World-Famous Taiwan Dumpling Chain Din Tai Fung Announces London Opening Date

World-famous Taiwanese dumpling chain Din Tai Fung has announced that its first-ever London restaurant will open on the 5 December — on Henrietta Street in Covent Garden.

The chain’s opening — mooted, feverishly anticipated, and talked about for several months — will bring its iconic xiaolongbao to London for the first time, ahead of opening a second restaurant at the Centre Point development in Tottenham Court Road in 2019. The Covent Garden restaurant will seat 250 people, with key ingredients imported directly from Taiwan to ensure consistency with its sites in Asia. The chain recently told Eater that London was right for the brand, and its dumplings, owing to it “being a foodie capital of the world, [that] would not accept any less.”

Din Tai Fung’s xiaolongbao dumplings go through an intense process of preparation on site: passing through six different stations, each manned by a different team of ‘Dian Xin’ dim sum chefs, ahead of their being served “steaming hot.” The dumplings each undergo a 40-minute process of hand preparation and, despite having been served for nearly half a century, the brand’s signature remains considered a world-class delicacy.

Din Tai Fung has also launched a brand new U.K. website, which includes a video of the preparation on the homepage.