Chinese in South Florida

10041 Pines Blvd. Hollywood

954-433-3939

The Hollywood installation of this Miami-based Chinese restaurant might be the best. Make sure to ask for the small "Chinese" menu at Bamboo Garden III - it yields authentic goodies like kung pao frog's legs and beef tripe with preserved mustard greens. Steamed whole flounder and Maine lobster - not to mention dishes like stir-fried rice noodles with seafood, stocked with shrimp, scallops, squid, and lobster - are big enough for four, as is terrific hot-and-sour soup. Gelatinous mango pudding is a dessert alternative to fortune cookies. Takeout and delivery.

4 articles

Carl's Seafood & Jamaican Kitchen

7551 W. Oakland Park Blvd. Lauderhill

954-748-9992

Caribbean, Chinese, Jamaican, Seafood, Soul Food, Best Of

1 article

China A

811 E. Commercial Blvd. Oakland Park

954-616-2266

Chinese, Asian, Best Of, Menu

It's been an awful day. Now, it's getting dark. The rain is coming down. The exhaustion settles in. Those two rental movies on your passenger seat look awfully enticing. At times like this, the difference between good Chinese takeout and bad Chinese takeout is based on three factors: taste, price, and speed. China "A" aces the trio. Nestled in a no-frills spot in Northridge Shopping Center, Oakland Park, China "A" serves up about 100 dishes under $10 -- from the classic General Tao's chicken to moo shu shrimp . Have a bunch of mouths to feed? Try the Super Family Pack; it includes three egg rolls, wonton soup, fried rice, and three entrée selections. Walk-in orders are filled in about ten minutes, while deliveries take about 20 minutes if you live nearby. Plus, you won't get MSG-laden dishes at China "A." Remarkably, the food is as good as any restaurant in New York's Chinatown. Free delivery is available to select areas.

2 articles

China Lane Restaurant

4508 Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood

954-961-5454

Chinese, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

This isn't your grandma's MSG-filled Chinese joint. Located in a rejuvenated part of Hollywood, it draws young professionals and municipal workers who share an interest in fresh, bright, Asian fare. Choose from a book-sized menu with dozens of authentic Chinese dishes -- the spicy, the saucy, and the sweet. Best bet: a wondrous moo goo gai pan.

1 article

China Pavilion Restaurant

270 S. Flamingo Rd. Miramar

954-431-2299

Chinese, Best Of, Menu

This traditional Chinese restaurant is known for its dim sum offering. China Pavilion, in Miramar, is a small, bustling restaurant with basic décor but a big following. Items are sold à la carte and feature items like baked barbecue pork buns, pork dumplings, congee with preserved egg and pork, chicken feet, and fried turnip cake. Dinner entrées are considered authentic and attract the South Florida Chinese community. Entrées are standard: sweet-and-sour chicken, chicken fried rice, curried noodles, and seafood soup. Good for groups and families.

3 articles

Chinatopia

1824 Harrison St. Hollywood

954-925-8884

Chinese, Recommended, Menu

A perfect world? Maybe not always, but it comes close at Chinatopia. Proprietor David Chen and family, formerly of Wong's in North Miami, serve some delectable pork chow fun and lobster in black bean sauce. Everything from the shredded cabbage in the egg rolls to the jumbo shrimp in the Lake Tung Ting shrimp is fresh enough to talk back. Just be sure to disregard the oversalted won ton soup in favor of silky chicken-corn soup.

2 articles

Christina Wan's Mandarin House

664 N. Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale

954-527-0228

Chinese, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

The Wans have been running Chinese restaurants around South Florida for more than 40 years, satisfying cravings for fermented black beans or Peking duck without inducing any Fear-Factor-type gag reflexes -- no jellyfish or clotted pig's blood. Ms. Wan is a presence at her new place -- chic and sharp-eyed -- and as always, the restaurant purveys a decent selection of vegetarian dishes. Delicious specialties include the supersweet orange beef made with candied tangerine peel, a jewel-like dish of eggplant in oyster sauce with strips of pork, a unique butterfly shrimp foo yong with bacon, and a selection of very fine homemade potstickers and dumplings.

6 articles

Dragon City

6706-6708 Stirling Rd. Hollywood

954-894-8393

Chinese, Recommended

Dragon City, a Hollywood Hong Kong-style Chinese restaurant minutes west of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, stays open really late but merits return trips at any hour. A simple, austere room with the usual hanging roast ducks and fish tanks along a wall is set apart via the sheer number of tanks filled with creatures ready to be cooked. What it may lack in refinement next to some of its rivals, it makes up for with a lengthy menu that doesn't shy away from oddities and assertive flavors.

2 articles

Dragon Gate Chinese Restaurant

11232 Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines

954-438-9982

Chinese, Best Of, Menu

So your sizzling Latin mate is in the mood for a spicy dinner, the couple on the couch across from you are vegetarians, and your visiting sister and brother-in-law won't try anything they haven't eaten a thousand times before. Give Dragon Gate a call -- it serves Miramar, Pembroke Pines, and Davie -- and order piquant beef in garlic sauce and Szechuan soft-shell crabs for your better half, vegetable egg foo young and fried tofu with red pepper sauce for the noncarnivores, subgum chicken chop suey for the in-laws. Add some hot-and-sour soup, the meatiest of barbecue pork ribs, and moo shoo pork for yourself. The bill at this Pembroke Pines spot will be outrageously affordable, the food fresh and delectable, the guests occupying your living room sated so that hopefully they will merely thank you profusely and leave you alone with your grateful mate. Just pray they don't return an hour later for more.

3 articles

East China Kitchen

910 N. Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale

954-522-8032

Chinese, Best Of, Menu

The single person and the takeout-Chinese restaurateur have an interesting relationship. With the barber and the mechanic, there's banter. With bartenders, there's chat. But with the Chinese takeout guy, there's not much to say. You order, "Szechuan chicken, hot-and-sour soup, and an egg roll. For one." He gives you the price. You arrive ten minutes later to pick it up. You each pretend that you don't know each other, but you do. You've seen each other before. Way too many times. This man knows your eating habits. It's a relationship as personal as the one you have with your dry cleaner (the man who knows your truly disgusting secrets). At East China, conveniently located in the Hub Plaza, Fort Lauderdale near the Firm Fitness Center (targeting those who want to eat kind of healthy but are too lazy to cook), the food is fresh and prepared just for your order, perfectly flavored and cooked, piping hot and waiting to be consumed in front of the television. The portions are large enough to lend themselves to tomorrow's lunch. For those too lazy to cook andtoo lazy to pick up dinner, East China delivers within a limited area.

2 articles

East Emerald

5301 Sheridan St. Hollywood

954-894-1390

Chinese, Best Of, Menu

The menu boasts that this elegant Hollywood strip-mall eatery serves "the finest and latest in Chinese cuisine." The latest can be found in only one dish, really - a moist fillet of salmon topped with ground pork, chopped peppers and green onions, and black-bean sauce presented on a bed of spaghetti. But the finest is unquestionable, from East Emerald's barbecued roast-pork appetizer and velvety chicken-corn soup to the eggplant shrimp entrée and multicourse Peking duck, a bargain at $26.

2 articles

Gold Marquess Fine Chinese Cuisine

8525 Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines

954-367-7730

Chinese, Dim Sum

Featured by Nicole Danna as top ten Chinese restaurants in Broward/Palm Beach

Gou Lou Cheong Chinese BBQ

4139 N. State Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes Lauderhill

954-739-7377

Chinese, Recommended, Best Of

The Zhang family's Gou Lou Cheung Chinese BBQ has the best Chinese roast meats in Broward. The tiny takeout shop's traditional red-honey-roasted pork is buttery soft inside and wonderfully charred and chewy on the edges. Classic roast duck is meaty and tender, the skin perfectly crisp. Fans of pork rinds will understand the terrific crispy pork, each slice capped by a puffy, crunchy layer of fat. There are also trays of pig intestines, gizzards, whole braised cuttlefish, and duck feet available by the pound, by the bird, or as a self-contained, meal-sized portion over rice with soft-boiled cabbage on the side.

4 articles

Hong Kong City BBQ

5301 N. State Road 7 Tamarac

954-777-3832

Chinese, Dim Sum, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Reopened under the aegis of a new family, this 20-something Hong Kong-style restaurant in a Tamarac strip mall remains essentially unchanged, much to the relief of local foodies addicted to the restaurant's pan-fried noodles. The authentic flavors of Chinatown emanate from these dishes, and whole ducks, pork, and chicken, served barbecued, still hang on view near the front door, the only decoration along with a couple of fish tanks housing a few sleepy lobsters. Families congregate for rich casseroles like one made with slabs of pork and yucca, scallops with black pepper sauce, salt-and-pepper shrimp, Cantonese shrimp and wonton soup, and a good selection of vegetarian dishes, such as braised tofu and garlic string beans. Service is warm and attentive in this simple, comfortable room. And dim sum is served daily. But keep your eyes open -- with a rough bar next door, the neighborhood can be dicey at night.

4 articles

King Palace

2350 N. University Dr. Plantation

954-749-4688

Chinese, Recommended

An authentic, New York Chinatown Chinese restaurant in an ill-lit Sunrise strip mall. Go figure. But you can count on two things to give it the right feel: the delectable Peking duck and the messy floor. Choose from the countless noodle soups and hot pots for a one-dish meal, debate over the assorted barbecue platters, or dither among various delectables such as beef with bitter melon and salt-baked pork chops.

1 article

Konakai

4305 NW 88th Ave Sunrise

954-7909-5525

Peruvian, Chinese

If you're looking for unusual combinations, check out this Peruvian/Chinese place. Won ton soup and pork lo mein are listed side by side with parihuela (fish soup) and chunks of pork with white beans. More interesting are the dishes that combine influences from both countries: stir-fried chicken with tamarind sauce, roast pork with pickled turnips, or fried sea bass eggs with beans. Try homemade rice pudding for dessert.

Lucky City

5574 W. Sample Rd. Margate

954-972-1880

Chinese, Guyanese, Caribbean, Trinidadian, Recommended, Menu

Lucky City, tucked away off of Sample Road in Margate, masquerades as a normal Chinese restaurant but includes a number of interesting Guyanese specialties. "Chicken in de ruff" is a Guyanese party food that's basically thickly breaded, bone-in fried chicken spiked with a sweet-and-sour tamarind sauce. Here, it's served over fried rice with plenty of shredded cabbage. A typical West Indian menu with duck, chicken, goat, pork, and - yes - beef curry and roti is scrawled on a dry-erase board over the front register, which is often festooned with plastic containers full of Guyanese pastries such as flaky rolls filled with currants. The laid-back Caribbean vibe pervades to a fault, however. The restaurant's red booths and framed paintings of pastoral China look like they came with the place, and service is virtually nonexistent.

Mai-Kai

3599 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale Beaches

954-563-3272

Asian Fusion, Chinese, Hawaiian, Polynesian, Sushi, Bars and Clubs, Recommended, Best Of, Slideshow, Readers' Choice

The Mai-Kai is easy to love. It's not that its oversized tiki cocktails and Lobster Tahitienne are anything to write home about. It's just that you can't set foot in the place without succumbing to a deep enchantment: You've entered a waking dreamworld, part Blue Lagoon, part Monkey's Paw. Maybe because it's dark as a cave or because you're never more than ten feet from running water. Or because the cocktail waitresses are dressed in Barbarella-era bikinis or because, as you grope your way through room after room lit by jewel-colored lanterns, there's a kitschy-surreal surprise around every corner. What most people are looking for is the Polynesian dance and fire-eating shows, which are fun, for sure. By the time you finally make your way out to the winding, torch-lit path in the garden, you're feeling as intrepid and remote as Henry Morton Stanley trailing Livingstone through the Congo. Yet, you're still in Fort Lauderdale.

53 articles

Makino Japanese Seafood Buffet

5200 N. University Dr., Sunrise Plantation

954-748-3788

Chinese, Japanese, Seafood, Sushi, Recommended, Menu

Makino has long been a favorite of buffet crowds in West Broward, but a fire in 2008 left the building gutted. It came back soon after, stronger than ever. Big eaters pack in during dinnertime and devour whole seabeds for less than $20 per person. There are always several dozen types of maki rolls along with tuna, salmon, and whitefish sashimi -- even something called "sushi pizza." Another buffet area features solid Chinese dishes like garlic string beans and braised eggplant, and a hibachi station lets you choose from made-to-order portions of steak, chicken, shrimp, and calamari. Everything is fresh, and the place is kept clean by an attentive staff.

New Hong Kong Chinese Foods

1303 SE 17th St., Ste. C Fort Lauderdale

954-728-8807

Asian, Chinese, Best Of

Experienced Chinese food consumers can get soy sauce stains out of their undershirts, and they never let the faded photos of Hunan beef above the counter of a takeout eatery deter them. If the grub is going to be consumed elsewhere anyhow, atmosphere doesn't matter; the truth is in the General Tso's sauce. Leave it to the fine, fast, and affordable New Hong Kong Chinese Food to minimize the MSG hangover and coat every surface of the inside of your mouth with more than 100 variations of savory happiness. Even a risky item like cornstarch-battered crispy orange flavor beef leaves a wealth of East Asian spots in their greasy tracks. Do it for lunch, do it in large quantities, and do it late-night (till at least 10:30 daily) and these chefs with New York City experience have you covered.

1 article

P.F. Chang's China Bistro

2418 E. Sunrise Blvd. Fort Lauderdale

954-565-5877

Asian, Asian Fusion, Chinese, Best Of, Menu

For the longest time most people tended to think of all Chinese food in the same greasy, all-night delivery sort of vein. That started to change when somewhat swanky P.F. Changâ??s jumped into the mall-side dining scene. The restaurants specialize in not-so greasy elevated Chinese-inspired cuisine. While the regular calorie-rich fare is still featured on the menu, P.F. Changâ??s also features healthier options--including brown rice, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. And to make the chain that much more appealing, there is an extensive cocktail and wine menu. Try finding that in your local delivery spot.

6 articles

Pei Wei

2390 N Federal Highway, Suite 101 Pompano Beach

954-784-2460

Chinese

Pepper's Chinese Restaurant and Lounge

9976 Pines Blvd. Hollywood

954-437-7738

Chinese, Critics' Pick

Pepper's is nicely decorated with dark wood and soft lighting, but it's great for takeout too. Owner Jason Xiu offers a full menu of the dishes you know and love, plus a second menu featuring some of the best, most diverse regional Chinese cooking in the area, including authentically prepared Taiwanese and Szechwan. Indulge in frog legs with pickled peppers and a fiery Szechwan noodle soup loaded with tendon and tripe one night and a pint of chow mien and a couple of egg rolls the next. Or mix and match! When dining in with a crowd, make sure to ask for the special all-you-can-eat hot pot, the house gem (it's not on the menu).

2 articles

Rainbow Palace

2787 E. Oakland Park Blvd. #214 Fort Lauderdale

954-565-5652

Chinese, Recommended, Best Of

Aptly named -- there's gold under this rainbow. Creative touches transform even simple Chinese won-ton and duck-noodle soups into house specialties. Ditto for the shrimp-and-lobster dumplings, orange beef, cilantro scallops, and the mushroom trio -- portobello, shiitake, and button varieties sautéed in garlic, soy, and sherry.

2 articles

Red Ginger Asian Bistro

9710 W. Sample Rd. Coral Springs

954-752-1850

Asian, Chinese, Japanese, Sushi, Thai, Best Of, Menu

Red Ginger covers all bases with a pan-Asian menu that stretches from China to Thailand. The spacious restaurant is draped in steely grays with lipstick-red accents. The food showcases similar contrast. Chinese classics like kung pao chicken and Szechuan beef share space with wok-fried Thai soft-shell crab and spicy beef and lime salad. Sushi from the bar is fresh, and an assortment of specialty rolls showcases a creative touch. Some of the options are pricier than you'll find in similar restaurants, but the overall quality is higher as well.

1 article

Shue Mei Chinese

6529 N. Andrews Ave. Oakland Park

954-229-9988

Chinese, Japanese, Sushi, Menu

House specialties at Shhu Mei include a full rack of barbecued spare ribs served with steamed rice. Follow the meal with the sweetest dish on the menu: Bite-sized is also a pretty good description of this place; catering mostly to takeout customers. The tiny Oakland Park shop has only a couple of seats at the counter.

1 article

Silver Pond

4285 N. SR-7 Lauderdale Lakes

954-486-8885

Chinese, Critics' Pick, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

Awash in pink linen tablecloths, the dining room at Silver Pond in Lauderhill is framed by assertive maroon wallpaper with a Chinese mural at one end and a wall of tanks at the other, with lobsters and Dungeness crabs on display. Small groups of Chinese families using chopsticks flank a dining room peppered with tourists wielding forks and knives. Don't let a wan dining room dissuade you Silver Pond. Be ready for adventure offered on an epic menu of Cantonese cuisine. Seafood is most represented, including sea cucumber, abalone, and conch. The lobster is among the best in the area, regardless of culinary genre. Aside from seafood, try the bird's nest with savory vegetables, the crispy Hong Kong chicken, or the Peking rubbed pork chops for authentic dishes.

9 articles

Toa Toa Chinese Restaurant

4145 NW 88th Ave Sunrise

954-746-8833

Chinese, Dim Sum, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

With a packed house on a Saturday afternoon and a neon “Hong Kong Style Dim Sum” sign on the front, Toa Toa Chinese restaurant in Sunrise offers the full array of buns, dumplings and fried classics. Items here are ordered off of a checklist menu rather than the traditional steamer pushcart. We think the a la carte system works better, as dim sum dishes arrived freshly made and hot. While baked pork buns came with more bread than meat, the stuffed bean curd skins, filled with bamboo shoots and mushrooms were the choice for those looking for something crispy like a spring roll without the added grease.

12 articles

Wings Chinese Restaurant

3750 SW 64th Ave. Davie

954-584-7511

Chinese, Peruvian, Asian, Recommended, Menu, Slideshow

After operating for about 25 years in a sleepy shopping center across from the Broward Community College Central Campus, Wings Chinese Restaurant started serving chifa, a Peruvian version of Chinese food, around 2010. The tiny dining room offers a selection of the Peruvian Chinese fare and regular American Chinese cuisine. Try the Arroz chaufa con pollo ($8), a dish that’s like the American version of chicken fried rice, but firmer and with a stronger umami flavor. It is composed of mostly rice with egg, large chunks of chicken, and some freshly chopped green onion. Tallarín saltado ($11.95) is a heaping plate of soft noodles with roasted pork, shrimp, and vegetables in a thick soy and oyster sauce. The pork is encircled by a red ring from the sweet and spicy five-spice rub; earthy notes of ginger infuse the dish. With flavorful food, large portions, and low price points, it’s worth the trek out west.

2 articles

Chinese in South Florida

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