Charlie and the Dumpling Factory

When you think of the signature voice, you think of Frank Sinatra. When you think of signature cigars, you don't think too far from Havana. Now, when you think of signature Chinese cuisine, if your in Asia, think Din Tai Fung. I have written numerous posts about the quality and scrumptious taste of their dishes, so I don't need to get into that in too much detail. Instead, today I got a first hand glimpse of the behind the scene magic that goes into each and every dumpling.

I arrived at the primary store in Taipei and met up with the owner of the company. Along with two other American girls (relatives of the owner) and the CEO of Burger King (bizarre, I know), we piled into his private car and were chaufeurred over to the central kitchen in Yonghe, about 30 minutes away.

Upon arriving at the central kitchen, we were promptly shown into the small temple in the office where we briefly prayed, in Chinese called "bai bai". After which, we donned masks, hairnets, boots, and smocks that made us look like we were being prepared for a tour of a nuclear facility rather than a food factory.



Our first stop was the dumpling room. Actually, the first stop was the disinfecting room leading into the dumpling room. Only two people were allowed into this room which was essentially a giant vaccum cleaner followed by a sink adjacent to a disinfectant pool. If we weren't clean already, we were now!


We then entered into the dumpling room where we saw the doughs rolled and the meats packed. It was like watching a dream come true, seeing all these dumplings at once.


After that it was over to the noodle room. The owner doesn't trust other noodle makers to make his noodles for him, so he makes his own!


Here are some more shots from around the factory, including shipping, basket storring, meet preparation, EVA Airline preparation, and specialty prep.


A man who believes in cleanliness was present all day. The factory had more cleanliness regulations than you could imagine and you can rest easy knowing you are getting the cleanest, freshest food possible when eating at Din Tai Fung. From your golden ticket holder, Michael.