Good Chinese in Atlanta

[JAZ]

Having lived in San Francisco for 20 years, I got used to good (or at least acceptable) Chinese food in almost every neighborhood I lived in. Now that I've moved, I'm beginning to miss it. I'm sure there are good Chinese restaurants in Atlanta, but I don't know where to start. Certainly I get fliers almost every day for take-out places, but the only place in my neighborhood that I've seen -- a former IHOP on North Ave -- doesn't look very promising.

Can anyone help me out? It'd be great to hear about places in Midtown, but for good enough food, I'll travel.

[markemorse]

Hey Janet....

I think you'll have to go up to Buford Highway for the real deal....intown, Hong Kong Harbor on Cheshire Bridge was my local for a long time and it's better than average (and open late)...but still not anything like somewhere like Little Szechwan on Bu. hiway....

good luck, please post any great finds here!

mark

[therese]

Chinese is a real weak spot in the Atlanta Asian dining scene, and apart from dim sum we don't even bother. And I frankly wouldn't eat any of the Chinese food in Midtown if you paid me.

Tasty China in Marietta (yes, Marietta, and yes it's a very, very long way from where you live) has gotten some very good reviews. I've been once, with Chinese friends who'd been and enjoyed it, but our meal was, frankly, not up to par, and our hosts were clearly embarrassed (and resigned to cooking at home when they want to treat us to Chinese food).

[JAZ]

Dim sum options are good -- what places do you like?

[therese]

Dim sum places that we keep in rotation are Oriental Pearl (you can see pictures of it from my eG foodblog here), Happy Valley, Canton House, and China Delight. We used to go to Hong Kong Harbor, but haven't been in a while.

Dim sum restaurants in Atlanta tend to vary according to, well, I'm not sure, but typically one of them is better than the others on any particular week. I'm pretty sure that Canton House has been offering evening dim sum, not traditional but convenient if you feel like dim sum.

Edited May 29, 2007 by therese (log)

[ROWDY]

Therese, nice pics on your blog.

It is seems in Atlanta that (nearly all) restaurants seem to be consistently inconsistent... and dim sum restaurants are a classic example.

Canton house is the cleanest and "flashiest" but not my personal fave although good. All listed by Therese are commonly quoted as good dim sum, and I like them all.

The IHOP place is dangerous.

Hong Kong Harbour is ok but close.

My faves:

Chef Liu

looks like a mobile home in a parking lot

good breakfast (non-dim sum)

Tasty China

but Chef has left the building- Szechuan... similar to Spices II off Clement in SF but more 1980s generic Chinese atmosphere

China Town Food Court

tripe, duck and pork at Hong Kong Barbecue and fish hot pot at Chong Qing Hot Pot are great... but it IS a food court

China Inn

only the stuff on the Chinese menu (there is no English on this menu- completely different menu than the lame caucasian menu)- cool kitchen window... a little too Georgia though

Barbecue Corner II (Asia Square)

I like this b/c it reminds me of Chef Lee Hou's on Clement

Cheap and a bit dirty but I love it

Same people own Hong Kong BBQ, Barbecue Corner II and Royal China per servers at these restaurants. I actually like Royal China for dinner but many are not so impressed.

As ATLanta is clearly not in the league of SF and Manhatton, I actually think the Chinese food here is quite good. Make sure you check out the Buford Highway Farmer's Market and Super H Mart. Super H is impressive. Also Korean food is very good here... I actually think, dare I say, possibly wishful thinking, that ATLanta has better Korean "options" than SF. Dangerous statement I know.... Vietnamese is good here too, IMO.

Also check out Blissful Glutton

Welcome to Atlanta

Cheers

Edited May 29, 2007 by ROWDY (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

For authentic, but not chi-chi Chinese, I would recommend China Cooks in Sandy Springs off Roswell Road ... 215 Northwood Dr, Ste 9 .... enjoyed the spicy clam hotpot, which was exceptional, best Mongolian beef I have ever had, (this isn't Americanized Chinese - it's the real thing!) Hong Kong style won ton soup, straw vegetables, snow pea leaves, salt & pepper squid ... Cantonese cuisine is the specialty, and seafood is a particular strength.