Scarborough’s Ding Tai Fung Is Finally Changing Its Name
For 27 years, Scarborough’s Ding Tai Fung has quietly caused a very specific kind of confusion — the kind where a diner walks in expecting the globally famous Din Tai Fung chain and instead finds a similarly named, entirely unaffiliated restaurant that just happens to sit one letter off. That era is officially ending.
Din Tai Fung is the real deal: a Taipei-founded chain with nearly 70 years of history and locations spanning the globe, from Indonesia to the United States, including a Michelin-starred outpost in New York. Canada, though, has never gotten more than a single location — on Vancouver’s Alberni Street — leaving Toronto entirely out of the loop. That gap made it all the easier for Scarborough’s Ding Tai Fung, missing extra G and all, to get mistaken for the real thing over the better part of three decades.
Now, according to an Instagram announcement from the restaurant, that mix-up has a resolution. Ding Tai Fung has reached a commercial agreement with Din Tai Fung to transfer the Scarborough restaurant’s trademark to the global chain, and the local spot is rebranding as Xiao Long Bao going forward.
“After 27 wonderful years serving you as DING TAI FUNG, we’re changing our name,” the announcement reads. The team is quick to note that beyond the name, nothing else is shifting — the flavours, the spirit, and the same team that’s served the neighbourhood for over two decades will all remain exactly as they were.
It’s worth noting the timing raises an obvious question: does a trademark transfer like this suggest Din Tai Fung might finally be eyeing a real Toronto location of its own? Nothing’s been confirmed either way, but it wouldn’t be a bad guess.
In the meantime, the restaurant now known as Xiao Long Bao is still open at 175 Commander Blvd. in Scarborough, serving the same menu that built its loyal following in the first place — just without the years of diners double-checking they had the right address.