Over here at Seattlest we are keeping close tabs on the explosion of dining in South Lake Union. The newest tenant we are most excited about: restaurant mogul Tom Douglas. Earlier this week we hustled down to the recently opened Westlake Serious Pie location and Dahlia Workshop for insanely delicious breakfast sammies. more ›

A line of crowd-control stanchions snakes down the hallway leading to Din Tai Fung, the kind you see at the airport or a movie theater when the new Harry Potter movie is coming out. As we mentioned earlier this week, the wait times for a table at this newly opened outpost of the popular Taiwan-based dumpling chain have been crazy long. This Seattlest made it over for lunch on Wednesday and was thrilled to have some hot xiao long bao to ward off the nasty weather. more ›

What is it about a dumpling that’s so delightful? We love dough that’s filled and then folded or otherwise formed. Dumplings come in different shapes and sizes (recall our reviews of pelmeni, xiao long bao, and har gow, to name a few) and cut across all cultures. Proper preparation requires attention—and the finished product demands the diner’s attention. Each one is a gift—the wrapper cleverly hiding the surprise within. more ›

Still lamenting Seattle’s lack of quality xiao long bao, Seattlest picked up a copy of A World of Dumplings and decided we’d start making them on our own. (Refining the recipe will take time, so don’t hold your breath on a restaurant opening anytime soon.). While thumbing through the book, we stumbled upon a recipe for our old pal, pelmeni. more ›