pieces in a yellow pastry with crab eggs on top) were also made in the Central Kitchen for later distribution to the branches. Since steamed dumplings have to be made immediately after customers order them, they are still prepared by individual branches.

Establishing the "Central Kitchen" proved to be so successful in meeting the demands from DinTaiFung branches that it provided DinTaiFung with opportunities to expand.

After the opening of the Zhongxiao branch, other branches began opening one after another.
The secret of DinTaiFung's success is nothing new but old words of virtue that spell out the true business principle:
"Focusing on the taste of food is far more valuable than the profit and one needs to be persistent in one's business because a fine reputation does not come by itself."

In order to take DinTaiFung to a higher level and expand its territory of operations, Yang's family released half of its shares in July 1997 to attract investments. DinTaiFung stepped away from sole proprietorship into a partnership system.

In November 2000, DinTaiFung invested almost 20 million Taiwanese dollars to establish the "Central Kitchen" as a means of centralizing productions. The Central Kitchen is located on Li-de Street in Zhong-he City with a surface area of about 260 ping or approximately 858 square meters.
The Central Kitchen is divided into two sections, namely the "General Area" and the "Controlled Operations Area". The "General Area" is composed of administration and mechanical rooms, whereas the "Controlled Operations Area" stores raw materials and processes them. From that time on, Chinese dumplings and shao-mai (pork