In the 16th century, Portuguese sailors called Taiwan Ilha Formosa, meaning “beautiful island,” to describe its stunning landscape and elegance. The phrase has since inspired both the name and the signature dish of Formosa Bun & Dumpling Factory, a newly opened restaurant in Newton Centre that has become a mecca for Taiwanese cuisine.
As one of the few Taiwanese restaurants in the Newton area, Formosa Bun & Dumpling Factory prides itself on its handcrafted, conscientiously prepared dishes—perfectly warm and delicious for a cold winter day.
The restaurant’s owner, Kristina Pan, immigrated to the United States in 1988 and first settled in New York, where her son was born. She explained that, shortly after giving birth, Pan relocated to Flushing, Queens, where she was offered a job at Benihana.
“The year 2000, that time I joined the Benihana corporate group, I was a part-time hostess until a general manager—totally 12 years,” Pan said. “And after that, I handled the Times Square location. Then, after that, in 2013, I opened my own restaurant.”
By 2023, her restaurant had become a sort of headquarters, catering to families in New York and even to renowned businesses like Goldman Sachs. COVID-19 caused a major shift when Pan returned to her family business in Taiwan and rediscovered her father’s family recipe for what is now Formosa Bun & Dumpling Factory’s well-known dish, the “Formosa Bao.”
“In the COVID times, because it was very boring, I was at home making the Bao,” Pan said.
Little did she know, Pan had unearthed not only a childhood memory, but also the foundation for a new business. Pan explained that although she was hesitant at first, with encouragement from friends, she brought her family’s handmade bao to the United States.
“I was surprised, because everybody loved it,” Pan said. “Actually, when I came to the United States, I really didn’t want to do the Bao because when I did this family business in Taiwan, you need to make everything you sell from scratch. You know, make ingredients, dough, and whatever, wake up very early in the morning.”
In 2024, Pan’s brother, who works overseas, was sent to Boston for a four-year term at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office. It was from him that she heard about Newton’s annual Taiwan Day, the largest outdoor Taiwan festival in the Greater Boston area.
“So I came to help support the Taiwan festival,” Pan said. “That day I was here, Newton Taiwan Day, I made the Bao. People were on the line for about two to three hours. So when we sold out, there were still a lot of people waiting in line—we didn’t have it.”
In Taiwan, bao is a common street food, but in America, it’s an uncommon delicacy. Seeing the opportunity to share her family’s recipe with more people—and to be near her daughter and son-in-law in Cambridge—Pan decided to bring her heritage to Boston.
“They told me, say, ‘Why don’t you just come here?’ At that time, I followed the Taiwanese festivals to Houston, to Maryland, especially in New York City … in 2024, I joined all the festivals, and I thought about a lot of Taiwanese traditional food that nobody’s making here, especially the Bao.”
So, armed with her New York restaurateur experience, Pan opened Formosa Bun & Dumpling Factory in Newton, which prides itself on handmade, authentic, high-quality, and reasonably priced Taiwanese cuisine. The pork with chive dumplings is a popular choice.
“I sell a lot of dumplings because everybody—since they know I open here—a lot of people come here to order the dumplings,” Pan said.
Pan hopes to officially open by the end of the month and eventually expand the menu to include other Taiwanese delicacies—such as breakfast foods, reheatable handmade bao, and various noodles, including ramen and beef noodle soup.
“So here I make a lot of things—not super special, because in Taiwan it’s very common,” Pan said. “But if you come here, it’s rare to see. So, I will introduce you. And if there are any college students who want to come, tell them I give them 10 percent off.”
