What Do I Eat in Seattle?

Despite living in one of the food capitals of the nation, Portland is seriously lacking in one regional cuisine: Taiwanese food. For years I have been driving three hours north to Seattle just to get my fill of Taiwanese food – and this is even before Taiwanese dumpling chain Din Tai Fund opened location in Bellevue and University District.

Meesum and always been my first and my favorite Taiwanese restaurant in Seattle. For one, it’s the best place to get Pork Chop Rice, a delicious meal of fried pork chop, rice, minced pork, and pickled vegetables. It’s also cheap and usually empty for lunch.

Rocking Wok also bring back great memories from my early trip to Seattle when all my friends were still in college.  This is the place to go to get Taiwanese specialties such as Oyster Pancake and Meatball.

Northwest Tofu is a divvy breakfast joint that has wonderful salty soymilk soup. I first became addicted to this soup when I was living in Orange Country, and now I can’t find it anywhere. I always order Salty soymilk soup with a side of friend bread.

I saved the best for last. Din Tai Fung first opened in Bellevue some years ago, and more recently opened a branch near the University of Washington, my stomping ground. Expect to wait an hour or more during a weekend night, though service is fast and efficient once you are inside. Although DTF USA does not have the variety of DTF Taiwan, there traditional options are still there and taste basically the same. My default orders are Pork Xiao Long Bao, Potstickers, Shrimp Shao Mai, Shredded Pork Fried Rice, Sautéed Spinach, and Shrimp and Pork Spicy Wontons. If you can’t tell, I don’t go to DTF alone.