Where to Eat: Din Tai Fung

The Breakdown
Locations: Bellevue and Seattle, WA; Arcadia and Glendale, CA; International
Must-eat: Juicy Pork Dumplings, Garlic String Beans; Spicy Pork Wontons; Chicken Fried Rice
Dress code: Casual
Ambiance: Modern ambiance with Asian flare
Price: Entrees between $8.50-12.00; Family-Style about $15 per person

There's really only one place in town that I will tolerate a two hour wait for dinner. That's right...two hours. The reason? Din Tai Fung. On a Friday or Saturday night, anything less than a 90 minute wait time is lucky. But people (myself included) wait because the food is that good. The Bellevue location opened in 2010 and with it's wild popularity, expanded to Seattle last year. Both are located with prime shopping nearby to help the wait go by a little faster. Because trust me...it's worth it.

Right next to the entrance is a window to the kitchen showing how the dumplings are made fresh.

Even the bar area has sleek, modern decor to keep a cool ambiance.

When we first started coming here, Blake was a baby and constantly broke their ceramic plates and spoons. Now, they've stocked cute plastic plates and bowls to be more kid-friendly. Drinks are even serves with cute and colorful curly straws.

These are some of the only green beans I can, not only stomach, but inhale like candy. Their crispness and delicious flavor make this something even my daughter will eat.

The vegetable and pork wontons in spicy sauce are a winning combination. As a bonus, try pouring some of the spicy sauce on fried rice. Yummy.

And these little juicy pork dumplings are as absolute must. The wrappers are the perfect thickness, and the flavor inside is terrifically tasty.

To eat these yummy morsels, pick up with chopsticks, dip in dumpling sauce, then place on the spoon. Bite a small hole in the wrapper to sip the broth outing cool the dumpling down a bit. Then, devour the rest.

If you're a seafood fan (which I am alone in my family as not being one), there are several shrimp options that are big crowd pleasers. My family loves these shrimp and pork shao mai dumplings that have the pork on bottom and minced shrimp nestled on top.

This food is lick-your-lips good! To avoid the crowds, try going in the afternoon (3pm-ish) or mid-week. They do also offer take-out but the food gets cold pretty quickly so be sure you'll be able to eat soon after pick-up if you go that route. If you live in the Seattle or LA area, put this one on your list to try soon!