( CULTURAL BRIEFING NO 08 )
Din Tai Fung
A microcosm of service in Taiwan
_EN
My wife’s regular pilgrimage to Taiwan always includes a visit to the Din Tai Fung at Taipei 101. She swears by the calibre of their service staff, and before she brought me there to experience it for myself, I did not understand her enthusiasm.
But I was blown away from the get-go. They listen and anticipate where diners are from while they are queuing outside the restaurant, and pair service staff who can speak their language.
The first time I was there, I was lucky enough to witness a 學姐 who was in-charge of her 學弟’s on-the-job training. While they were both clearing our table, she was instructing him on what to look out for, what not to do, and how to serve properly so that it would not inconvenience the customer who might already be dining.
I was utterly impressed, and remember remarking to my wife that such thorough onboarding simply isn’t done back home. You’ll know once you’ve experience the level of our service in Singapore.
As if that wasn’t enough, a waitress acknowledged and approached quickly when I looked up, ready to attend to whatever my request might be. Try doing that back home.
But beneath it all, what makes it special is that service in Taiwan tends to be warm and attentive. It’s almost as if we can feel the personality of the person trying to attend to us.
This stands in contrast to service in Japan, which is also on another level of its own, but is respectful and attentive instead. Once can feel the professional, but polite distance.
Din Tai Fung at Taipei has never disappointed us over the years. I hope it stays that way.
Notes from Ben:
This Cultural Briefing was first observed in Mar 2019, and written in Nov 2025. Slight revisions were made in Feb 2026.
( CULTURAL BRIEFINGS )
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( SENSING PLACES )
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