Din Tai Fung Is Ready to Go, at Last

Last October, 40 new hires were in the underground midtown space that, until recently, was most famous for once being the cosmos-themed restaurant Mars 2112. Soon, however, it would become the first East Coast branch of the Taiwanese chain Din Tai Fung. The employees were beginning a 12-week program that would stretch into the New Year, focused on perfecting just one dish: Din Tai Fung’s xiao long bao.

“Consistency is our North Star, and we can only achieve that through rigorous training,” says Albert Yang...