No trip to Taipei is complete without a visit to Din Tai Fung, the xiao long bao house that launched a soup dumpling empire. You can find the original Taipei branch, opened in 1972 on Xinyi Road, with a cluster of people lined up in front willing to wait one to two hours. The reward? Some of the most refined soup dumplings you can eat: whisper-thin skins that bulge with broth and pork, but refuse to break until you take a bite. The shrimp fried rice is fragrant without any grease and the braised beef noodle soup is meaty and rich, with slippery strands of perfectly al dente noodles. No wonder it was awarded a Michelin star.