Has Seattle’s love for Ding Tai Fung’s xiao long bao soup dumplings waned? It appears not.
The restaurant’s legendary lines remain robust at its Lincoln Square and University Village locations, and owner David Yang Wasielewski announced plans to open his largest Seattle-area Ding Tai Fung space inside downtown Seattle’s Pacific Place shopping center this summer.
“We are so thankful for the overwhelming support we’ve received since we opened our first store in Bellevue five years ago and are excited to be opening our third restaurant in the heart of the Emerald City,” he said in a prepared statement.
Ding Tai Fung, a Taiwan-headquartered restaurant with already more than 100 locations worldwide, first landed in the Pacific Northwest in 2010 when Wasielewski opened a 7,000-square foot restaurant in Lincoln Square in Bellevue.
With a little help from Anthony Bourdain branding xiao long bao dumplings as “pillows of happiness” and Seattle’s Chinese population and diverse palate, Ding Tai Fung saw lines of up to two hours in the next couple of years, signaling an ample opportunity to reach the Seattle market crossing 520. Wasielewski opened another Ding Tai Fung in 2013 in U-Village to similar success, accommodating more diners with a larger 8,000 square-foot space.
This summer, Ding Tai Fung will more than triple its dumpling footprint with 9,216 square feet of dining space on the fourth floor of downtown Seattle’s Pacific Place between Mexico Cantina y Cocina and Pike Place Chowder, according to a report by Seattle Magazine today.
This means that while the Seattle area has three Din Tai Fung restaurants, the San Francisco Bay Area is still waiting for its first.
Whether Seattle becomes the next Taiwanese food destination or not, these “pillows of happiness,” savory wontons and noodles, will definitely be a little more within reach for many Seattleites.
