Top 5 Chinese restaurants in America

[eatingwitheddie]

Mobil, Zagat, Michelin, Gayot, don't provide the answer to the question: what are the 5 top Chinese restaurants in the US?

Let's see what we can come up with.

Nominations please.

[awbrig]

Ben Pao in Chicago?

[Craig Camp]

Ben Pao in Chicago?

Is a restaurant like Ben Pao Chinese or some type of Oriental inspired blend? Lettuce Entertain You can be heavy on the theatre and light on food authenticity. I do enjoy Ben Pao by the way.

Edited March 24, 2003 by Craig Camp (log)

[Ruth]

Two that come imm ediately to my mind are the Hong Kong Flower Lounge, near the San Francisco airport and Pings Seafood in New York

[Stone]

I think it would be difficult to come to some measure of agreement on the top five restaurants in NY, how can consensus be reached on the broader question? How many people have enough Chinese restaurants in enough cities to make an informed judgement?

(Probably an easier question to answer w/r/t San Francisco, because there probably aren't more than 10 restaurants that are even worth of consideration.)

[Fat Guy]

Are we talking America as in the United States, or are we talking North America? I could say with some earnestness that the top 5 Chinese restaurants in North America are most likely in Canada.

When I was in Las Vegas a couple of years ago, I sat in on a staff tasting at Jasmine in the Bellagio. I did not, unfortunately, have time to visit for an actual sit-down meal. But based on what I did experience, I would be relatively confident in picking it as top-5 material, at least for the US. http://www.bellagiolasvegas.com/pages/din_jasmine.asp

[eatingwitheddie]

I think it would be difficult to come to some measure of agreement on the top five restaurants in NY, how can consensus be reached on the broader question?  How many people have enough Chinese restaurants in enough cities to make an informed judgement?

(Probably an easier question to answer w/r/t San Francisco, because there probably aren't more than 10 restaurants that are even worth of consideration.)

I think that absolutes are impossible in this case, but a general consensus on the top contenders would be valuable. Plus there may be some terrific restaurants in smaller communities where one wouldn't expect to find them. In the back of my mind is a restaurant in California, Sacramento I think. If people just list the best restaurants in their communities we will have a good starting point.

[Stone]

O.k.

Berkely --

Shen Hua (College Ave?). One of the best Chinese places I've ever been to.

SF --

Jasmine Tea House. Darned good delivery. Never saw the actual restaurant. It's probably not anywhere near a "best 5 in the US" level, but I'd give it the "best in SF" moniker.

Erics. Pretty good, but again, not near a national sensation.

R&G Lounge - Very good, and not of the sichuan/hunan ilk.

[Ron Johnson]

R&G Lounge is the best that I have had. Beneath that there are about 50 from various cities that are similar but not as good as R&G.

Edited March 24, 2003 by Ron Johnson (log)

[marcus]

I would nominate Monterey Park, CA as possessing the finest collection of Chinese restaurants in the US. I haven't tried all that many, but find that it provides a significant step up from Flushing. My favorite has been Lake Spring Shanghai.

[Fat Guy]

Has anybody else been to Jasmine in Vegas? It's the only Chinese restaurant I know of in the US that really attempts to play the role of a modern upscale hotel restaurant in Asia. It reminded me quite a lot of the Golden Peony at the Conrad in Singapore in terms of its level of cuisine. And it was expensive, with a remarkable level of ingredients, a very attractive space, and what appeared to be a whole heck of a lot of well-trained staff. The abalone entree was well in excess of $100, as I recall. Duck was cooked over an open flame. This dish in particular stands out, I think: "Philip Lo's Hot & Sour Soup. Chef's oringinal recipe, Jar Choy, Tofu, Wood mushrooms, Egg drop & Sea Cucumber."

[anil]

Are we talking America as in the United States, or are we talking North America? I could say with some earnestness that the top 5 Chinese restaurants in North America are most likely in Canada.

....

I would say with my limited travels YYZ and YVR have a pretty good collection of them - YVR had an influx of many folks from HKG when there was the fear and uncertainity of what would happen to HKG post handover. That spured a resurgence of excellent restaurants in the western Canada.

[Fat Guy]

Best I've had in Toronto: Bright Pearl Seafood Restaurant

Best I've had in Vancouver: Sun Sui Wah, President (Richmond)

Best I've had in Canada outside those two cities: Kum Koon Garden (Winnipeg)

[awbrig]

Is a restaurant like Ben Pao Chinese or some type of Oriental inspired blend? Lettuce Entertain You can be heavy on the theatre and light on food authenticity. I do enjoy Ben Pao by the way.

Ben Pao is Chinese.

On Lettuce, I disagree with you partly...

Althou some of their restaurants probably arent wholly authentic..like Cafe Ba Ba Reeba and Scoozi some are tremendous and very true of the cuisine they represent...tru, Everest, Ambria come to mind immediately....

Edited March 24, 2003 by awbrig (log)

[Fat Guy]

This is the Tribune review:

http://metromix.com/top/1,1419,M-Metromix-...il-4424,00.html

Sounds Chinese, but with influences from Southeast Asia.

[Jason Perlow]

I feel confident that China 46 is the best chinese restaurant in New Jersey, and probably superior to any shanghinese restaurant in NYC. Would definitely make a top 10 list in the US.

[awbrig]

Thx for the link FG...Phil Vettel, my bud, is right on re Ben Pao...its very very beautiful inside and I think the food, for the most part, is very high quality and terrific there... I was just there last Thursday for lunch and had the Seven Spice Beef which was amazing as well as General Tso's Chicken which was fair...

[Jaymes]

Another vote for R&G. The last time I was there, I was in the company of (among others) two Chinese, one of whom is the son of a well-known Chinese master chef.

Love R&G.

[anil]

Best I've had in Toronto: Bright Pearl Seafood Restaurant

Best I've had in Vancouver: Sun Sui Wah, President (Richmond)

Best I've had in Canada outside those two cities: Kum Koon Garden (Winnipeg)

YYZ - Chung King

YVR - HongKong East

Where is Bright Pearl Seafood ? I'm there duriing weekend @ YYZ

Edited March 25, 2003 by anil (log)

[SteveW]

Anil, Bright Pearl Seafood is around the downtown area, in Toronto Chinatown((346-348 Spadina Ave). Thanks, on your own for translating your symbols, but I think you just confused me more. I thought from your write-up in a earlier posting, YVR stood for Vancouver. I had no idea what YYZ stood for(wondering all night, until your last posting). What is Chung King???

------------

Steve

(edit. it seems that YYZ, translates to Toronto. And Chung King is a Chinese restaurant, in the Toronto suburbs)

Edited March 25, 2003 by SteveW (log)

[Belmont3]

Has anybody else been to Jasmine in Vegas? It's the only Chinese restaurant I know of in the US that really attempts to play the role of a modern upscale hotel restaurant in Asia.

I have not eaten at Jasmine, but there is a Chinese Restaurant in the Mirage that we have been to several times. I think it is Moongate. Each visit has been fantastic. There is some information to the fact that there are 2 different menus in the restaurant, one for the " Tourists" and then one with the "Traditionally prepared" dishes. I was told by the server, that the seafood was held in a saltwater tank in the back, then pulled out as needed.

[anil]

Anil, Bright Pearl Seafood is around the downtown area, in Toronto Chinatown((346-348 Spadina Ave). Thanks, on your own for translating your symbols, but I think you just confused me more.  I thought from your write-up in a earlier posting, YVR stood for Vancouver.  I had no idea what YYZ stood for(wondering all night, until your last posting). What is Chung King???

------------

Steve

(edit.  it seems that YYZ, translates to Toronto. And Chung King is a Chinese restaurant, in the Toronto suburbs)

Sorry, I tend to forget which forum I'm in - YYZ,YVR are IATA (Int. Air Transport Assoc.) Airport-City codes for Toronto and Vancouver.

Thanks for the Bright Pearl Seafood pointer - I normally stay pretty much in downtown area.

[yummee]

Well, you have to define Chinese food first. Chinese food is divided into many regional cuisines.

One thing is for sure, I don't think there's any (Yes, any) Cantonese food in the East Coast that are even on par with the top Cantonese restaurants in SF or LA, not to mention Canada. Forget about it !

If you're talking about bbq meat (you know the hanging roasted chicken, duck, bbq pork, etc on the window displays) specialty restaurant, I would definitely put Sam Woo in California in the top 5, although the number 1 will require deeper thoughts.

For Shanghainese food, there are tons of contenders in NYC, Shanghai Cuisine, Joe's Shanghai, Shanghai Cafe, New Green Bo, etc. But I'm not an expert in this category because I am too crazy about Shanghainese cuisine.

Don't even try to mention to likes of Shun Lee Palace, Mr. K, etc, these are very Americanized Chinese food.

[Fat Guy]

Well, you have to define Chinese food first. Chinese food is divided into many regional cuisines.

I define Chinese cuisine to include any of the traditional Chinese regional cuisines, any combination thereof, and any national, internationalized, or nouvelle versions of the traditional regional cuisines. That's also how I'd define French, Italian, Indian, or any other cuisine.

You can always insist on a higher level of specificity when making comparisons. If someone asks what's the best restaurant, you can ask what kind of restaurant: French, Chinese, etc. If someone asks what's the best Chinese restaurant, you can ask which regional style. If someone asks what's the best Cantonese restaurant, you can ask for what dish. But what I've found is that the national-cuisine category distinctions are the most sensible when it comes to comparisons.

So, I think it's fine to ask about the "5 best Chinese restaurants."

[Jaymes]

Anil, Bright Pearl Seafood is around the downtown area, in Toronto Chinatown((346-348 Spadina Ave). Thanks, on your own for translating your symbols, but I think you just confused me more.  I thought from your write-up in a earlier posting, YVR stood for Vancouver.  I had no idea what YYZ stood for(wondering all night, until your last posting). What is Chung King???

------------

Steve

(edit.  it seems that YYZ, translates to Toronto. And Chung King is a Chinese restaurant, in the Toronto suburbs)

Sorry, I tend to forget which forum I'm in - YYZ,YVR are IATA (Int. Air Transport Assoc.) Airport-City codes for Toronto and Vancouver.

"Forget which forum" you're in?

Is the other one a site for foodie travel agents?

Headquartered, I'm sure, in FAT?