please.
Overall absolutely delicious food, but the atmosphere is kind of lacking. High ceilings and large sterile looking decor which resulted in a kind of cafeteria-like dining experience.
Wasn't the cheapest dim sum I've eaten, but the price is fair given the quality of the food. Would go back often if it was downtown ;)Listed in: Dumpling YO FACE
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Review from Karl R.
7/13/2011 5 photos
Pension Babe and I tried to get some deep fried milk after a $2 Tuesday (but it's not) movie. The place was full. She pointed out Ding Tai Fung and suggested they served up some good Shanghai style dumplings.
"The kind with the water in them?"
"Yes."
I had those several times in Seoul at a Shanghai dumpling place in Myeong Dong and was keen to try them again.
I let Pension Babe do the ordering. Well, she hid the english menu from me and claimed there was only a Chinese tick sheet. Like I'm going to over rule her choice?
She loaded up on all kinds of comfort food she enjoyed as a child in HK. Life hasn't fully gone her way lately, despite my efforts. Why can't some women just let you tie them to a chair and let you ooze goodness all over them?
I've already realized if Pension Babe doesn't know how to describe something she just compares it to a donut. "This is like a donut wrapped in rice." The donut wrapped in rice wasn't so great. The rice was dry. It met with neither my inexperienced approval nor Pension Babe's.
Next up was a loaf of bread you dip in sweet and condensed milk. "This is like a donut you dip in sweet milk. I used to order this all the time just to drink the milk. My mother eventually figured out I just liked the milk and she'd order me that instead of wasting so much bread."
The dumpling mains came. Pension Babe thought their quality had slid over the years. I thought they were pretty good.
The green onion pancakes came and were not compared to a donut.
Dessert was these amazing Asian sort of choux pastry balls filled with some bean goup. "These are like donuts with white powdered sugar," Pension Babe explained. Pension Babe snatched the plate away and dumped as much white sugar on her Asian sort of choux pastry balls. They didn't beat the ass off deep fried milk. But pretty good for a night after Bad Teacher at the lousy First Markham Place theater. -
Review from Jonathan S.
York, ON
7/12/2011
I traffic in acronyms and initialisms for a living. If there's a way to reduce a concept, a project or a division into a few capital letters, I'll find it. Sometimes this yields pure nonsense. Other times, it's loads of fun. With the advent of the Jersey Shore, Ding Tai Fung shifts from Column A to Column B.
Apart from the joy of asking if you're DTF for lunch, DTF stands for delicious shanghai-style Dim Sum. Fried calamari tentacles are barely coated in corn starch, and served blazing hot. On their own, they'd make a perfect bar food. Pan fried pork dumplings are Proustian in recalling childhood memories of crispy dough surrounding a savory filling. Soup dumplings explode with umami goodness. I usually wait a few minutes before tucking in. Fresh out of the steamer, they're scalding hot and prone to burst in transit. An assorted meat pancake finds sweet bbq pork and plenty of scallions suspended in a heavy crepe matrix. This dish benefits most from a dunk in red vinegar or hot sauce. A large pan-fried beef dumpling (which I've heard Ming Tsai call a 'bing') should be sold immediately outside my apartment, as a quick lunch option. I'd become a shut-in.
Hot and sour soup gets a mixed response. Some find it too sour, while I focus on the bracing heat and volume of tofu and veg that comes with each spoonful. Wonton noodle soup is generously portioned; the wontons are more chive than pork and the stock could be stronger, but it's still tasty.
Family-style dinner options are available as well, but they're a mixed bag. Portions are huge, and seafood/pork options are particularly successful.
If Joanne Kates were to take her usual food-as-sex comparisons to their logical conclusion, she might point out how all DTF dumplings tend to erupt and squirt lustfully all over one's clothing. You may need to change your pants after eating here.Listed in: Have Yourself a Freilechen…
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Review from Maggie L.
9/1/2011
This place is the best Shanghai food I've ever had. For those that have not had this type of food, it's great for sharing.
1. xiaolongbao. It is this tiny round dumpling with a piece of moist ground meat mixed with spices swimming in it's juices inside the dumpling skin. The skin is so thin and has just the right about of al dente. Perfectly steamed and always comes up hot. Goes really well with a little red vinegar and a touch a ginger.
2. beef tendon with spicy noodles in soup. The soup base is so powerful and with all the spices. Few have noticed but this is one of the few places that put veggies in our soup.
3. preserved cabbage with pork and rice cake. This dish is sweet, and sour and salty and it just bounces off your palette like a ping pong ball. The rice cakes are nice and chews, pork brings out the sweet and the preserved cabbage add the sour and salty. It's perfect.
4. pan fried meat dumpling. It's exactly like the xiaolongbao but it's long with thicker dumpling skin and fried perfectly on the bottom. The stuffing is the exact stuffing they use in the xiaolongbao. This dish is so good.
5. onion pancake. OMG it's crunchy! Salty and chewy in the middle. It's packed full of green onions, the most amount of onions I've ever had in this type of dish. My mouth just waters thinking of this dish. If you're not that hungry it makes a great snack. Just order take-out. -
Review from Peter C.
North York, ON
9/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place has really good Shanghai food.
I went in not expecting anything at all (thought of it as just a typical chinese restaurant) but was blown away.
Me and my friend ordered a few things.
A. Started off with Spicy Beef Tendons for appetizers, i'm a fan of this.
Love how they cut them up into square cubicles, it was delicious.
B. Then ordered the green onion pancake, it was delicious and crispy.
C. Next is xiaolongbao (Soup Dumplings), they came really hot (temperature) and the skin was nice and thin. It was perfect and full of delicious flavour. Ate it with red vinegar and ginger.
D. Red Beef and tendon spicy noodles soup. The soup was nice, it wasn't too spicy or anything and was just simply a delicious bowl of noodles. The noodles are really good too, i think they may be hand made.
E. We still had room in our stomach after this so we ordered the crispy turnip pancake. This, like the others was also really good, had it with a bit of red vinegar as well.
Overall it was a great and satisfying meal, definitely will be back! -
Review from Linh N.
Calgary, AB
8/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
A friend recommended this place to us and swears that it's worth a try. Indeed it was well worth the trip. They have chefs knead the dough and press the dumplings fresh in front of us. You're suppose to suck all the juice out of the dumplings before you eat them or else you'll burn your tongue. The juice that came out of it was impeccable. The meat was cooked to perfection, not over nor under. The flour wasn't too heavy and definitely the best dumplings I've ever tried.
We tried a few of their other dishes and it wasn't as good as their trademark dumplings. But that alone was enough for me to want to come back. Everyone that resides or is visiting TO should absolutely give this a try. -
Review from Precilla C.
Scarborough, ON
Recently, I enjoyed another family meal at Ding Tai Fung, one of my favourite Shanghai restaurants. This time, I ventured out of my usual dim sum-heavy comfort zone to try some other dishes.
Potstickers with pork: I felt that this execution missed the mark because the bottom of the dumpling was only very lightly pan-fried and didn't have that crunchy texture that I was looking for. I supposed it's slightly healthier this way.
Rice cake with shredded pork and pickled vegetables in soup was another healthier choice. The flavours were bright and clean, albeit slightly salty.
Sliced pork with chili sauce was something that I haven't had for a long time. I was pleasantly reminded of my grandmother's cooking, because I don't think I've eaten this since she passed away. The fattiness of the pork was awesome.
The Surimi with Broccoli was also very enjoyable. The runny yolk added an extra dimension of creaminess. However, I was disappointed with the amount of broccoli that was given. I was craving for more veggies.
We ended the meal with steamed red bean dumplings. I personally prefer the sesame version of this dessert.
The food here is yummy and generally well-executed. I can also count on Ding Tai Fung for a satisfying meal!Listed in: Gems in suburb
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Review from Terrie C.
9/20/2011
Very busy on weekends but the food was really good. The Shanghai soup dumplings were really fresh - made to order. The skin of the dumplings were really fresh, just the right texture/consistency. Moreover, the noodle soups were really good. The noodles tasted like it was hand-made right on the spot! I did not check to see if it was or not but it tasted really fresh, very yummy! No wonder it was sooo packed.
The only down part is that I find some of the food too oily - but it did not seem to bother anyone else. Ah wells, as long as it tasted delicious, more power to the DTF! -
Review from Vivian L.
Scarborough, ON
7/23/2011
Maybe I just came on an off day, cuz my parents told me that when they went with friends it was better than when they went with me, but my experience was nothing more than mediocre here. The much acclaimed xiao long baos, were actually below avg in comparison to my past experiences. Even though that wasn't a big deal, and the green onion pancakes were yummy (hella greasy though), I lowered the rating for this restaurant because of this one dish i ordered. Im not sure what the dish is called in english, but its was basically beef with special brown sauce in this i guess pastry/chinese tortilla outer layer. But anyways, the dish was totally ruined because the chef decided to DROWN the thing in sauce.
Another grief of mine is the price vs. portion size. We ordered 5 dishes, and ended up paying $45, making it roughly $9 a dish. However at the end of the day we were NOT FULL. However we were too upset by the beef dish, and fed up with the mediocrity of the restaurant to order anymore. I think at this price, and for the amount of dishes i ordered, I should at least leave feeling full.
A redeeming factor was the service i think. We were greeted by a very kind hostess, and a waitress who was friendly and polite.
Overall, I'm not sure whether my expectations were just too high, or I just caught them on a bad day. But frankly I think that a good restaurant should live up to their reputation, and perform well all the time. Unfortunately I have to low score this restaurant based on this one bad exp, but hopefully if i return, I'll be able to update it to a more positive review =). -
Review from Joe H.
Updated - 5/28/2011 2 Check-ins Here
So I decided to come back to Ding Tai Fung to give it another chance. I mean, I had to have had a bad experience right? With so many good yelper reviews... I had to be wrong?
When I got there there was a crazy line. In my opinion this is a good sign. It's not exactly the best thing when it's a busy day and no one is in your restaurant =/. Anyways, I really wanted to give it another go so I decided to wait.
After sitting down, I immediately ordered the standards; Soup Filled Dumplings, Hot and Sour Soup, Szechuan Noodles and "Spicy Cantonese Dumplings".
To give them credit their Soup Filled Dumplings are pretty good. I'm quite impressed on how much soup is in the dumplings without overflowing. The pastry was quite thin as well. The only thing I can say is that the pork filling isn't really as smooth as it could be, it's got kinda a grainy texture. To sum up, it's good... but I've had better.
The Hot and Sour Soup isn't exactly fantastic either. In my opinion it had way too much sour, so it kinda tasted like vinegar soup =P. Boo.
The Szechuan Noodles were pretty abysmal. The colour alone of the noodles was a light brown, almost like a double double coffee colour. Bah! It didn't really taste like they had enough heat in the wok and tasted like the noodles were microwaved (I know they weren't but that's the best thing I can think of right now =/)
The best thing by far at Ding Tai Fung is the Spicy Cantonese Dumplings. It reminded me of dumpling kiosks in Hong Kong. The sauce is amazing and the dumplings are amazing. I would just order a wack of these and I'd be happy. Then I'd probably take the sauce they have and pour it on everything (It's that good).
I have to say that I'm going to have to stand by my last review. This place isn't that great. Asian Legend is WAY WAY better. And it's less than 5 minutes away!Listed in: Best places for Dumplings
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/23/2010
I went into this place expecting some mind blowing dumplings... however, it seems like I was given… Read more »
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Review from Edwin A.
Updated - 5/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Ding Tai Fung continues to be one of the most popular restaurants in First Markham Place Hwy 7 plaza. During a weekend lunch time you're almost guaranteed to be waiting in line. However it's popularity is justified since this restaurant continues to deliver consistent quality.
In fact, I find this restaurant's food better than what I had from an original Din Tai Fung location located in California, USA.
Props go out to our Canadian chefs in the kitchen
Everyone talks about the dumpllings.. ah yes - they are very good. steamed or pan fried they get it right.
But no one seems to mention this in their reviews, the fried rice. I find their fried rice amazing! It's 10.99 - a little more than one would think of paying for fried rice. It pretty simple in terms of ingredients but the use of fresh rice, the preparation and taste is of 'master yoda' level. I continue to order chicken fried rice whenever i go here. It's the best fried rice i've had this side of the universe.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/20/2010
this restaurant has one of the best steamed pork soup dumplings, and vegetable dumplings.
their… Read more »
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Review from J L.
Markham, ON
8/28/2011
Never a disappointment. Arguably one of the best soup dumpling places in the city, but my personal favorite. On par with soup dumplings that i get from Shanghai itself. I always bring out of town guests here to enjoy some soup dumplings.
The setting is very clean and organized. There is a giant window so you can see all the chefs preparing the soup dumplings and steaming them in their kitchen.
My go to soup dumpling is the pork one. They have a large variety, but the pork is my fav. It always comes out steaming hot, extremely fresh and delicious. I also get the pan fried dumplings as well, very fresh, very tasty. My go to noodle dish is usually the shanghai style fried noodles (biased because i love this dish in general). I also love getting the bread, either steamed or deep fried, dip it in the condensed milk and you're in heaven.
Often gets busy around dinner time, lunch seems to be a good time to walk and get seated immediately.
If you love soup dumplings, this is the place to be! -
Review from Stephen W.
5/31/2011
After hearing how great "Din Tai Fung" is in Shanghai, China. I decided to drive up to have a taste.
This place is terrible. I don't even want to waste my energy writing this review, because we should of known this place isn't even the REAL "Din Tai Fung." The word "Din" at this restaurant has a extra "G" in it!
P.S. Stop calling it Xiao Long Bao's, these are obviously "Tan Bao's" which translates to "Soup Dumplings." Anyone that is Shanghainese that was brought up in Shanghai should know this.
P.S.S. This place should be closed down like those shops on Canal st. NYC for bootlegging the real Din Tai Fung. -
Review from Ming C.
Markham, ON
4/30/2011 1 Check-in Here
A-OK+0.5
Food is decent and relatively consistent. Long line up and "long" wait for food (compared to other chinese restaurants)
Ate the Dan-Dan mien and beef noodle soup...honestly...prefer loha's next door on these two items....I guess just not the right flavor for me :(
Also ordered the dumplings of course...and good as well....
Will likely return if I'm really hungry and loha's is closed :) -
Review from Hideki K.
Updated - 7/3/2011 3 photos
Amazing! I returned in March to DTF and loved practically everything that my friend and I had ordered. The XLB's were the star of the show, and the Shenzehnbaos were excellent, as well.
I heard that this DTF is not officially connected to the real chain in Taiwan? I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it tastes good enough to be real.Listed in: Best of T.O, Yelpwide - My Favorite…
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/22/2009
Ding Tai Fung (in Taiwan) is my favorite restaurant.
The Ding Tai Fung in Markham (suburb of Toronto)… Read more »
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Review from Cynthia F.
Toronto, ON
7/11/2011
The xiaolongbao I was first introduced to were in New York: first in the awfully overrated Joe's Shanghai, then subsequently to their far superior cousins in Flushing. None of the XLB I've had in any establishment in NYC or Flushing comes close to the quality and subtlety of the XLB in Ding Tai Fung. The broth here is flavourful and a delight. Golden dots of pork fat dance on the surface of the broth -- there's just enough to tease the tastebuds. The crab XLB were SO much better than those I've had in NYC and Flushing: fresh, significant quantities of crab, mixed with minced pork. The clear, delicious broth reflected the emphasis on freshness and subtlety.
On top of it all, XLB are very reasonably priced, and probably cheaper than what I've ever paid. The only downside to these XLB is that I can't ever go back to what I used to eat in Flushing! The rest of the menu is Shanghainese, but not authentically so. Some dishes (radish cake) are hit-or-miss (entirely too greasy for me). For XLB (at least, for now), they're hard to beat. Here's hoping Ding Tai Fung never messes with a good thing. -
Review from bun b.
7/6/2011
Quality Shanghai food!
I love their steam pork dumplings!! Not as good as the original place in Taiwan yet, but best in Toronto that I've tried. Another one of my favorite is their pan fried rice cake. It's got the best texture, soft and chewy, but not too chewy. Their pan fried shanghai noodles are very good too. -
Review from TINA L.
Toronto, ON
1/23/2011
This is a copy cat restaurant, nothing like the real ones i've been to in Taiwan. not even close! I hate the fact that they just copy a famous restaruant's name and trick people to go eat there!
this place has horrible service, n food is very avarage, atmosphere is like a typical chinese restaurant, noisy, bad service, and dinnerwears are often not so clean.
if i want steam pork dumplings(Xiao long bao) i'd go to asian legend, it's closest to the real thing.( still not good enuff, but it's all we can get in T dot. and at least they decorate the place nice + decent service.)
Don't waste your money on this place. -
Review from Alan K.
4/7/2011
Didn't come here just once, but TWICE during our Toronto trip a few weeks back. That should tell you how much we loved this place (or maybe we were just too lazy to find somewhere else to eat dim sum hah!). Of course, we had to try their minced pork buns (xiao long bao), both their dried scallop ones and crab meat ones. Just like what everyone else says here, those were pretty good--better than what we got at home, if I do say so myself. But it's funny: the first time I thought the crab meat ones were better but the second time around, I actually like the dried scallop ones. Hmm...
I also liked their steamed sticky rice glue. It's like a roll of sticky rice with some filling inside. Tried both their savory one and their sweet one. Both were good but I prefer the savory one myself; just all depends on your tastes.
Let's see: what else did we have that was good? Oh yeah, I liked the hot soy drink, the salty kind, as opposed to the sweet one. I've always been a fan of the salty one. And also their souffle balls stuffed with red bean paste or sesame paste. We tried the red bean ones on our first time around and then we came back and tried the sesame paste ones. Both were sweet, but I think I prefer the red bean ones myself.
The place is moderately sized. Seems like a popular place. First time we went just a little bit before lunchtime and it still was packed with people eating dim sum. The second time we went right around lunch time on a weekend and we had to wait for a table for like 15-20 min. This place does have other dishes besides dim sum in case you were wondering. We also did order the fried sliced rice cakes with pickled cabbage and shredded pork but I didn't find it anything special.
And you case you were wondering, I did take a paper menu from them (yes, I still collect those) so that's where I'm getting the actual names of the food from :P Hmm I'm getting a bit hungry just writing this now... I wonder if they'll deliver a few hundred miles across the border to me... -
Review from wendy c.
11/25/2010
A good place to get little steamed juice-filled pork dumpling (Siu long bao / Xiao long bao). That's about it.
Almost always busy, wait time can be long if you show up when everyone else does. Maybe people like to come here and watch how Siu long bao is made? -- yes, they make them fresh in the kitchen, and you can watch through a large window.
Siu Long Bao is pretty good, quality consistent considering this place has been around ever since the First Markham Place Mall was built. There are several varieties to choose from as well - "regular size" vs. mini; different fillings meat or non-meat.
Other starchy dishes (noodles, green onion cakes, rice cakes) and dinner offerings are meh to a-ok. If you prefer HK/Taiwan style of "northern" Chinese food, I think you will find the dishes and taste familiar. If you are more used to Shanghai taste like how they do it in Shanghai, probably won't like it too much.
I give it credit for being there for a long time, keeping up the decor, maintaining decent quality and fairly good services (for a Chinese resto). Give it a try if you are in the area or have a crave for Siu long bao.
Not related to THE Din Tai Fung chain of restaurants that's been getting Michelin stars for their famous siu long bao. -
Review from Duong N.
2/6/2011
Yes, this is not the real Din Tai Fung, since it is a knock off with the extra "g" in the name, but it is a decent place to eat. It is not nearly as good as the original I went to in Los Angeles, but it does satisfy my cravings while I visit Toronto.
The English menu is quite confusing, since they probably used a translator who had minimal English training. If you want to know what to order, it is just the first 3 items on the dumplings section. Yes, they did state them as "steamed buns", but they are not steamed buns at all. The real steamed buns are at the end of the list. These three are actually the restaurant's version of the famous Juicy Dumplings of the authentic Din Tai Fung. While not quite as good as the original, they are the best this restaurant has to offer.
We tried a variety of dishes, from the fried rice, to the wonton noodles, to different types of dumplings (the second of the pork and shrimp dumplings is actually the Siu Mai, while the first is similar sealed dumpling), everything was very average tasting. Only the juicy dumplings were good.
The service was ok. By Chinese restaurant standards, I guess they would be nice, although a bit inattentive. The lines are always long. I guess if I had a craving, I would return to this place. Otherwise, I would wait to return to California for some more authentic and better tasting dumplings. -
Review from Pae C.
3/7/2011
Our friend recommends this place to us.
The restaurant is new and clean. The food is also tasty esp. their Xiao long bao. Their dim sum menu is a bit limited regarding the variety though. That might be because they are Chinese (Shanghai), not Hong Kong. -
Review from Miyako S.
Orillia, ON
1/23/2011
If you love dumplings and experience the whole Shanghai experience with being in a modern atmosphere check this place out at Markam Place on Highway 7.
If you don't like Pork Fat then slim chance you'll like the food here!
I have tried these foods:
Green Onion Pancake
Siu Long Bau (Soup Dumplings)
Shanghai Fried noodles with pork and Cabbage
Shanghai Soup noodles with pork and Cabbage
Peanut Soup noodles
Beef Rolls
Pan Fried Pork & Shrimp Dumplings
Red Bean Fried Dessert in a Egg White Cluster
Fried Pork Buns with Sesame on top
Vegetarian Chicken( Really it is called this in English but its beancurd marianated in sweet soy)
Jellyfish
In my opinion the best Shanghai Food I've ever had. The quality control is amazing and service is fast and efficient. I've been there at total of 15 times and is not dissapointed. Food is fresh and the best part like everyone says is you can see the people make the cute little dumplings through a glass large window from where you sit. I have had shanghai food only in Canada in Vancouver and Toronto and by far the best.
I don't think it gets better than that. The reason some people don't like this place is because 1) they are picky 2) they don't like oily food 3) They have no idea what good Shanghai food "SHOULD" taste like.
Overall this is why my vote is 5/5 stars.
Food check. Atmosphere check. Cleanliness check (don't know what it's like in kitchen however.... Service check Prices check. You can't beat it if you can find a better place than this please let me know at onestylishbayb@hotmail...
Enjoy! -
Review from Sandra T.
Toronto, ON
10/21/2010
I really wanted to like this place but I was disappointed :(
Ordered the pork dumplings with soup broth inside but found the broth to be really oily. Ordered the shanghai style dumplings without realizing they were mini white flour pork buns. The green onion pancake was okay. The dan dan noodles in peanut soup broth was kind of oily and tasted too rich - the noodles were disappointing to me too :(
Maybe we ordered the wrong things?
After venturing out all the way to Markham and getting hopelessly lost trying to find the restaurant, I was sad.
The restaurant itself is a beautiful and modern space. The place is bright and clean with high ceilings.
Staff is friendly but there was a bit of a language barrier. The manager has a bit of an attitude and was not very welcoming.
Oh well :(
By the way, if you are looking for this place, look for the cineplex theater (the most distinguishing landmark seen from Hwy 7) - its buried deep in that general area. -
Review from Karen S.
11/1/2010
4 stars for the xiao long bao (little steamed buns filled with soupy and meaty goodness) and the chive and pork dumplings
3.5 stars for the green onion pancake
2.5 stars for the thick sliced rice sticks, and sizzling tofu plate
If we had just the xiao long bao and dumplings, this would have been a solid 4 stars. They're so good, delicious and flavourful. Served steaming hot, I wished that was all we ordered! The rest of the order was a bit meh... too oily, uninspired, and the flavours just didn't seem to blend properly. The effort was very much obviously reserved for the buns and dumplings.Listed in: Chinese, Chinese, Chinese!
-
Review from Jennifer M.
Toronto, ON
9/8/2010 1 Check-in Here
This is definitely the place to go for dumplings, the reviews are all true. Even a non-pork eater like myself, who is limited to two varieties of dumplings here is a huge fan, that has to be saying something.
There is some discussion on whether or not this particular Ding Tai Fung is actually a sister of the restaurant in Shanghai, and the other locations worldwide. According to their website, http://www.dintaifung.com Canada is not listed. Either way, my SO's Shanghai-living relatives give this DTF a visit when they are in town.
So what hasn't been said below?
- incredible "vegetarian" greens and leek dumplings. Even the non-veggie dining companions cannot get enough.
- delicious braised bamboo shoots. We always order this first. Perfect with chili sauce. Their non-dumpling Chinese dishes are not bad either. There are shanghai style noodles, braised bean curd and some other delicious meals on the menu. The only thing I didn't like was a fried fish dish which arrived very mushy. Forgiven.
- Fun for kids (and the curious) you can watch the dumpling-making live. There is also a fish tank with "Finding Nemo" themed fish species. Fun!
Ding Tai Fung is always busy. Be prepared to wait, and parking at First Markham can be difficult. Come at an off hours time. -
Review from Diana T.
9/8/2010
What made the 8 hour drive from Chicago to Markham totally worth it, were the xiao long baos from this dim sum joint!! Each bao was perfect. Thin dumpling skin, steamed just right, the meat was seasoned very well and you get a VARIETY of choices for filling, and the SOUP. The soup was like USHER - OMG, amazing. It wasn't just a tiny bit of soup, it was enough to fill my entire mouth.
All the dumplings we ordered were DELICIOUS, the hand-made noodles were just right and seasoned very well, everything we had was just too good to be true. No wonder people line up eagerly waiting for a seat.
Please go. For me. Cause I can't drive 8 hours every single weekend to get my fill of delicious bao.
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