Taste Test: Supreme Dumplings, the "Din Tai Fung Dupe"
California Eating is field tripping at the mall!
Original Xiao Long Bao at Supreme Dumplings in San Francisco
It’s been a month and a half since Washington’s Supreme Dumplings opened inside San Francisco’s Stonestown Galleria, and social media apps have been flooded with taste tests of this supposed “Din Tai Fung dupe.”
I’ve eaten at multiple Din Tai Fung locations in Southern California and NYC, which gives me some basis to make this comparison. Supreme Dumplings is the nicest restaurant that Stonestown has ever had, yet can’t quite compete with the elegance of the DTF restaurants’ interior design. However, based on my visit yesterday, Supreme Dumplings shines in some important ways.
For one, I think the Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) and pork chops are tastier and juicier than what I’ve had at DTF. Supreme’s roti-esque spicy pork bun is also worthy of fixation, and I can’t get it out of my mind.
Original Xiao Long Bao
Pork chop noodle soup
Spicy pork bun
Beef roll
The beef roll was decent, but it got a little soggy from oil, so we could have skipped it. The beverage menu is fun — we ordered a lychee lemonade and a frozen lemonade with yuzu and mango, and it was hard not to order a second frozen one, which goes head to head with DTF’s grape slush for being very refreshing.
We ordered black sesame mochi with peanut for dessert because the black and gold lava buns weren’t available that day. Although that’s a nice flavor combo and they arrived warm, they didn’t have the kind of chew we are used to with mochi, and perhaps too much black sesame paste. But that’s just a minor critique.
Sunshine lemonade with lychee and frozen sunshine lemonade with yuzu and mango
Black sesame mochi with peanut
There have been several written stories about waiting over an hour to eat here, but it’s easy to avoid by getting a reservation, which hasn’t been too difficult during the day, at least. It’s definitely one of those places where you make plans to return while you’re still eating, and I can’t wait to go back and turn more people on to it. What a lovely addition to Stonestown, one of my beloved childhood malls! Where the former Westfield San Francisco Centre downtown continues to be a zombie wasteland, it’s wonderful to see Stonestown having a glow up.
Good Taste: La Mar and Passport to Peru
California Tiradito at La Mar in San Francisco
This week’s GOOD TASTE column at 48 Hills visits La Mar and talks about how the restaurant organized a cooperative contest with 21 other Peruvian restaurants in the Bay Area. While the contest is almost over, perusing the list of participants shows the breadth and depth of the scene here.
