Chefs' Favorite Chinese Restaurants in the U.S.

Frequently name-dropped by writer, TV host and bad-boy chef Anthony Bourdain, this traditional Cantonese restaurant—complete with seafood tanks in the dining room—also gets high marks with the city’s locals. F&W Best New Chef 2012 Corey Lee of Benu frequents R&G for the salt-and-pepper crab, Three Treasure eggplant, and winter melon soup. “The crab is understandably the most popular dish on the menu,” he says. “Local Dungeness crab is battered and fried in the shell, resulting in a briny-sweet-crispy-moist, heavily seasoned dish.” rnglounge.com

“I love the soup dumplings at RedFarm,” says chef-owner Anita Lo of NYC’s Annisa. “The wrappers are thin and deceptively strong and pliant so they don't accidentally break when you pick them up to eat them.” Piercing them reveals a rich broth, “full of umami with a Shaoxing (a traditional Chinese wine) backdrop that reminds me of something my mother made when I was growing up. When dipped in a little black vinegar and ginger, you get a lovely balance of flavors that makes you want more. Luckily, they come in a steamer basket of four.” redfarmnyc.com

“This is the place I would go late at night after getting off work,” says Momofuku owner and restaurateur David Chang. “Their ginger scallion noodles are the inspiration for our version at Noodle Bar.” greatnynoodletown.com

“Danny Bowien and his team are legends,” says Momofuku’s David Chang. Here, Bowien serves what he calls “weird Chinese food”: spicy and tasty Chinese-inspired dishes pummeled with plenty of Sichuan peppercorns. “Enjoy the free beer from a keg while you wait for a table, then go for the BBQ pig’s tails,” says Chang. Oddball cocktails like one made with shochu, cantaloupe juice, soymilk and yuzu are a tasty alternative to beer. missionchinesefood.com

“I have been going here since I moved to New York City eight years ago,” says chef-owner Joe Ogrodnek of Brooklyn’s Battersby. He and co-chef Walker Stern both love the restaurant’s crispy shredded beef, but Ogrodnek can’t get enough of the crab and pork soup dumplings: “They’re always amazing, and probably the menu item that made Joe’s famous,” he says. “Just be careful when eating, because the liquid inside is always extremely hot.” joeshanghairestaurants.com

“The chef here has a Cantonese sensibility honed by years of working in high-end Singapore hotels,” says owner Ed Schoenfeld of New York City’s RedFarm. “His audience is a sophisticated Chinese foodie community, and the menu skews toward authentic flavors, creative and elaborate preparations.” Diners, surrounded by tanks of various sea creatures, come for the Pride of Lucky Eight, a signature dish of stir-fried chives, crunchy Chinese celery, rehydrated shiitake, meaty abalone and shreds of dried scallop. 5204 Eighth Ave., (718) 851-8862

“They offer eight varieties of their fantastic dumplings, all made to order. One of my favorite dishes is the Sliced Fish Szechuan Style,” says celebrity chef-owner of Wellesley, MA’s Blue Ginger, Ming Tsai. “It’s made with mala sauce, which in Chinese literally translates to ‘numbing hot.’ I love the mouthfeel. I have to also mention the sautéed Chinese watercress with garlic—I can’t go too long without having this. And one of the most incredible things about Gourmet Dumpling House is that you don’t have to spend much more than $15 a head!” gourmetdumpling.com

Chinese dishes are rarely vegetarian, but chef Joanne Chang of Boston’s incredible modern Chinese spot Myers + Chang heads to the Theater District for this spot’s excellent, meatless ma po tofu. “It’s just chunks of silky tofu in a chile oil and bean paste sauce with scallions. Over rice, it’s the best dinner ever.” taiwancafeboston.com

This restaurant is especially fantastic for large groups—all six locations offer a 12-dish menu starting at $20 per person. Dishes might include cold, spicy beef tripe, a favorite of chef Michael Solomonov of Philadephia’s Zahav. “It’s prepared so well, non-tripe eaters don’t even ask what it is,” he says. handynasty.net

“This is a place I grew up eating at with my family,” says chef Erik-Bruner Yang of Washington, DC’s superb Taiwanese joint Toki Underground. “Now my wife and I frequent it quite often, too." His go-to dishes include Taiwanese-style dan dan mein—noodles tossed in sesame-peanut sauce, chile oil and scallions—and fen zheng pai gu, vinegar-chile-marinated pork ribs steamed with sweet potatoes and five-spice broken rice (grains that have cracked during processing). aj-restaurant.com

“I have a soft spot for Peking Gourmet,” says Top Chef: Texas winner and chef-owner of Austin’s East Side King, Paul Qui. “I loved eating Peking duck there with my folks and watching old Chinese men carve out the most perfect skin with a giant cleaver, while leaving the fat on the meat. It’s one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the country.” pekinggourmet.com

Top Chef alum Dale Talde of Brooklyn, New York’s Talde and Pork Slope always makes sure to get the duck and roast pig at this uptown Chicago spot, because “these guys do Chinese BBQ right. Just add a little scallion, ginger relish, white rice and some Chinese broccoli and you’re all set.” For adventurous eaters, an insider’s menu can be found on the restaurant’s Facebook page, and daily specials are always scribbled in marker on paper plates nailed to the wall in the dining room. sunwahbbq.com

Chef and co-owner Justin Yu of Houston’s Oxheart loves heading here for authentic Chinese food whenever he’s on the city’s Chinatown “strip.” Oddly enough, “It’s actually not a Shanghainese restaurant,” he says. “It’s a Cantonese restaurant where the family never bothered to change the name when they bought the business. It’s really great for traditional Cantonese food: Ong choy with shrimp paste, dry stir-fried beef chow fun, fried rice with salted fish, and they have the most amazing salt-toasted spareribs. Each piece is super-crunchy, juicy, with little bits of umami speckled throughout.” 9116 Bellaire Blvd.; (713) 988-7288

“A great choice for late night food,” says Oxheart’s Justin Yu. “It’s greasy and perfect after a night of drinking. They have flash-fried spicy green beans, and excellent green onion pancakes that have the right bit of grease and crispness to them—and, of course, loads of green onions. It’s one of Houston’s better places for soup dumplings as well.” 9889 Bellaire Blvd. #105; (713) 981-8818

Most restaurants in the city pre-roast their Peking duck, but at this small strip mall storefront, the duck—which must be reserved an hour in advance—is made to order and carved tableside. While waiting for the main event, crispy duck wings tossed with hot pepper and garlic “are an excellent way to kill the time,” says Chris Shepherd of Houston’s Underbelly, “They’re some of the best duck wings I’ve ever had.” 9888 Bellaire Blvd.; (713) 995-9982

“I come here for the chicken wings and black bean noodles,” says F&W BNC 2012 and chef Corey Lee of San Francisco’s Benu. “This is the kind of Chinese food that’s common in Korea so I’m really partial to it. No one in the city does crispy, glazed chicken wings better.” San Tung’s signature wings are deep fried and tossed in a spicy-sweet garlic sauce with ginger and roasted red peppers. santungrestaurant.com

“My favorite dishes here sound boring, but taste exciting,” explains chef Sang Yoon of L.A.-based restaurants Father’s Office and Lukshon. “Go for the beef roll and eggplant rice. The roll just looks like a wrap or burrito filled with marinated beef brisket and a ton of cilantro stems, but it’s super-flavorful and it’s what everyone orders here. The eggplant rice is a very simple dish: The eggplant is cooked down until it’s very soft, almost into a paste, then combined with ground pork and just spooned over steamed rice.” 1408 E. Valley Blvd.; (626) 300-8654

“This storefront-style dim sum joint just off 82nd Avenue on Division (Portland’s de facto Chinatown) is one of the best choices for Chinese food in Portland,” says chef-restaurateur Andy Ricker of Portland-based chainlet Pok Pok. “There are just a few tables and atmosphere is nonexistent, but they make some of—if not the—best BBQ meats in the city. Their BBQ pork is the best I have tried for sure; the duck is likewise excellent and the roast pig is exemplary.” 8350 S.E. Division St.; (503) 771-0812

“Joyful House looks like a typical Chinese restaurant,” explains Jordan Kahn of L.A.’s Red Medicine. “It’s enormous, with a lazy Susan on every table, live seafood, et cetera. But it’s absolutely incredible. For my birthday last year, my girlfriend and I drove the four hours to Las Vegas from L.A. to eat here.” He recommends the Peking duck on presentation alone: “First is the breast is carved table-side and served in steamed buns with hoisin, cucumber and scallion. Then they ask you what you’d like prepared with the legs.” Go for the crystal lettuce wraps with chopped leg and thigh meat, cooked with water chestnuts, chili and fermented black beans. And don’t miss the chili crab and salt-and-pepper lobster. They’re “two of the best dishes ever, just epic.” joyfulhouselv.com

Formerly Henan Flavor, this small storefront in Manhattan’s Chinatown is one of Mission Chinese Food chef-owner Danny Bowien’s favorite haunts for excellent Chinese food in the city. “They do this ‘Big Tray of Chicken’ with pieces of fried chicken that have been braised in beer, chile, fennel and Sichuan peppercorns,” he says. “You have to get them to put their handmade pulled noodles on top. That’s the best thing in the whole world.” 68B Forsyth St.; (212) 625-8299

“It’s not a fine dining restaurant; they offer home-style Chinese food so it is simply prepared with great care,” explains Pichet Ong of NYC’s Sugar and Plumm. “It’s the style of cooking you would get if you visited someone’s home anywhere in Asia who has a home chef.” There is no menu here; instead customers are asked to decide on a per-person spending budget to determine which seasonal small plates will be provided for the table. 680 Clay St.; (415) 981-7438