The 25 Best Chinese Restaurants in Los Angeles

Chef Fu

This Monterey Park strip mall restaurant calls itself “new Szechuan,” but its menu goes beyond the Sichuan province. (The namesake Chef Fu hails from Henan, a province in north central China.) That means Hunan stir-fried pork with thinly sliced belly, jalapeños, and preserved black beans, or fried lamb with fragrant cumin reminiscent of Xinjiang. At the restaurant, you’re given a mortar and pestle to pound preserved eggs with eggplant and pepper, but that’s easy to DIY at home to fully integrate the flavors.

Chengdu Taste

In 2013 chef Tony Xu and business partner Sean Xie opened this Alhambra restaurant, serving flavorful, tongue-tingling dishes showered with Sichuan peppercorns and chilies and fanning a renewed interest in Sichuan cuisine. And they’re still going strong with these hits: boiled fish filets with green pepper sauce (more like a soup but still potent); deep-fried chicken chunks, available boneless or bone-in, covered in dried chilies; and mapo tofu that pulses with málà heat. Extinguish the flames with tamer dishes, like sweet and sour cabbage and Chengdu-style fried rice, and plenty of plum juice.

Colette

This Pasadena restaurant previously focused on U.S.-style brunch before pivoting to Cantonese cuisine under chef Peter Lai. Sure, the kitchen churns out classics like salt and pepper pork chops and beef chow fun, but its best dishes are the rarer ones. Try the deep-fried rice rolls with spicy, umami-rich XO sauce and chayote sautéed with savory minced pork and pickled olives. But the showstopper — and must-order — is the crispy stuffed chicken: air-dried chicken that’s deboned and seasoned with a layer of shrimp paste beneath the crackled skin.

Arroz & Fun

Owner Rica Leon and her brother (and noted fashion designer) Humberto came up through restaurants in Lima, Peru; they’ve carried on the family tradition of Cantonese Peruvian food (also known as chifa) at their stellar Lincoln Heights restaurant. Here, the playful menu reflects their heritage. Think bolo bao, fluffy pineapple buns with crackly tops that resemble the fruit, in egg-and-cheese breakfast sandwiches; Hatch chili cheeseburgers with herbaceous ají sauce; and comforting pollo guisado served over rice. Don’t miss the pumpkin congee and crispy shrimp egg rolls from the family matriarch, Wendy Leon.

Din Tai Fung

This Taipei-born dumpling juggernaut debuted in Arcadia in 2000 and now has four locations in Century City, Glendale, and Torrance (as well as many worldwide). Its steamed xiao long bao (soup dumplings) are filled with either Kurobuta pork, pork and crab, or chicken, sealed with the signature 18 pleats, and rightly renowned. (You can also get sweet versions with molten chocolate and mochi or earthy taro.) The team’s deft dough work also shines in spicy shrimp and pork wontons and steamed Kurobuta pork buns, but the fried rice with shrimp, peppery fried pork chops, and greens with light garlic are essential to any DTF order. 

Dolan's Uyghur Restaurant

Owner Bughra Arkin is from Xinjiang province, where he learned to cook from his mother and grandmother. At his Alhambra spot, which expanded to Rowland Heights, Arkin channels the matriarchs. He adds meaty kebabs to noodles slicked in a tangy ginger, garlic, and chile sauce, and stuffs naan with peppery beef and lamb. You can also find manta, steamed Uyghur-style dumplings brimming with either minced pumpkin or diced beef and onion, and bone-in “big plate” chicken hunks served with flat, hand-pulled noodles in a spicy red sauce. For dessert, consider tangy homemade yogurt with crushed walnuts and honey.

Ho Kee Cafe

At this Cantonese cafe with outposts in San Gabriel Valley and Arcadia, you can enjoy juicy, fat-rimmed roast duck and Hong-Kong-style noodle soup with delicate shrimp wontons. This is restaurateur Ricky Zheng’s tribute to his upbringing in Zhongshan, a city in Guangdong province across the Pearl River from Hong Kong. He tapped his older brothers to be the chefs (his sister is Wendy Leon of Arroz & Fun). They prepare food true to the region: fried rice threaded with king crab, minced pork with blistered string beans, and flaky steamed cod.

Hui Tou Xiang Noodles House

One look at these rectangular dumplings, and you know you’re in for a delicious meal, courtesy of this northern Chinese restaurant, with locations in San Gabriel Valley and Hollywood. Along with the signature pork hui tou, which are filled with juicy pork or beef and are pan fried to crisp perfection, be sure to order the luscious pork and leek pancakes, “dry” (or soupless) egg and tomato noodles, and braised meatball noodle soup with big scallion-flecked beef meatballs bobbing in chicken broth.

Jade Wok

It’s worth ordering from this homestyle Chinatown restaurant just for the house special bean curd, which is now proudly promoted as the “best tofu in town.” Soft in the middle and puffed up outside, the two substantial slabs of tofu come slathered in a thick sauce made with black beans, ground pork, mushrooms, and house secrets. Sautéed string beans, salt and pepper pork chops with jalapeños, and sweet and sour Shanghai-style spareribs are other favorites.

Ji Rong Peking Duck

This Rosemead spot just may take the crown for best Beijing-style Peking duck in L.A. Ji Rong’s version arrives beautifully packed in a compartmentalized box that preserves the juicy meat and crispy skin with detailed reheating instructions in English and Chinese. Note: Ji Rong needs 75 minutes notice to prepare the bird. The restaurant also serves supercharged vegetables, including sprouting cauliflower “spicy hot pot” with preserved pork and sautéed special mushrooms. Round out your meal with the crispy yellow croaker, featuring five flaky, bone-in fish that are lightly battered, simply seasoned, and deep-fried.

Little Pan

If you haven’t had some sheng jian bao, a cross between a soup dumpling and a bao, put Little Pan’s version on your must-try list. Business owner Vicky Liu is from Shandong and grew up traveling to Shanghai to eat these pan-fried buns. She now draws on those formative experiences at her spots across from USC and Exposition Park and in Rowland Heights, where she took over the old Changsha Fever. Her sheng jian bao are textbook perfect: fluffy up top and crispy below and available with fillings like house special pork or shrimp with leeks and pork. You can also get mini pan-fried buns with chili sauce. If you’re in the mood for an all-dumpling meal, get the colorful boiled dumpling combo, with Spanish mackerel (red); beef and cabbage (yellow); pork and cabbage (purple); and shrimp, leek, and pork (green).

Luscious Dumplings

Matriarch Grace Li grew up in Shenyang, a northern Chinese province renowned for dumplings, and this Monrovia spot, now run by her daughter Michelle Wu and husband, Ker Zhu, lives up to its name. You can enjoy them boiled, steamed, and pan-fried, though the pork dumplings with a caramelized coating are essential. Don’t skip the soups, like the pork and pickle noodle soup with sliced pork tenderloin, pickled mustard green, and baby bok choy; or the hearty beef noodle soup, which comes with Angus chuck roll or tender, collagen-rich beef tendon. Pro tip: Ask for the house-made chili oil for a spicy kick.

Malan Noodles

The draw of this Beijing-based restaurant chain with a popular outpost in Hacienda Heights is the hand-pulled noodles. You can enjoy them four ways: small round, medium round, large round, and medium flat. The flat noodles pair especially well with house specials chicken with spicy sauce and fried lamb chunks with peppers and onions. For chow mein purists, Malan Noodles cranks out a textbook take, best with shrimp, chicken, and beef.

Masons Dumpling Shop

Owners Wu and Zhu built on the success of Luscious Dumplings with this fast-casual restaurant in Highland Park. It’s still very much a family affair: They named the spot after their son. Here you can find one-of-a-kind buns and dumplings, like steamed buns filled with either Angus beef or stewed pork belly; and pan-fried beef, cheese, and onion dumplings with lacy Jack cheese edges. On the latter, be careful with that first bite: These dumplings squirt juice.

Me + Crepe

This global chain, with a location in Old Pasadena, specializes in jianbing, flaky Chinese-style crepes coated with egg and black sesame seeds that are brimming with scallions, cilantro, and crispy wonton sheets. They complement the creative fillings: “golden tuna” salad with corn and imitation crab; Peking duck co-starring with classic accompaniments like cucumber, scallions, and savory soybean paste; and thin-shaved beef and melted cheese. Be sure to order the sweet olive tofu in a hot water bath sweetened with sugar and goji berries, a sleeper hit of a dessert.

Meet Qin Noodle

This Alhambra noodle house features Shaanxi-inspired comfort food, which means lots of hand-pulled, broad, chewy noodles known as biang biang. Try the 3-in-1 biang biang, a savory triple threat with three sauces: sizzling oil, egg tomato gravy, and judiciously spicy Qishan-style minced pork. They also serve Chinese “burgers,” sturdy buns you can stuff with beef or minced pork (though they’re best with cumin lamb). Lamb lovers should also consider the grilled cumin-dusted kebabs and PaoMo, diced pita and lamb soup.

Ms. Chi

At this colorful downtown Culver City cafe, Top Chef Season 14 runner-up Shirley Chung riffs on the dishes she grew up eating in Beijing, along with playful updates on Chinese American fare. That means jumbo cheeseburger potstickers with crispy cheddar frico on top and bacon tomato jam on the side. The lou rou mein resembles more rainbow than noodle dish: thick egg noodles topped with pork belly ragù and purple cabbage, pickled mustard greens, and shelled edamame. You can also find steak and broccoli in black pepper sauce and tea-smoked duck with steamed buns, as well as mochi doughnuts. The latter isn’t traditional Chinese fare, but still satisfies with black sesame sugar and matcha glazes.

Noodle Art

Restaurateur Steven Zhang, who hails from Xi’an, promises “dinner and a show” at this Monterey Park restaurant. The chefs there, led by Peifang Zhang (the father) and Yongge Du (the uncle), make these wide noodles to order and are best with three toppings: braised pork with diced potatoes and carrots, tomato with egg, and pickled string beans with bean sprouts. Other popular noodle preparations include stir-fried noodles with cumin beef or mutton, braised beef noodle soup, and summer-friendly cold noodles with sesame sauce or chili oil.

Pine & Crane

Chef-owner Vivian Ku expanded her Taiwanese culinary vision from Silver Lake to a larger Downtown L.A. location with some exclusive-to-the-location small plates and soups. Look out for niu rou mian, hearty Taiwanese beef noodle soup bobbing with tender shank and mustard greens, and steamed clamshell buns cradling either braised pork belly or tofu. Don’t skip the Taiwanese popcorn chicken bites with Thai basil and the crispy rice cakes and mushroom, served delightfully with long toothpicks.

Sichuan Impression

Chef Yang Liu relocated her original restaurant to this more stylish Alhambra space, and she brought along her signature dishes: green bean jelly noodles submerged in chili oil, boneless fish filet in a piquant pickled vegetable noodle soup with vermicelli, and tea-smoked pork ribs showered with dried chilis, scallions, and crushed peanuts. Balance out all the spice with playful desserts like the refreshing “school yard” ice jelly with fresh watermelon, brown sugar syrup, rice wine, and mint.

Tian You Feng Dumpling House

Business owners Tony and Lucy Xu debuted their Dongbei-inspired restaurant in West Covina right before the pandemic. The couple has made a name for themselves thanks to their strong dumpling game. They skillfully prepare xiao long bao, which they call juicy pork dumplings, and form pan-fried pork dumplings so they’re open at both ends and sport thin, crispy skirts. Spicy shrimp and pork wontons and pan-fried pork buns (sheng jian bao) are also popular. Technically, the menu extends beyond dumplings, but those are the clear stars.

Wangjia

This San Gabriel Valley restaurant doesn’t have social media, but owner Lulu Luo and her husband, chef Jack Ma, have earned a local following. Ma has tweaked recipes he grew up eating in Shanghai. Rice cakes get the star treatment, stir-fried with shepherd’s purse greens and pork, or paired with Dungeness crab in tangy brown sauce. Add on stir-fried shrimp, tender braised bamboo shoots with shredded pork, and salty pork and vegetable fried rice for the full Wangjia experience.

Woon

Julie Chen always dreamed of opening a restaurant, and with her son Keegan Fong, she launched a pop-up noodle cart that led to this Historic Filipinotown spot. Woon, or “bowl” in Cantonese, is probably best known for the thick, chewy noodles stir-fried with either marinated flank steak or mushrooms, and this dish is a banger. Chen, or Mama Fong, as she’s known, also excels at deep-frying, whether you’re getting the five-spice chicken wings or tofu cakes stuffed with fish paste.

Xi an

This City of Industry gem has mastered Shaanxi-style handmade noodles: They sing in braised meat and alongside stir-fried cumin lamb, cabbage, onion, and green pepper. Note that “pita” here isn’t what you may expect. Instead, this dish centers on dough chunks that are seared and then served in a broth with tender mutton, vermicelli, and wood ear mushrooms. And “burgers” are a different matter entirely, with hefty baked buns with stir-fried beef or lamb with cumin.

Yang's Kitchen

While chef Chris Yang and co-owner Maggie Ho pull from their Chinese and Taiwanese heritages, they also lean on Japanese flavors and local farmers’ markets for their distinctive menu at this downtown Alhambra spot. Case in point: creamy locally made Meiji tofu crowned with trout roe, avocado, and house-made ponzu. Or Zumi’s loco moco, a nod to Hawai’i, with a breaded and fried beef patty, napa cabbage kraut, cherry tomato confit, and mushroom gravy. There are classic Chinese dishes, like braised tofu, cold sesame noodles, and salt and pepper chicken wings, for those with nostalgic hankerings. The thin, lacy cornmeal mochi pancakes are made for sharing.