The best Chinese food in Miami, from dim sum to tableside duck

With his job skewered by pandemic lockdowns, chef Pablo Zitzmann got busy rolling dumplings he sold on Instagram—and they were nothing short of amazing. In May of 2021, he opened a hard-to-find Coral Gables dumpling house that's really so much more than that. There’s a beautiful and delicious persimmon salad, potstickers punched up by Calabrian chilis, and chicken wonton dumplings swimming in umami courtesy of a rich parmesan broth. It’s not the Chinese you ate as a kid or, honestly, the Chinese they eat in China, but, hot damn, it is great.

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

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While most Chinese restaurants in this country serve dishes from regions across a very vast country, this Lauderhill strip mall restaurant hones in on a western China province that specializes in the spicy and well-seasoned. This isn’t a place for watered-down versions of recipes, so follow the server’s advice. Order pork intestines sauteed with chilis, julienned potatoes in hot and sour sauce and crispy lamb crusted in cumin. The ambiance is equal parts charming and odd, like the leftover decorations and signage from the Cajun place that used to occupy the space and a massive screen behind the stage showing Chinese music videos.

Witnessing the transformation of the old Moe’s space is a reason to visit the new RedFarm in Coconut Grove alone. (You wouldn’t for a second think the modern, well-appointed restaurant was a dark, divey bar in its past life.) Though its menu of highly craveable interpretations of Chinese classics is the real reason you’re there. 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. Duck in several preparations and various noodle and rice dishes round out the offerings.

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. The cuisine combo makes it so there’s something for everyone on the menu, with a few dishes that are worth the trip alone, like the roasted honey-truffle king crab leg and the kamameshi hot pot with sliced kobe, wild mushrooms and truffle. Novikov doesn’t try for authenticity, instead putting out unique pairings such as the Peking duck with caviar.

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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 diving into congee or rice or bao buns or whatever manner of thing you got to top off with that sliced duck.

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, with dumplings ranging from steamed squid ink har gau with caviar to wok-fried soft shell crabs.

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.

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. 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?

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 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. Don’t miss the doughy sesame balls.

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

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 filled with authentic beef tripe, well-fried potstickers and chicken feet in a bean sauce perfect for sopping up with that last bit of roast pork roll.

David Grutman’s upscale Asian restaurant has a reputation as a place that hosts 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 with the vibe, and sometimes with the dishes.

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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. 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. 330 NE 167th St

A serviceable spot for lovers of Chinese and Japanese cuisine, this Pan-Asian spot has something for everyone in your party. Tanuki offers a ton of variety, especially in the dim sum department. Try dumplings stuffed with truffles, mushrooms, duck and other inventive fillings. Tanuki is about the only Chinese spot where you’ll want to save room for dessert. Order the green tea fondant with your main course (it takes about 25 minutes to prepare) and prepare to be wowed. Trust us.