Best Chinese Restaurants In and Around Los Angeles

It's no wonder that crowds are the norm here at peak hour, as meals have been known to render palates smitten, thanks to the likes of fiery oils, funky offal and numbing chilies. Yet there is restraint, with ingredients enhanced by a none-too-over smoky heat. From the menu's creative lingo to a host of familiar items, few will have tasted such bold and perfectly calibrated flavors. The “big mouth” ginger frog in a chili-soaked broth, for instance, is an extraordinary start; while mapo tofu, cold noodles and other myriad preparations go well beyond the usual renditions.

Proficient and accommodating, the staff here are happy to steer diners through the menu—a veritable tome—and wine list. Dishes are then turned out in a judicious manner, unveiling such stellar presentations as sweet and tender shell-on shrimp seasoned with dried red chilies along with more inventive combinations like braised sea cucumber with beef tendon and scallions. Neatly trimmed and gently seared New Zealand lamb chops arrive with lightly fried onions for a divine coupling, and may warrant an order of the perfectly fluffy shrimp fried rice with egg and bonito. Donning a joyous demeanor and buzzing with an appealing mix of diners, this elegant statesman in Temple City certainly feels like a special-occasion destination.

The beauty of dining at this eight-table noodle house is that you don’t have to guess what they’re good at—the menu is brief, and everything you really need to know is in the name. The kitchen focuses entirely on slinging noodles inspired by the cuisine of China’s famed Shanxi Province, so start with a chilled bowl of these gelatinous strands slathered with sesame-peanut sauce and the tingling heat of house-made chili oil, then move on to the slender “wife special” noodles, with their springy, toothsome texture mixing with bits of crisped pork belly and fermented soy sauce. While dumplings are absolutely worth the order, also keep room for savoring some of the chef’s special fried noodles.

 The menu here is concise, with half of the items dedicated to the eponymous specialty. Indeed this narrow hot spot has been a city-wide favorite since it opened in 2001, and continues to draw lines so long that servers leave a sign-in sheet outside. The secret to their success? Discipline. While many spots make dumplings ahead of time and freeze them, this kitchen starts fresh every morning. It’s best to begin slow with a tray of boiled pork and celery jiaozi—the wrapping smooth to the touch and boasting just the right amount of bite. Anything pan-fried, though, is the main draw. From juicy pork to fresh chives, these little parcels of goodness have few equals.

"Chifa" is a term referring to a delicious mashup of Peruvian and Chinese cuisines. The succinct menu pulls from family recipes and childhood memories to pack in flavor at every turn. Start easy with Japanese sea bream soaking in an orange and lime sauce, before moving on to char siu, starring pork cheek finished on a wood-fire grill—it's the stuff of barbecue dreams.