Yang Bing-Yi, the founder of the restaurant chain Din Tai Fung, passed away at 96. This caught the attention of world media, which spoke highly of him.
Din Tai Fung is one of the few Chinese restaurant chains to have entered the global market and become a well-known overseas brand of the Chinese food industry. In 1993, Din Tai Fung was named one of the World’s Top Ten Gourmet Restaurants by The New York Times. In 2010, Din Tai Fung Hong Kong Restaurant was awarded a Michelin star, making it the first Chinese restaurant chain to receive such an award.
In 2013, it was selected as the world’s second-best restaurant chain enterprise by CNN of the United States, surpassing McDonald’s, Starbucks,s and other international chain restaurants. In April 2022, Din Tai Fung was ranked 28th among the world’s top 100 best traditional restaurants (second in Asia) by the international travel guide Taste Atla.
Making one of the ‘best dumplings’ in the world
After more than 60 years in operation, Din Tai Fung is known for making one of the “best dumplings” in the world. This internationally renowned Chinese food brand operates more than 162 branches on several continents.
Din Tai Fung’s dumplings (xiaolongbao) have become a must-try delicacy for many local and foreign dignitaries, including well-known celebrities in the entertainment industry when they visit Taiwan.
Although dumplings are a local snack with a delicate and delicious flavor, originally from Shanghai, mainland China, it was Din Tai Fung, established in Taiwan, that made them famous overseas.
Whenever foreigners travel to Taiwan, they first ask for Ding Tai Fung, famous dumplings, and not Alishan. This is a perfect reflection of how the combining of local and foreign cooking has led to the development of modern Chinese cuisine. Even people from mainland China desire to eat the dumplings from Din Tai Fung.
Yang Bing-Yi’s appearance was relatively simple and honest, and he spoke with a strong local accent. He was once noted for saying that he did not understand politics and that all he aimed to do was to try and survive. It is hard to imagine that this older adult, who left his homeland, was the founder of Din Tai Fung, who single-handedly turned the local dumpling snack into an international brand.
In 1948, when the civil war erupted between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Yang Bing-Yi was then 21 years old and, being a native of Shanxi, intuitively knew he had to flee from Shanghai and go to Taiwan. He arrived with only 20 dollars in his pocket. His first job was as a courier for Heng Tai Fung, a small shop that sold cooking oil. He met Lai Pen-mei, a co-worker, and married her at 28. The business later collapsed due to the owner’s poor investment deal.
In 1958, Yang Bing-Yi and his wife started their own business. They bought a storefront on Xinyi Road, the current location of the leading shop of Din Tai Fung; here, they founded Din Tai Fung Oil Shop. However, more than a decade later, the oil industry’s business became increasingly bleak due to the introduction of bottled oil.
In 1972, Yang Bing-Yi agreed to a proposal to create a space in the oil shop to place four tables and chairs and turn half of the storefront to sell dumplings. In this way, Yang Bing-Yi was forced to change his career from an oil seller to a dumpling seller.
His wife spent countless time and effort experimenting with ingredients to create their signature stuffing recipe and their Golden 18 pleated dumplings. This won the couple a good reputation, as their customers frequented the shop one after another. The business prospered to such an extent that they became restaurant legends; they turned their local dumplings from snacks into high-end meals.
Din Tai Fung’s branches are always crowded during peak hours; one store registered that they had received more than 3,000 customers in a day. The number of table flips in a single day was as high as 19 times, with 100 customers waiting outside the door for a table.
After 65 years of ups and downs, Din Tai Fung grew from an oil shop to a multinational Chinese restaurant chain. The two generations of Yang Bing-Yi’s family have also developed their unique business philosophy — “Tolerance,” based on the spirit of honesty and dedication of the Shanxi merchants. Yang Bing-Yi believed that “tolerance” meant being able to tolerate, and those who are unable to accept will not be able to last long in the business.
The Shanxi merchant’s tradition of profiting with righteous honesty
Although Yang Bing-Yi did not attend school, his upbringing instilled a survival drive and the need to make a living. These qualities have been subtly absorbed from the traditional cultural roots of the Shanxi people. For example, since ancient times, Shanxi people have traditionally been known for their business prowess and their merchants as righteous, trustworthy, and tenacious. These characteristics were vividly reflected in Yang Bing-Yi’sDin Tai Fung’s business operations.
One secret to his success comes from the Chinese traditional customer ethic — “To the customers’ satisfaction!” Din Tai Fung consistently adhered to his business principle of profiting by being righteous and promoted genuine heartfelt customer service — service with a smile! It has been characteristic of his service staff to carry daily notebooks to record regular customers’ preferences. This was done to make every customer feel at home.
The “Temperature Service” launched by Din Tai Fung reflects their attention to detail; a pen-type thermometer must confirm each dish delivered to the guest to ensure it will not be too hot. The servers are always prompt and welcoming, but not overly intrusive. Servers are expected to walk around and observe the guests drinking tea; they take the initiative to fill the teapot when it is almost finished.
If any customer drops their chopsticks, the servers immediately replace them with a new pair before the guests need to ask. The waiting staff is also required to ensure that the guests do not order too much, and neither do they specifically recommend higher-priced dishes.
If a customer finds one “defective” dumpling, it will be replaced, but if up to three dumplings in the same basket are found to be “flawed,” the whole basket will be returned. Such is their reasonable service!
See Part 2 here
