The best Chinese restaurants in Miami

After MIMI took over the south side of the historic Firestone building on Alton it quickly became a favorite for celebrities, and not for the disco-ball-dining-room vibe typical in this city. MIMI puts out dishes that are just simply memorable in a supper-club-like space that’s both comfortable and ready for that big splurge birthday dinner. It makes sense that the chef, David Schwartz, picked up a recognition from the Michelin Guide before copying his Toronto concept here in Miami Beach because, from its early days, MIMI already feels like it’s destined to be a longtime favorite.

Order this: The chef's choice tasting menu is a good deal for $115, and on the night you're there, let’s hope it includes the tangy smacked cucumbers, the sea bass served under a dazzling red bed of chilis and the smoky char siu pork belly with caramelized soybeans.

Hailing from Hong Kong by way of London and New York, this high-end Chinese restaurant serves fiery northern cuisine and boozy Asian cocktails in a warm, sophisticated setting. It offers an extensive menu of shareable dishes that skew vegetarian and pescatarian, including in the dim sum category, where a ginger lobster bao awaits to blow your mind.

Order this: The Peking duck, which takes 24 hours to cook (and it shows), arrives in two stages: carved tableside and then again as fried rice.

Now in a new home within the downtown food hall Julia & Henry, Palmar is still putting out its Mongolian beef and General Tso's chicken that made it a favorite back when it was in Wynwood.

Order this: Yes, the Mongolian beef is a favorite, but try the bao with pork belly or fried chicken.

Family-owned and in business for more than 30 years, Tropical Chinese is the neighborhood favorite for Hong Kong-style Chinese food, and the best dim sum west of the Palmetto. It’s busy most of the day, but nothing beats the lunch rush in terms of crowd size and offerings. That’s when servers roam the dining room with pushcarts stacked with dim sum—from fried dishes, and steamer crates to Chinese desserts.

Order this: Don’t miss the doughy sesame balls.

RedFarm’s specialty is highly craveable interpretations of Chinese classics. Start with the spicy crispy beef, a double-fried flank steak flavored with Grand Marnier that’s sweet, salty and best accompanied with a cocktail. Presented in different shades of pastel with cute, tiny eyes, the signature Pac-Man dumplings and the pastrami egg rolls are two of the most popular items on the menu.

Order this: Duck in several preparations.

This swanky Chinese restaurant inside the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel has the look of a sexy Asian parlor. The food, however, is an above-board experience of Cantonese dishes with a twist—think crispy duck salad and jasmine-tea-smoked beef short ribs. Weekends bring a traditional dim sum lunch.
Order this: Dumplings ranging from steamed squid ink har gau with caviar to wok-fried soft shell crabs.

This perennially buzzy Japanese-Chinese restaurant hails from London, but the vibe is thoroughly Miami—down to its clubby atmosphere and well-heeled crowds. The cocktail game here is strong, headlined by a wasabi martini as frothy as a pisco sour, with just a touch of sweet heat. Novikov doesn’t try for authenticity, instead putting out unique pairings such as the Peking duck with caviar.

Order this: Roasted honey-truffle king crab leg and the kamameshi hot pot with sliced kobe, wild mushrooms and truffle.

Wynwood’s too-cool-for-school food hall includes two excellent Chinese spots, including an outpost of Broward OG Chinese eatery Gold Marquess, which serves plump dumplings in traditional bamboo steamer baskets. Make sure to leave room for Yip, where the menu includes a lineup of creatively stuffed dumplings and bao buns with everything from shrimp to dulce de leche.

Order this: An Asian-themed food hall, this is the choice when you’re in the mood for Chinese and your date wants equally great sushi or ramen.

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The crispy-skinned duck hanging in the window of this far-west Miami-Dade, takeout-only spot offers a clue of what to order from an otherwise extensive Cantonese menu. A couple of patio chairs out front mercifully offer a place for those of us who can’t even make it to the car before whatever manner of thing you got to top off with that sliced duck.

Order this: Congee and bao buns are the go-to here.

Pull up to Sang’s strip mall and you might think we steered you wrong (never!). Inside, you still might not be convinced, with an overly bright dining room that doesn’t exactly sell what’s coming. Then you order, the shrimp dumplings, the wok-fired beef and eggplant, the so-tender pork rolls. This is legit dim sum here, we know you’ll agree, and it’s served late on weekends until 4pm, perfect for those of us who consider brunch an all-day affair.

Order this: The steamed shrimp siu mai is absolute perfection and worth doubling up on. 

The Miami outpost of a famed international chain, Mr. Chow, is one of those iconic spots to see and be seen, with a glamorous dining room serving family-sized plates of Beijing cuisine. Expect noodles pulled in-house, at least one item you’ve most likely never tried before and better versions of dishes you’ve had a thousand times, like the signature chicken satay.

Order this: Mr. Chow, AKA Michael Chow, likes to boast that the place makes “the best prepared Beijing Duck in the world,” and who are we to disagree?

It’s Sunday, you’re hungover, and whatever you happen to be wearing right now will just have to do. So you’re going to Kon Chau, a strip mall dim sum joint consisting of some tables and chairs under a drop ceiling, with no decorations to distract. You’re here for the dim sum, which skips the confusion of rolling carts. Instead, your still-inebriated brain can select what it wants from a picture-book-style menu.

Order this: Authentic beef tripe, well-fried potstickers, and chicken feet in a bean sauce, which is perfect for sopping up with that last bit of roast pork roll.

David Grutman’s upscale Asian restaurant has a reputation for hosting celebrities, which is why he can charge the big bucks for Peking duck, wagyu beef dumplings and Chilean seabass skewers. If it’s a party you want, the scene-y spot certainly delivers the vibe and sometimes with the dishes.

Time Out tip: You’re going to want to dress nicely because you will be in the background of Instagram photos.

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There are those who define Chinese food as fried rice or pu pu platters. And then there are those who want roasted meats, like the ones put out at King Palace. There are Peking ducks hanging on hooks, of course, and also Cantonese char sui pork.

Order this: This is a spot best enjoyed with a group, ordering too many dishes that get piled onto a spinning centerpiece in large tables in what we’re pretty sure is an old Wendy’s.