The Best Chinese Restaurant in Every State

Denver’s Fortune Wok to Table is a bi-level space with something for every mood. Feeling casual? Sit downstairs, where housemade dumplings, Shanghainese street noodles, fried rice, and rotating specials are made fresh with seasonal ingredients. Want something a little more upscale? Then sit upstairs, where a nine-course dinner with wine pairings is served at a chef’s table. Accolades include being named one of the best restaurants in Denver by Eater and home to the city’s best dumplings by Zagat.

West Hartford’s sleek and stylish Song is the brainchild of Chengdu-born chef Xingyu Huang, who’s cooking up a wide variety of “Chinese tapas” from all regions of the country. The majority of the items on offer are shareable small plates, and experimentation is encouraged: branch out and sample items like mala bamboo shoots, braised beef shanks in soy sauce, pork sticky rice dumplings, and Chengdu pork dumplings in a spicy garlic sauce, and you won’t regret it.

Dining at this Delaware standby is indeed like dining in mom’s kitchen, if your mom happens to be an incredibly talented Chinese chef. Dishes like pan-fried dumplings, sesame chicken, and scallion pancakes are all essentially perfect, as are the wide variety of mala soups and spicy pots and specialties including sizzling beef short ribs, braised pork with special Chinese sauce, and spicy lamb ribs.

Located in a strip mall outside Fort Lauderdale, Silver Pond is roasting up authentic Hong Kong-style duck and chicken, as well as masterful takes on Szechuan fare that let you control the heat, all the way up to “extremely hot.” Traditional dim sum are also worth seeking out, along with house specialties including chicken and conch with ginger and scallions, hot & spicy squid with black bean sauce, and even a deep-fried T-bone steak that the regulars swear by.

Buford Highway just outside Atlanta has no shortage of incredible Chinese dining options, but La Mei Zi sits atop the pack. La Mei Zi specializes in traditional Tawianese fare, including beef stew noodle soup, gua bao, fried chicken over rice, three cup chicken, and Taiwanese stir-fried rice noodle. Fish, lamb, beef, tofu, and vegetables are also prepared Szechuan style, and other popular specialties include spicy seafood noodle soup, sliced beef tendon, and stewed tofu with crab.