Explore the Best Chinese Restaurants in Los Angeles

Los Angeles, with one of the largest diasporic Chinese populations outside Asia, is widely regarded as an epicenter for Chinese cuisine. Although the best Chinese restaurants are mostly concentrated in the ethnic enclaves of the San Gabriel Valley, there are increasingly more in neighborhoods throughout L.A., from historic Chinatown to the Westside. Read on for a list of the best Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles.

Originally from Taiwan, this critically acclaimed xiao long bao global chain has for years garnered a Michelin star for its Hong Kong branch. The setting at Din Tai Fung in Westfield Century City (10250 Santa Monica Blvd. Level 2, Century City) is sleek and stylish with dark wood and high ceilings, a minimalist take on Chinese interior design, with views of the Century City skyline in the backdrop. The Shanghainese-style dumplings are considered by many to be among the best in Los Angeles. The skin is ultra thin, so you can taste the moist ingredients with cabbage and protein perfectly intermingled within without feeling overpowered by the dough. The carefully minced ingredients within are splashed with just enough juice and flavor. The other dishes are expertly prepared as well, such as the fried rice, with each fleck of rice nicely separated from one another. The noodles are perfectly chewy with a bouncy consistency that taste just as good as those in any top restaurant in China. The boba milk tea, subtly sweet and infused with real tea, is exceptional.

Meizhou Dongpo (10250 Santa Monica Blvd. Level 2, Century City) has a gorgeous upscale setting inspired by Chinese aesthetics at Westfield Century City serving some of the most consistently tasty Sichuanese dishes in L.A. From the inside, you can see expert chefs with toques blanches (crisp white hats) meticulously preparing dishes behind a glass window in a stainless steel kitchen. One well-known dish here is Peking duck. It's carved carefully into thin slivers, with each piece of soft duck topped with crackling crisp brown skin. Dipped in a special thick sweet bean sauce and topped with strands of spring onion, Peking duck of this quality is difficult to reproduce. Scallops, each nicely tender and juicy, are presented in a row bathed in yellow clear gravy. With each bite, you can taste hints of the sea. The egg rolls are crisp and crackle on the skin. All the vegetable dishes are expertly prepared, flash fried in a wok to help lock in the natural aromas.

The first U.S. outpost of this famous Sichuanese hotpot chain from China, HaiDiLao in Westfield Santa Anita (400 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia) - and soon Westfield Century City - is legendary for its customer service and entertainment, serving quality meats, seafood and produce, which are available to dip in an array of first-rate sauces. Your server will whirl dough in a dance until it's shaped into noodles before being simmered in your own hot pot. The lines can be long but the restaurant is thoughtful enough to offer cups of lemon water for guests waiting in line. Once inside, you'll be pampered from start to finish. The veggies are exceptionally leafy and crisp. The meats are mouthwatering tender without tendons, making them some of the tastiest among hotpot restaurants in L.A.

Sichuan Impression (11057 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles) serves food that's as good as that in Sichuan itself, so you don't have to fly out to Chengdu. It's consistent in the execution of the dishes time and time again. The dish presentation is artfully arranged focused on simplicity and the ingredients themselves. A favorite is tea-smoked porked ribs whose flavor emits hints of the outdoors in each strand of pork. Each shred falls off the bone with the touch of a chopstick. There's perhaps nothing like it in L.A. of this caliber. The ma-po tofu is laced with enough red-hot chile oil to give it a nice kick, all of which should be paired with the contrast of white rice. The sausage is salty yet not overly so, just enough to wake up your senses, with a blend of spices to throw chills down your spine. The white fillets of fish, bobbing up and about a sea of spicy soup, are super tender like elongated bits of melted butter. 

Opened in 1977, Yang Chow (819 N. Broadway, Los Angeles) is always near the top of L.A.'s best Chinese restaurant lists. The specialty at Yang Chow is Sichuan-Mandarin cuisine, which is heavy on thick sauces and of the type that is typically prepared in Chinese restaurants that many Americans know of. The decor features pattern-laced red carpets and walls with Chinese landscape paintings depicting mist-shrouded mountains. Dozens of celebrity pictures of those that dined here are on the wall. The famous slippery shrimp is salty and tangy - the shrimp is plump and juicy, as are the scallop dishes. The ingredients at this restaurant are top-notch, but expect dishes that cater to American palates.

For a long time, authentic Chinese fare in L.A. was only available in the San Gabriel Valley and Chinatown. With Northern Cafe's expansion into key West L.A. areas from Brentwood to Westwood (1064 Gayley Ave., Los Angeles), consistently reliable Chinese fare like noodles and dumplings are now available west of Downtown L.A. Expect reasonable prices for authentic dishes designed for Chinese palates.

Sea Harbour (3939 Rosemead Blvd., Rosemead) is widely regarded as one of the best Cantonese and dim sum restaurants in Southern California. Its specialty is seafood, much of it live and plucked fresh from clear gurgling tanks. The cooking is light and subtly flavored, unlike some Chinese restaurants that can overdo the saltiness and the sauces. The bustling restaurant feels like it's been imported straight out of Hong Kong, with tanks filled with crab and fish and tables over orange-red carpeting. Indeed, the food can match the quality and freshness of the cuisine found in many Cantonese eateries in China.

Chongqing-style noodles and soups are the specialties served at Mian (301 W. Valley Blvd. #114, San Gabriel). The quality of the food is consistently excellent like ZaJiang noodles, topped with a fried egg and few bits of bok choy. The hand-pulled noodles, tossed over a spicy bean sauce with ground pork, are perfectly chewy. Sichuan cold noodles are also an absolute must if you like spicy fare. For appetizers, thin slices of beef imbedded with green garnishes and chili are powerful enough to make your eyes water. The decoration is minimalist with black floors and chairs. Lines are usually long on weekends, so be prepared to wait. The crowd is mostly 20 and 30-something ethnic Chinese chatting in Mandarin. 

Come to Lunasia Chinese Cuisine (500 W. Main St., Alhambra) for Hong Kong-style dim sum, in addition to an array of traditional Chinese dishes. On the weekends, expect the hours-long wait in what is perhaps one of the top dim sum restaurants in L.A. The wait will be worth it. Plump shrimp har-gow is a must. The skin is wrapped perfectly around the jumbo morsels of shrimp. The BBQ pork bun is heavenly - the sticky shiny bun, coated with a glossy layer of sugar, melts once you bite into it. The quality is comparable to top dim sum houses in Hong Kong. Pan-fried turnip cake is perfectly executed so that the outer layer is crisp, a lovely contrast to the soft inside. The rice noodle roll has tender shrimp that seems about to burst out of the slippery rice roll.   

Lines can be long on the weekend at Beijing Tasty House (172 E. Valley Blvd., San Gabriel) but rest assured, your time will be worth it. Some of the most authentic food from Northern China is served here in a setting graced with many pictures of modern skyscraper-laced Beijing. House fried tofu is a standout, infused with savory natural flavors, along with sizzling scallops with vegetables. The pancake with green onion is perfectly crisp, shattering with flakes with each bite. The Beijing roasted duck is a signature dish paired with spring onion and bean sauce.
 

Since Din Tai Fung took the Chinese culinary scene up a notch outside San Gabriel Valley in the past few years, the recently opened Dan Modern Chinese (The Commons - 146 S. Lake Ave. #105, Pasadena) suggests that really good authentic Chinese food is increasingly becoming more popular outside Chinese enclaves in Los Angeles. Expect authentic dumplings and noodles here in a spare and modern setting, where you can see chefs work on their expertise in a stainless steel kitchen behind a huge glass window. The signature dish is the pork and blue crab xiao long bao bursting with a flood of savory juices and a thicker if not chewier wrapping than the Din Tai Fung version. An excellent dish is crispy pork and blue crab dumplings, perfectly executed to have a crunchy outer coating yet contrasted with soft inner fillings. The fried dumplings have just enough oil to give them a nice moist texture.
 

The food at Hunan Mao (8728 Valley Blvd., Rosemead) is as good as that in China, especially the traditional Hunan dishes like smoked ham. The dishes, from fried rice to pork with hot pepper, are lavished with spices, with enough punch to make your eyes water. They're not for the faint of heart. It's best if you drink enough water and scoop up enough white rice to counterbalance the authentic yet super spicy foods here.