The Eighteen Folds 

      Although pork dumplings became more and more popular, Mr. Yang was not satisfied. He asked himself, “How to make dumplings with the best appearance and taste?” This question was always in his mind.

      Finally, Mr. Yang, Chef Tsai, and Chef Luo began to experiment different methods to make steamed pork dumplings. They always desired to make high quality food.

      First, they tried different ways to fold dumplings wraps. They tested folding the wraps from fifteen times to more than twenty times, and then tried the taste of the dumplings again and again. Finally, they figured out that the dumplings with eighteen times of folded wraps tasted the best. If they folded the wraps too many times, the dumplings would be easy to break and taste weird. If they did not fold the wraps enough, the appearance of the dumplings would be awful. Therefore, the “Eighteen Folds” became one of the unique techniques in Din Tai Fung.

      When I was eating steamed pork dumplings, I could feel Mr. Yang’s efforts and his determination of pursuing perfection.

                                                                                                                                   Joshua

Steamed pork dumplings made by "18 golden folds".〈Provided by Din Tai Fung 〉