You Can Enjoy Din Tai Fung’s Signature Dishes Aboard This Airline

Scoring a table at soup dumpling institution Din Tai Fung anywhere in the world comes with hurdles. It might be waiting for your number to pop up on the screen outside Taipei’s four-story Xinsheng Branch, queueing up outside the Santa Clara, California, one, or fighting for an online reservation at midnight for the New York City outpost. But there’s one way to seamlessly enjoy your own private meal—on board the airline EVA Air.

The partnership between the two Taiwan-founded companies is more than two decades old, with Din Tai Fung’s first meal served on an EVA Air flight on February 10, 2002. But many travelers only became aware of the perk last week when the Taiwanese carrier showcased a Reel from San Francisco-based creator Sandy Burrell on its North American Instagram last week. In it, Burrell is enjoying the beloved restaurant’s Noodles with House Special Spicy Shrimp and Pork Wontons in EVA’s Royal Laurel Business Class as she flew from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) to San Francisco (SFO).

The restaurant’s specialty dishes are available to EVA Air passengers in business class cabins, called Royal Laurel Class and Laurel Class, on select routes. These routes include long-haul flights originating in Taipei flying to Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA), George Bush Intercontinental (IAH), Vancouver (YVR), as well as Los Angeles (LAX) on flight BR16 and San Francisco on flight BR28.

The meals are also offered on regional round-trip flights between Taipei’s Taoyuan and Japanese destinations Tokyo-Narita (NRT), New Chitose (CTS), Kansai (KIX), and Fukuoka (FUK), as well as from Taipei’s regional airport Songshan (TSA) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND), except for BR189. 

On board, business passengers can start with a soup option of House Steamed Chicken Soup or House Steamed Beef Soup. A selection of signature dishes are offered for the main course, including Juicy Pork Xiao Long Bao Soup Dumplings, Braised Beef Noodle Soup, and the Noodles with House Special Spicy Shrimp and Pork Wontons. Each is served with traditional side dishes, such as Spicy Beef Tripe or Shaohsing Wine Marinated Chicken.

For a sweet treat, passengers are offered Suzhou-Style Mooncake with Sesame Paste-Filled Mini Buns in various flavors. More recently, the dessert option of Honey and White Fungus Sweet Soup was also added on October 1, 2023.

Din Tai Fung currently has more than 165 locations in 13 countries—including a new California location in Santa Monica with rooftop views—but started in a modest cooking oil shop when its owner Bing-Yi Yang and his wife Pen-Mai Lai started selling xiao long bao soup dumplings on the side in 1972.

EVA Air first took off in 1989, and is best known for introducing the premium economy cabin to airlines back in 1992.