Lumping all Chinese food into one category is like defining gumbo and cheesesteak both under the label of “American Food.” Sure, they’re all foods from America, but New Orleans’ Creole cuisine is a whole different animal from Philadelphia’s famous sandwich (with Whiz, please). Very few of China’s famous regional cuisines are represented in Seattle’s restaurant scene, but there’s enough to give a whirlwind tour to someone who’s only ever known the Americanized, General Tso’s style of “Chinese” food.
Sichuanese: Spiced
Sichuanese cuisine is known for its heavy use of a pair of peppers: the spicy-hot red pepper and the numbing Sichuan peppercorn. Spiced uses them in perfect balance in classic Sichuanese dishes such as dan dan mein (sesame-dressed noodles with meat), as well as in its extensive selection of cold appetizers, which one can order an array of by pointing at what looks good in the case up front. Options range from potato strands to pig ear.
Cantonese: Sea Garden
Cantonese food hails from the province of Guangdong, which, like Washington State, has an extensive shoreline. Sea Garden takes the subtle cooking of this Chinese region and marries it beautifully to fresh Northwest seafood, resulting in Dungeness crab in black bean sauce, salt-and-pepper spot prawn, and pan-fried geoduck.
Shanghaiese: Din Tai Fung
Purists will argue that Din Tai Fung is, in fact, a Taiwanese restaurant. It’s true that the international chain got its start in Taipei, but the specialty that made it famous, xiao long bao, or soup dumplings, is distinctly Shanghaiese. The thin-skinned dumplings, filled with rich, hot broth and a small meatball, are time-consuming and difficult to make, but the chain trains employees to make the 18-pleat delicacies by the hundred, and there’s nowhere else in town to try a good version.
Taiwanese: Henry’s Taiwan Plus
Henry’s version of Taiwanese food is not the most authentic—he came to Taiwanese cooking later in life—but it is the most faithful, delicious incorporation of the cuisine. His background in French fine-dining brings deliberate flavor and precise execution to traditional dishes and flavors. The three-cup chicken is a great introduction to the island’s cuisine, while more daring eaters should be unafraid to try the garlic chitterlings or oyster omelet.
Northern: Dalian House
Named for a peninsula in the Northern corner of China, equidistant from Beijing and Korea, Dalian House serves the warming, comforting dishes of a cold land. Pickled napa cabbage stew with pork goes perfectly with plump boiled dumplings. Familiar dishes like the famous Sichuan dish of twice-cooked pork are just as good as the more obscure options—such as the Beijing yogurt, offered on the beverage menu.
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Chinese Restaurants in Lakewood
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Hunan Palace
$14 for $25 Worth of Chinese Food at Hunan Palace
Traditional Chinese dishes from a variety of regions, including spicy Szechuan shrimp and roasted peking duck
Riverside
$25 $14
Select Local Merchants
At Peking Wok, supple meats and veggies sink into Mandarin- and Szechuan-style sauces crafted from scratch each day. Diners populate the dining room for lunch, dinner, or a family-style grazing session, complete with soups and appetizers such as pot stickers, egg rolls, and fried shrimp and lobster chips. Portions of aromatic barbecue pork, sweet and sour chicken, and honey-walnut shrimp arrive at tables weighed down by full wine glasses and manner-less elbows, or tucked inside to-go boxes for carry-out or delivery.
32921 1st Avenue South
Federal Way,
WA
US
Fresh squid. Deep-fried scallops. Szechwan spicy prawns. Live fish. These are just a sampling of the many seafood dishes that help Imperial Garden Seafood Restaurant live up to its name. Here, the menu brims with dried, fried, and fresh seafood offerings next to an abundance of classic Chinese dishes such as Peking duck, sweet and sour pork, and beef chow fun. The eatery also whips up an array of dim sum including prawn with Chinese parsley dumplings, fried taro, and satay beef honeycomp tripe.
18230 E Valley Hwy
Kent,
WA
US
O Phở & Teriyaki’s chefs prepare a flavorful array of Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese fare served inside a glowing, golden dining room. Steam rises from healthful bowls of phở, where beef brisket and rice noodles float in hot, clear broth, served with cool bean sprouts, spicy jalapeño, and tart lime for building complexity. Chinese staples such as kung pao tofu and shrimp fried rice accompany tall glasses of honeydew bubble tea, conspiring on tactics to overthrow general tso’s chicken army.
208 W Kent Station St
Kent,
WA
US
When crafting his signature maritime dishes at KC's Seafood Restaurant, chef and owner KC Lam draws from years of experience as the chef at Chinatown-staple Sea Garden. But mostly, he enjoys the creative control he now wields over his culinary creations, a fact evidenced in each dish’s presentation. An appetizer sampler, for example, features sashimi arranged in concentric circles, encouraging groups of diners to attack the dish from all sides and nosh their way toward the center. Oysters are equally impressive, served on the half shell with sides of soy sauce and wasabi, while entrees win taste buds over with flavorful creations like salt and pepper pork chops, honey walnut shrimp, and a whole fried fish served with a zesty soy sauce.
4820 NE 4th St
Renton,
WA
US
Chiang’s Gourmet: A User’s Guide
Szechuan Specialties | Handmade Noodles | Vegetarian Chinese | Weekend Dim Sum Breakfast
Sample Menu
- To start: leek dumplings
- Noodles: housemade Shanghai-style pan-fried noodles
- Meat: Five Star spicy hot chicken
When to Go: Try a weeknight for quicker service, as Chiang’s can fill up with large groups on weekends. Or, come in on weekends before 3 p.m. for dim sum brunch; the fritters of twisted dough with sweet soymilk are a favorite.
Inside Tips
- Pay attention to how many menus appear on your table. If you only have one, be sure to ask for the “Chinese menu” and the very extensive vegetarian menu, too.
- Familiar, Americanized dishes are available—but they’re not the chefs’ focus. This is the spot to venture deep into the unfamiliar, or just ask your (probably opinionated) server for a recommendation.
- Order with an expectation of sharing, as dishes generally come out of the kitchen one or two at a time.
Past Life: The zany round building might seem at odds with the formal red-and-white dining room, and in fact it wasn’t built for Chiang’s—it began life as an A&W restaurant. Look for the “root beer keg” on the roof.
Trophy Case
- Recommended in the Stranger, which calls Chiang’s many menus “very, very delicious”
- One of the 50 best Chinese restaurants in the United States, CNN Travel, 2012
- One of SeattleMet’s best Chinese restaurants, 2011
- One of the Seattle Times’ Nancy Leson’s favorite spots for dim sum, 2009
While You’re in the Neighborhood
After brunch: Continue your culinary adventure at Jodee’s Desserts (7214 Woodlawn Ave NE) with a slice of raw and gluten- and wheat-free pie.
Before dinner: The Last Drop Bottle Shop (8016 15th Ave NE) holds frequent beer tastings in the early evenings.
If you can’t make it, try: Fu Man Dumpling House (14314 Greenwood Avenue North), also famed for its housemade noodles and dumplings
7845 Lake City Way NE
Seattle,
WA
US
