The best Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles

This sprawling restaurant in Alhambra offers refined made-to-order dim sum all day, every day. Along with cast-iron teapots full of steaming jasmine tea, Lunasia Chinese Cuisine serves their famous steamed and baked bites including giant pork shumai, plump har gow and fluffy BBQ pork buns. You’d be remiss not to try the dim sum house’s dessert offerings as well, like the almond milk tea, a show-stopping dish of hot, sweet almond milk covered by a flaky puff pastry top. You won’t find the traditional push carts, but it’s always an energetic scene filled with families, friends and dates. Don’t want to brave the crowds in Alhambra? There are newer locations in Pasadena, Cerritos and Torrance, with slightly smaller menus—if you’re just looking for a quick dim sum hit.

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 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.

You probably know the name by now: Din Tai Fung is the xiaolongbao mecca that started in Taiwan and now has locations in Arcadia, Glendale, Century City and Torrance. Each soup dumpling is meticulously made, resulting in lovely, thin-skinned pouches filled with savory pork—there are shrimp and veggie options, too, but you’ll want to go with the pork—and hot broth; eat with a dab of soy sauce, vinegar and ginger, slurping the dumpling’s soup carefully when you begin. Small plates of noodles, rice dishes and stir-fried vegetables round out the menu, but the stars are the dumplings, some of which you can top with slices of truffle.

Quality dim sum at this seafood specialist ensures there’s always a bit of a wait, but the above-average fare (truffle-laced shumai, Chinese celery dumplings, shiso-fried duck kidneys) will force you to choose carefully when it’s time to order from the encyclopedic menus. Watch hot dishes flying out of the kitchen as you consider the lengthy selection of steamed buns, dumplings and a variety of abalone dishes, some fetching $100 a serving. A few favorites here include pork fried dumplings, deep-fried tofu in abalone sauce, and fried durian pastry.

Whether you're in Highland Park (Joy), Silver Lake or Downtown L.A., Vivian Ku's beloved Eastside-ish restaurants bring a new-school spin to Taiwanese and Chinese classics like thousand-layer-pancake sandwiches, mapo tofu rice bowls and comforting bowls of wonton soup. Extremely affordable (most items run under $12) and hyper flavorful, 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 Chinese food within convenient driving distance of much of the city proper.

Given the concentration of outstanding Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, it says something when a particularly tasty dim sum meal stands out—and does it for so long. Elite Restaurant is located in a small strip mall in Monterey Park, and has, for years, remained a top dim sum house in L.A. If you’re looking to try their shumai or flaky and buttery egg tarts, be prepared to wait. It’s well worth it, however; Elite makes their dishes to order, and each one comes out piping hot. The spacious restaurant offers a picture-laden menu with chef recommendations like the dragon’s eggplant and honey walnut shrimp.

Though its name might conjure up images of New England lobster rolls, this small Vietnamese-Chinese SGV strip mall spot sells 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.” While the rest of the 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.

Sometimes, the best Chinese restaurant is the one closest to you—and with 16 locations across Los Angeles, including the Westside, Beverly Grove, Hollywood, the South Bay and the San Gabriel Valley, this seriously underrated mini-chain puts first-rate 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 L.A.'s competitive Chinese dining scene. 

Diner’s choice rules the day at the mall-anchored Haodilao Hot Pot, 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.

Note: With walk-in waits stretching past the two hour mark on peak nights at both of Haodilao’s Westfield Santa Anita and Century City locations, it’s best to make a reservation ahead of time.

Known and loved for its affordable Taiwanese breakfast menu, Huge Tree Pastry is a no-frills spot in a Monterey Park strip mall that offers several excellent budget-friendly dishes, including fantuan: bundles of sweet purple or white wrapped around scrambled egg, fried youtiao (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). Note: Cash only.

Famous across the Southland for their shengjianbao (pan-fried Shanghainese 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, like a mini shrimp wonton soup and Suzhou-style fresh pork mooncakes, that keep locals in the know coming back time and time again.

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 noodles—a homestyle Chinese comfort food.

The husband-and-wife team of Alan Lam and Grace Li built a cozy dumpling destination with goods that live up to the name. Before you have a chance to choose from the variety of jiaozi, every table receives a complimentary dish of peanuts, celery and firm tofu tossed in chili oil. Along with choosing boiled, steamed or pan-fried dumplings, guests can opt for the noodle soups and rice bowls. For those looking for a little Luscious outside of Monrovia, Highland Park’s Mason’s Dumpling Shop offers a more limited menu, albeit the same dumplings, as its sibling restaurant in the deep SGV.

This Shanghainese institution in the San Gabriel Valley is known for its fantastic soup dumpling. Both their crab and pork-stuffed varieties re top-sellers. The skin is nicely supple but tough enough to hold the ball of meat and surrounding soup without easily tearing. They also have a great dish known as seaweed fish in English. It’s a dish similar to fish and chips, but flakier, with more fish and it’s served with a fresh slice of lemon on top. 

This Michelin-recognized casual spot with a sleekly modern interior specializes in Shanghainese cuisine, where fresh seafood and sweet rice vinegar make regular appearances. Given its menu spanning over 150 dishes, we wouldn’t blame you for not knowing what to order. However, a tender steamed chicken in a Shaoxing wine sauce and the namesake Shanghai rice cake are surefire bets for a first-time visitor, as well as a whole tilapia lightly fried in a tempura-like seaweed batter. For dessert, try the sliced up red bean pancake or highly filling eight treasure rice.

Mala—the unique numbing and spicy quality of Sichuan peppers—remains the ultimate name of the game at Mian, the second 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. 

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 O.G. 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.

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 ’77 and now serves a menu of more than 100 items, with a particular focus on Mandarin and Sichuan cuisine. While the slippery shrimp is the icon, customers 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 a branch in Pasadena as well.

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. 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.

With locations in Pasadena, Santa Monica, Playa Vista, Sawtelle, Manhattan Beach and Woodhland Hills, 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 pork xiaolongbao, the saucy, garlicky dan mien (served with your choice of protein) and the Dungeness crab fried rice keep us coming back to Dan time and time again. 

What started as a charming mother-and-son pop-up is now a mother-and-son brick-and-mortar, bringing generational Chinese recipes from Julie and Keegan Fong to Historic Filipinotown. Head to Woon for perfectly chewy pan-fried noodles, pork-packed steamed buns and Chinese-sausage–flecked fried rice. The menu here is streamlined and the vibe is quirky and casual, with small plates, salads and shareables made from local farmers’ market produce and cold-pressed teas to wash it all down. They’ve even started their own in-house line of sauces, bottling “Mama’s Way” hot sauce and “Wok Legend” seasoning salt so you can recreate that generational Woon magic at home.

Known for its pan-fried Shanghai pork buns and beef noodle soup, this local mini chain now has a location on Sawtelle as well as Lomita, Cerritos and its original outpost in San Gabriel. While ambience varies among all four Tasty Noodle Houses, what stays consistent are the restaurant’s doughy, sesame seed-flecked pork buns, as well as its salt and pepper pork chops and homestyle soup dumplings.