The Cultural Journey of Ube: Inside Din Tai Fung’s Philippine-Original

From the familiarity of ube to the precision of Taiwanese culinary craft, the Ube Crunch Xiaolongbao offers a perspective on how food traditions evolve.

“We’ve always been proud that the Chocolate Lava Xiaolongbao was created in Manila, at our first shop in SM Megamall. Today, it’s not just in our Philippine shops, but all over the world.”

For Abba Napa, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of The Moment Group, which operates Din Tai Fung in the Philippines, the Chocolate Lava Xiaolongbao represents a defining moment for the local team. What began as a Manila creation eventually became part of the restaurant’s international offerings, demonstrating how Filipino culinary ideas can find their place within a global dining tradition.

That same sense of pride inspired the Ube Crunch Xiaolongbao. “It felt like the perfect moment to craft an ode to the flavor that is ube to hit that much closer to home,” Napa says.

In the Philippines, ube is more than an ingredient. It has a long history in both agriculture and cuisine. Food historian Felice Prudente Sta. Maria traces its documented use to the early 17th century, with the purple yam appearing in Vocabulario de lengua tagala, a Tagalog-Spanish dictionary published by Pedro de San Buenaventura in 1613. Since then, it has become a familiar presence in celebrations, family gatherings, neighborhood bakeries, and the desserts that have become part of the country’s collective food memory.

The Ube Crunch Xiaolongbao brings this familiarity into an entirely different culinary context. It offers a new way to experience a beloved Filipino flavor while drawing on the precision and technique associated with Din Tai Fung’s Taiwanese heritage. Rather than treating tradition as something fixed, its creation considers how ingredients and culinary identities can find common ground through thoughtful reinterpretation.

A Tradition in Conversation

Founded in Taiwan in 1958, Din Tai Fung has built its reputation on culinary precision. For the Philippine team, creating local interpretations means respecting the culinary traditions that define the brand.

“Everything is really true to both the Taiwanese culture and brand from which Din Tai Fung originated,” Eliza Antonino, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Moment Group, which operates Din Tai Fung in the Philippines, explains. “Our own dishes, created by our local team, still draw inspiration from Taiwanese cuisine, including the Crispy Beef Strips and the Chocolate Lava Xiaolongbao.”

The Ube Crunch Xiaolongbao follows this same philosophy, drawing on the broader culinary traditions of Taiwan. Its incorporation of ube, meanwhile, brings a distinctly Filipino flavor to the offering.

From Manila to the World

For Napa, their Chocolate Lava Xiaolongbao remains a source of pride for the teams behind its creation. It offers a precedent for this possibility, while the Ube Crunch Xiaolongbao continues the conversation through an ingredient closely associated with Filipino food culture.

Yet innovation, within Din Tai Fung’s framework, is never an end in itself. As Napa explains, the restaurant has remained deliberate about changes to its permanent menu, opting instead to introduce seasonal dishes and specials while maintaining the consistency diners have come to expect.

“At the core of why people return is the expectation of consistency, delivering the same level of quality each and every time they return,” she says. It is a philosophy that places equal weight on creativity and discipline. A new idea may capture attention, but sustaining the experience requires the same commitment to craft that defines the restaurant’s established offerings.

For Antonino and Napa, the experience of dining extends beyond what arrives at the table. When The Moment Group decided to steward Din Tai Fung in the Philippines, Napa says, finding a partner who shared its values around hospitality and business was essential.

“For us, a restaurant is about making people happy even if it is just over the course of a mealtime,” she says.

That understanding of hospitality offers another way to read the Ube Crunch Xiaolongbao. Beyond its novelty, the dessert is intended to be shared, connecting the pleasure of discovering something new with the familiarity of a flavor that feels close to home.

An Evolving Heritage

Culinary heritage is often understood through what is passed down. The Ube Crunch Xiaolongbao is one such expression. Bringing a familiar Filipino flavor into a culinary tradition shaped by Taiwanese cuisine, it invites diners to consider heritage not as something fixed in time, but as a living practice shaped by memory, technique, and exchange.

And perhaps that is where food’s enduring ability to connect cultures lies: in its capacity to make the unfamiliar feel inviting, to give the familiar a new perspective, and to create a place at the table for both.

The Ube Crunch Xiaolongbao is included in Din Tai Fung’s Birthday Basket, available until November 26.