The best Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles

Technically, this new-school farm-to-table restaurant in Alhambra isn’t a Chinese restaurant, at least not in the traditional sense. Anyone familiar with the Sinosphere’s culinary influences, however, will delight in the unique, nostalgia-tinged ways namesake chef Chris Yang riffs on regional Chinese staples with dishes like dan dan campanelle and Hainan-style fish over a wonderfully silky chicken fat rice. The smoked char siu paired with spicy mustard is one of my favorite preparations of pork jowl in the city. No matter how you order, you’ll find a memorable dish. The fried chicken wings, which come naked-skinned and served with a side of salt and white pepper and a lemon wedge, get at the heart of what Yang’s does best: flawlessly executed Asian-inflected comfort dishes that are far more complex than they look.

We’re fortunate enough these days to have dozens of different interpretations of Sichuan cuisine, but it’s still hard to beat Chengdu Taste, the trailblazing Alhambra restaurant that first put mala (“numbing and spicy”) on the culinary map for most Angelenos. Fiery Sichuan dishes fill tables with intoxicating smells and an overarching red hue that often indicates an intimidating level of spice. Along with featuring a lighter, yet still spicy style of Chengdu cooking, one of its signature dishes is the hearty diced rabbit with “younger sister’s secret recipe.” Other must-tries are the Sichuan-style mung bean jelly noodles with chili sauce; the always comforting mapo tofu; and, my personal favorite, toothpick lamb with cumin. They’ve also got a second location in Rowland Heights, so those further east can get their spice fix, too.

My B-side: Mala Class in Highland Park. The menu is small, but the flavors are just right at this craveworthy fast-casual Sichuan restaurant with a kitchen run by a Sichuan native. I named it one of the best new restaurants of last year, and Mala Class’s mapo tofu is easily my favorite version in Los Angeles.

Among Cantonese-style live seafood restaurants, this much newer restaurant in Alhambra represents the next generation. Owned by namesakes Henry Tu and Henry Chau, the must-order is the house special Vietnamese-style sautéed lobster, which comes with fried garlic and a mountain of thickly cut green onions. (Be sure to add on the glass noodles, which complement the sweet red roe scattered throughout each plate.) The sprawling menu is a treasure trove of delicious dishes, from well-executed classics like mixed seafood crispy chow mein to the deep-fried salted pig’s feet with crackling skin reminiscent of Peking duck. For best results, we recommend rolling deep whenever you visit Henry’s, though I will say, the leftovers reheat beautifully if you’re coming solo or with just one other person. 

My B-side: Newport Seafood in San Gabriel. This SGV institution dates back to 1988 and offers a great house special lobster, shaking beef, sashimi-style elephant clams and more. The restaurant no longer invokes the same thrills for me as it did when I was a child, but it’s still a reasonably priced, well-oiled machine.

You are paying, in part, for the ornately decorated dining room, but I’ve yet to find a better traditional Chinese restaurant for special occasions than Bistro Na’s. The Temple City restaurant serves imperial cuisine—in other words, an age-old style of cooking, once exclusively reserved for the ruling class, that pulls from all over China but roots itself firmly in Beijing. It’s easy to get lost in the extensive, picture-heavy menu, but focus in on the signatures like the delicate crispy-skinned shrimp and the braised kurobuta pork belly. One highly sought after menu item is the delicious, melt-in-your-mouth Peking duck, which requires at least one week’s pre-order, at least in theory, but can often be booked out a month in advance. (Only a few are available each night.) To be honest, there’s a certain art to ordering here, but with the right combination, Bistro Na’s is one of the best expressions of Chinese cuisine in Los Angeles. In general, I recommend ordering a few meat and seafood items, at least one rice or noodle dish, one vegetable and dessert.

Spice fiends flock to Sichuan Impression on either side of the city, probably because its founders—Chengdu natives Lynn Liu and Kelly Xiao—serve a jaw-dropping selection of Sichuan dishes that’ll keep you slurping up hot-and-numbing wontons, noodles, salads and entrées no matter how spicy it gets. Both the Alhambra and West L.A. restaurants (plus another outpost in Tustin) build upon familiar options such as mapo tofu and kung pao chicken, and feature harder-to-find items like mung bean jelly tossed in chili oil; wok-fried crab; and the “party in a pot” Leshan bobo chicken pot. Somewhat of a rarity among other Sichuan restaurants in town, Sichuan Impression also offers desserts, including a brown sugar rice cake, and pumpkin mochi wrapped around red bean paste.

I’ve eaten xiaolongbao everywhere (dim sum joints, Shanghainese specialists, dumpling generalists—you name it, I’ve tried it) but thanks to the consistently high quality and ubiquity, I still defer to Din Tai Fung. This international chain now has locations in Arcadia, Glendale, Century City, Torrance and even Downtown Disney, with a Santa Monica outpost in the works. Each soup dumpling is meticulously made, resulting in lovely, thin-skinned pouches filled with pork—there are other options too, but the go-to is the plain pork—and hot broth; eat with a dab of soy sauce, vinegar and ginger, slurping the dumpling’s soup carefully when you begin. My other favorite dishes on the menu include the Shanghai-style rice cakes, spicy wontons (any filling), pork chop fried rice and sesame buns. Make a reservation or you run the risk of a lengthy wait, particularly at the mall-bound locations in Arcadia and Century City; you can also opt for takeout or delivery, though I will say the soup dumplings do not travel particularly well. Solo diners and pairs can also try their luck at the bar, which accommodates walk-ins.

My B-side: Mama Lu’s Dumpling House. This affordable L.A. institution offers a homier soup dumpling and has locations in Chinatown, Pasadena, Monterey Park (153 East Garvey), Arcadia and the City of Industry. I can’t say the other dishes will blow you away, however.

The Hong Kong-style café, or cha chaan teng, is an indispensable feature of the San Gabriel Valley’s, and thus L.A.’s, greater Chinese dining scene. Over the last 18 months, I’ve scoured the region in search of the best all-around destination for all-day Cantonese classics like stir-fried beef udon, pineapple buns and salt-and-pepper anything. In terms of excellence across the board, Tam’s Noodle House in San Gabriel and Rowland Heights is the top choice in my book. Every rice and noodle dish I’ve tried here has been delicious: the precisely executed wonton soup; the decadent flat shrimp-roe noodles, served dry with proteins like beef belly or pig feet; and the dried scallop and egg white fried rice. In the mornings (8–11am), there’s a special breakfast menu that includes your choice of warm beverage. Be sure to order the cheung fun (steamed rice rolls), which come to your table soft, velvety and ready to be doused with sweet soy sauce. The one caveat? I wouldn’t recommend coming here with more than six; unlike many Chinese banquet-style eateries, both locations aren’t particularly suitable for large groups.

Unless you already live in the San Gabriel Valley, Rowland Heights is a long way from most of Los Angeles, but this Taiwanese restaurant is worth the trek for dainty, flavorful preparations of classic dishes like three-cup chicken, a delightfully gooey, paper-thin oyster omelette and a steamed clam custard reminiscent of Japanese chawanmushi (which requires an hour of preparation, so call in advance). When in season, order the dragon whiskers, a tender vegetable also known as chayote or long xu cai. Other dishes like the pork kidney with sesame oil and ginger will have you reconsidering your relationship to offal, especially once paired with a side of delicate angel-hair rice noodles. If you’re lost, don’t be afraid to ask the staff for recommendations—the sprawling menu is a tad difficult to navigate for first-timers.

My B-side: Nearby Szechuan Mountain House. It’s a horse of a completely different color, but for those driving from out of the way to Rowland Heights, this New York City Sichuan import in the same plaza as Eat Joy Food delivers bold, spicy, tingly flavors in a beautifully decorated dining room. If you love Sichuan food, this is worth trying, at least once.

In Arcadia and Monterey Park, eponymous chef Tony He is crafting gourmet dim sum of the highest order. While his original restaurant, Rosemead’s Sea Harbour, offers a wider array of dishes and more cozy environs, his cooking shines just as bright at his sleeker, more youthful concept with truffle-laced shumai; translucent, fish egg-topped scallop and shrimp dumpling; and not just one, but two jet-black dishes topped with edible gold: shrimp har gow and salty-sweet lava egg yolk buns—the latter best eaten extremely carefully. Among its desserts, you’ll also find a trio of darling sesame-eyed coconut jelly bunnies. Although the final bill is likely to raise an eyebrow among dim sum aficionados, a meal here justifies both the price and the wait, which can get long on weekends if you don’t come early.

My B-side: Grand Harbor in Temple City. With an ornate interior and surprisingly delicious dim sum, this cavernous dining room was one of the most underrated finds on my recent quest to find L.A.’s best dim sum. The restaurant also takes advance reservations—a boon on weekend mornings, when dim sum restaurants are usually busiest.

This mom-and-pop restaurant in Alhambra specializes in all things braised, including standout versions of soy-braised pork rice that use a variety of cuts and supplemental pickled peppers. The menu spans Sichuan, Taiwanese and Cantonese classics including boiled pepper fish, beef noodle soup and fermented tofu, plus the requisite dumplings and fried rice. Dishes like sliced potato slivers and cucumbers get at the essence of the Chinese cold case, and you can also find a delicate rendition of Shanghainese yan du xian (salt pork, bamboo and tofu skin soup). Plus, Luyixian stays open fairly late and features a few large tables—meaning you can get soulfully made, affordably priced Chinese fare for a crowd until 11pm most nights of the week.

Famous across the Southland for their shengjianbao (Shanghainese pan-fried soup dumplings), this casual, cash-only takeout spot with locations in Monterey Park and Alhambra sells a wide, affordable array of Chinese cuisine. Having operated in the area for over 20 years, Kang Kang Food Court has drawn the likes of celebrity Momofuku chef David Chang through its doors for its piping hot, juicy deep-fried soup dumplings. However, the rest of its menu is full of quieter delights: a fragrant beef noodle soup; mini shrimp wonton soup; Suzhou-style fresh pork mooncakes; and, among the various combo choices, a delicious steamed egg studded with minced pork. These are the under-the-radar items that keep budget-conscious locals and diners in the know coming back time and time again.

Though its name might conjure up images of New England lobster rolls, this small Vietnamese-influenced Chinese restaurant in Rosemead sells some of the most incredible fresh stir-fried lobster with green onion and garlic in town, all on top of a bed of noodles. Boston Lobster also serves an excellent, melt-in-your-mouth shaking beef, listed here in English as “French style beef cube.” It’s my favorite spot after Henry’s, with a tad more precision than Newport Seafood. While the rest of the predominantly Cantonese menu is solid (we also love their clams in basil sauce), you’d be missing out if you don’t order their highly addicting signature crustaceans. Those in search of a deal will also appreciate their affordable lunchtime specials menu.

After all these years, Tony He’s original upscale dim sum joint in Rosemead is still a crowd favorite; the cozy dining room has been offering made-to-order dim sum of the highest order since 2002. Dare to visit on a weekend morning and you’ll find a line that formed long before opening. With a menu of more than 100 items, you’ll do best to stick to the well-executed basics, like crystal shrimp dumplings and pork dumplings. The vibrant pork soup dumplings are hot and juicy in their tins on arrival, while the springy rice noodle rolls nail the ideal filling-to-rice-paper ratio and are some of the best in the city. Highlights beyond the basics include fried whole smelt, steamed black fungus in vinegar, and celery-and-fungus dumplings.

Some of my earliest San Gabriel Valley dining memories date back to this local chain (Monterey Park, Rowland Heights, San Gabriel and Oak Park), beloved by the Chinese diaspora across Los Angeles for its tantalizing counter full of cold items, which includes chilled seaweed, smashed cucumbers, pork kidneys, pork ears, chicken feet, wood ear mushrooms and more. You can choose up to three generously portioned items per plate for  takeout or eating right on the spot, but the extensive dine-in menu begets even more culinary treasures: Yunnan-style “crossing the bridge” noodles, a mild, soul-warming meal for two that comes with a rich chicken broth and a colorful plate of assorted toppings; a surprisingly competent Sichuan dry pot beef; bouncy mung bean noodles topped with peanuts; and Chongqing (a subspeciality of Sichuan) spicy fried chicken. For those who love spice, vinegar and bold flavors, Yunnan is the rare place that truly can do it all.

Can a no-frills noodle joint that’s only open three hours a day for lunch truly be worth the hassle? In the case of this Taiwanese beef noodle soup specialist in Temple City, the answer is yes. The spicy, complex beef noodle soup is one of the best versions in Los Angeles, but you’ll likely want to bring a friend or three to try the minced pork noodles in fermented bean sauce (“pork bean dry noodles”) and assorted cold case appetizers, including smashed cucumbers, shredded tofu and tea eggs. The sesame dry noodles will convince even those who aren’t the biggest fan of dandanmian—yours truly—to finish an entire bowl. For a milder change of pace, or perhaps a takeout order on sick days, order the chicken soup noodles.

You can always go to the Downtown location of Pine & Crane for Taiwanese breakfast before 11am, but those in the know understand that Huge Tree Pastry came first—and does all the classics just as good for much, much cheaper. Open every day but Wednesday from 7am to 3pm, this no-frills, cash-only joint in Monterey Park is my favorite spot in town for Taiwanese and Chinese breakfast staples. Above all, order at least one fantuan—a delicious handheld bundle of sweet purple or white wrapped around scrambled egg, fried youtiao (Chinese cruller doughnuts), pork floss and pickles. You can also find scallion pancakes, pan-fried radish cakes, baked sesame bread and full-sized youtiao, which are perfect for dipping into a cup of steaming hot soymilk (available in both sweet or salty).

As someone who grew up eating near-exclusively Cantonese cuisine, it took more than a few meals for me to understand and appreciate Shanghainese cuisine, at least beyond shengjianbao and xiaolongbao. I've tried most of the San Gabriel Valley’s heavy hitters, including Michelin-recommended Jiang Nan Spring, but the Shanghainese restaurant that left the strongest overall impression was this modest restaurant just a few doors away from Golden Deli in San Gabriel. Regional staples like soy-braised eel (made here with leeks), pan-fried rice cakes and red braised pork belly are classically prepared with minimal grease; Shanghai’s famous tempura-like fried fish with seaweed powder comes delicately crisp and lightly seasoned. With its subtler flavors and heavy reliance on plum wine and other spirits, Shanghainese cuisine can be difficult to understand at first, but Southern Mini Town makes it easy, all with minimal bells and whistles.

This lively follow-up from the folks behind Tam’s Noodle House draws design and culinary inspiration from Macau with mahjong-lined tables and regional specialties like curry beef stew, char siu rice bowl and a mouthwatering pork chop pineapple bun sandwich. Like the original restaurant, HK Macau Bistro is best categorized as a cha chaan teng. The extended menu includes additional Western-influenced fusion dishes not found at Tam’s like curry eel fried rice and satay beef with instant noodles. Not every dish shines—which isn’t surprising with over 150 menu items—but focus in on genre staples like Ovaltine French toast, soy sauce chow mein and any of the claypot dishes for one of the most delicious late-night meals in Los Angeles—HK Macau Bistro is open until 2am.

Even on weekdays, a line of would-be diners can form well before opening time at this longtime Temple City mainstay. Red 99 specializes in Shanghainese cuisine but executes Sichuan, Cantonese and even Hunan-style dishes with surprising speed and technical finesse. Compared to other Shanghainese joints, the dishes here run on the oilier side, but the flavors still shine in staple dishes like soy-braised eel, stir-fried rice cakes, burnt scallion noodles and various stir-fried dishes made with luffa, a type of mellow gourd popular across much of Asia. An $11.99 all-day special includes Shanghai’s famous red braised pork belly, listed on the menu as “braised pork in brown sauce.” Interestingly enough, I saw several other diners ordering Cantonese specialties like steamed tilapia in sweetened soy sauce (“grill tilapia fish w/ green onion”) and Sichuan-style soups (“chili water boiled” items on the menu). No matter how you order, it seems, Red 99 will satisfy your craving. Just be sure to steel yourself for a wait if you can’t arrive early; the restaurant opens at 11:30am for lunch and 5pm for dinner.

Whether you’re in Highland Park (Joy), Silver Lake or Downtown, Vivian Ku’s trio of beloved Eastside-ish restaurants bring a new-school spin to Taiwanese and Chinese classics like thousand layer pancakes, mapo tofu rice bowls and comforting bowls of wonton soup. Extremely affordable (most items run under $15) and always satisfying, the homestyle dishes at Joy and Pine & Crane don’t exactly recall the banquet-style splendor of many San Gabriel Valley restaurants, but they do bring good-to-great Chinese dishes within convenient driving distance for much of L.A. proper. At the Downtown location of Pine & Crane, you can also find fantuan, cruller-studded bowls of savory soy milk, dan bing (Taiwanese crepes stuffed with cabbage, corn, scallions and scrambled eggs) and a traditional congee set complete with several types of pickled vegetables before 11am.

At Dolan’s, servers wear shirts that have “Google ‘Uyghurs’” emblazoned in white letters across the front. It’s a highly visible political gesture by owner Bugra Arkin, whose casual restaurant specializing in traditional Uighur cuisine serves as a lesson in the past and present of the Turkic ethnic group currently in the throes of persecution by Beijing and ongoing cultural genocide in China’s Xinjiang province. Uighur cuisine is considered a Xinjiang regional staple, which Dolan’s kitchen faithfully reproduces with ingredients and flavors that skew Central rather than East Asian. Manta dumplings are steamed and filled with soft pumpkin, while its signature stir-fried chicken, leek and potato plate comes on a bed of handpulled flat noodles. Our go-to order, however, is the Uighur polo. Cooked with carrot, onion and lamb, the flavorful braised rice dish comes with a side of red cabbage and apple coleslaw and yogurt.

Diner’s choice rules the day at the mall-anchored Haodilao, an upscale Sichuan-originated chain whose signature built-in hotpot tables hold up to four different kinds of broth. Ordering off an electronic tablet, patrons can choose from nine different base broths, including the always popular Sichuan mala soup and a mellower, milky pork bone flavor. From there, it’s a relatively pricey build-your-own meal of meat, seafood, vegetables and other delicious add-ins. Those in a celebratory mood may also enjoy ordering their signature Dancing Noodles add-on, which will bring a graceful noodle-pulling employee to your table, complete with musical score. The caveat emptor: With walk-in waits stretching past the two-hour mark on peak nights at both the Westfield Santa Anita and Century City locations, I highly recommend making a reservation ahead of time.

My B-side: Shancheng Lameizi Hot Pot in San Gabriel. The affordable pricing, excellent broths, and semi-private tables here can’t be beat. This San Gabriel Valley spot is definitely for hot pot veterans, however—there’s little direction at the build-your-own sauce bar and tends to be more of a language barrier.

Hui Tou Xiang’s namesake oblong-shaped potstickers are a glorious study in the beauty of simplicity, and while this original San Gabriel shop may not stand in the crowded 626 dumpling scene, the Hollywood location is a breath of fresh air from the area’s more tourist-geared offerings. Stuffed with pork or beef, the hui tou are juicy and delicious with a splash of black vinegar and soy sauce. You’ll also find wontons, soup dumplings, noodle soups and dry noodle dishes on the menu, plus traditional appetizers like seaweed salad and scallion pancakes. For a walk on the milder site, order the egg and tomato noodle—a nearly universal Chinese comfort food.

Sometimes, the best Chinese restaurant is the one closest to you—and with over two dozen locations across Los Angeles, including Westwood, Hollywood, Downtown and the South Bay, this seriously underrated local chain puts decent Chinese noodles, dumplings and wontons within a short driving distance for most Angelenos. While you’ll find solid xiaolongbao and pan-fried jiaozi on the menu, Northern Cafe’s cold starter salads and harder-to-find dishes like lao gan ma (chili crisp) fried noodles, zhajiangmien (Chinese black bean noodles) and Sichuan-style cumin lamb help this fast-casual concept stand out among L.A.’s competitive Chinese dining scene.

Mala—the unique numbing and spicy quality of Sichuan peppers—remains the ultimate name of the game at Mian, a more casual, streamlined restaurant concept from the Chengdu Taste team with locations in West Adams, Artesia, San Gabriel and Rowland Heights. Here, the restaurant’s easily decodable menu (for both spice and numbing level) ensures the heat-averse can rest easy each time they order a bowl of Chongqing-style noodles or pick from the varied selection of hot and cold Chinese appetizers. In a pinch, the West Adams location is a great way to scratch the itch for spicy Chinese cuisine.

The brainchild of a longtime NYC restaurateur (who couldn’t stand retirement) and his adult daughter, this family-run dim sum spot in Hollywood makes all of its menu items from scratch on a daily basis, with each dish cooked to order, in a sleekly designed fast-casual setting with a giant cartoon xiaolongbao painted on its side. Although you won’t find chicken feet on the menu, ixlb Dimsum carries the bulk of a standard yum cha menu, including wonderfully bouncy shrimp har gow, gleaming custard-filled pineapple buns and soup dumplings individually housed in aluminum foil wrappers.

This venerated L.A. institution’s original Chinatown location dates back to 1965, although you can now find 12 other sleeker outposts specializing in fast-casual meals and dessert scattered across the San Gabriel Valley. However, we’re most partial to the OG Phoenix, with its sparsely decorated dining room, steaming hot jasmine tea and long menu full of dependably delicious plates of Hong Kong-style and Americanized Chinese cuisine. House special congee, Hainan chicken and a delectable steamed Chilean sea bass in a bath of soy sauce and sesame oil are just three dishes from its hundred item-long menu worth an order when you visit Phoenix Chinatown, where time itself almost seems to stop entirely.

On the Westside, where there are relatively few good Chinese dining options, this Taiwanese comfort food eatery in Mar Vista fills the gap with mainstays like scallion pancakes, squid ink soup dumplings and a family-style barbecue pork platter served with pillowy steamed bao buns. Chef-owner David Kuo, who’s also the mastermind behind nearby Fatty Mart, also serves excellent vegetarian options like General Tso’s cauliflower and Sichuan eggplant served with mouthwatering housemade chili crisp. You’ll never go thirsty either, thanks to the exceptional cocktail lineup at the restaurant’s bar, Accomplice, where the thoughtfully creative cocktail selection changes regularly.

Home to the famous slippery shrimp, Yang Chow is a family-run staple that was started by five brothers who named the restaurant after their hometown (Yangzhou, a city in Jiangsu, China). Once an old-school diner, the restaurant opened its doors in 1977 and now serves a menu of more than 100 items, with a particular focus on Mandarin and Sichuan cuisine. While the slippery shrimp is a must-order, regulars find other specialties to love, too, including kung pao squid and General Tseng’s chicken. If you can’t make it to the original Chinatown location, Yang Chow has branches in Pasadena and Long Beach as well.

With locations in Pasadena, Santa Monica, Playa Vista, Sawtelle, Manhattan Beach, Woodland Hills and Long Beach, Dan Modern Chinese provides fast-casual Chinese food with a level of consistency and convenience that’s conducive to rush hour takeout runs and third-party delivery. While not every item is a winner on the menu, a few standouts—including the xiaolongbao, the saucy, garlicky dan mein (served with your choice of protein) and the Dungeness crab fried rice keep us coming back, or at least ordering in from, Dan time and time again.