1. Din Tai Fung in Los Angeles, CA and Seattle, WA
You know the name by now: Din Tai Fung, the xiao long bao mecca that started in Taiwan and now has locations in Los Angeles and Seattle. Each soup dumpling—the chain’s specialty—is meticulously made, resulting in lovely, thin-skinned pouches filled with savory pork (there are shrimp and veggie options, too, but you'll want to go with the pork) and hot broth, then eaten with a dab of soy sauce, vinegar and ginger. Other dumpling offerings—think shrimp shu mai and kimchi and pork potstickers—don’t disappoint, either.