Eater PDX: Where to Find Outstanding Chinese Food in Portland and Beyond

In the last few years, a mixture of small family-run restaurants and big Asian chains have started stirring up the Chinese food scene, creating tons of exciting options for diners in Portland. The arrival of big players like Din Tai Fung and Tasty Pot signal a growing desire for Chinese food here, and an inevitable influx of regional Chinese cuisines. Over the course of the pandemic, however, some Chinese restaurants have been forced to adapt, joining delivery apps and selling uncooked dumplings and buns for customers to finish at home. Still, Chinese takeout is a classic for a reason: chewy noodles, bright stir-fries, and soothing soups are perhaps best enjoyed on the couch. Those who feel ready to return to restaurants can still find steamy hotpot, plump xiao long bao, and abundant dim sum on this map, ideal for the cold and rainy days. Those who are still sticking to at-home dining, however, will find plenty of takeout-friendly options like pillowy steamed buns, savory crepes, and comforting noodle soups across Portland.

Szechuan Garden

In a bright, bare-bones restaurant on the Beaverton-Hillsboro border, owner Daniel Chen provides tingly, spicy Sichuan classics like crispy-fried Chongqing chicken, tangy and saucy mapo tofu, and crunchy lotus root dry pot. Those customers who don’t feel ready to dine in the restaurant can order knockout takeout, including dishes like eggplant in hot garlic sauce and dan dan noodles.

Taste of Sichuan Beaverton

Since 2011, Beaverton’s Taste of Sichuan has been enticing spice-seeking Portlanders out to the suburb for dishes like the mouth-numbing Chongqing hot chicken, sliced pork kidneys in tangy broth, and the crowd-pleasing spicy Swimming Fire Fish in chile oil. Around the holidays, the restaurant’s whole Sichuan crab, wood-and-tea-smoked duck, and whole fish in spicy black bean sauce tend to be major hits, arriving at the table with pomp and circumstance. Those seeking offal and spice should look to the restaurant’s ‘Wild Side’ menu, which includes Sichuan preparations of pork stomach and marinated beef tendon.

Bing Mi

A street food staple from the former 10th and Alder carts, Bing Mi found a new home at the Nob Hill pod. Bing Mi specializes in jianbing, or Chinese savory crepes, which are filled with things like black bean paste, veggies, and crispy-fried crackers. Pros know to lean on Bing Mi’s several upgrade options — double the egg and crackers, or add proteins like duck, smoked sausage, and tofu. While the loaded smoked sausage bing is a hit, diners should keep an eye out for specials like the Sunday breakfast menu or smoked pork rib jianbing. Bing Mi also runs a handmade dumpling and noodle bar just a few steps away from the cart, for those seeking a spot to sit and relax.

Tasty Corner Chinese Restaurant

Tasty Corner arrived in downtown Portland without a ton of fanfare, but make no mistake: This is some of Portland’s best new Chinese food. Mapo tofu here is particularly special, cubes of jiggly bean curd in a tingly, savory sauce laden with chiles, ground pork, and salted black bean. Chonqing chicken is velveted within an inch of its life, tender and abundant with ground spice. Hand-shaven noodles arrive tossed in chile oil, and brick-red crawfish get a little dose of heat for fun. Those who prefer their General Tso’s and honey-walnut shrimp, Tasty Corner has those Chinese American classics covered.

Duck House

For carefully crafted Sichuan-style dishes in a sports-bar-like atmosphere, Duck House delivers, with football on the mounted tvs and lipstick-red chile oil on the dumplings. No dine-in visit is complete without the restaurant’s juicy and delicate xiao long bao, as well as the wontons in chile oil and dan dan noodles; for takeout, however, the restaurant’s cumin lamb, dry-cooked green beans, and Sichuan hotpot are all stunners. Ironically, the one dish that isn’t on the menu here is duck.

Stretch The Noodle

It’s always a delight to watch chef and owner Xuemei Simard working away on her hand-pulled noodles inside the cart she owns with her husband, Duane. It’s even more satisfying to eat them, swirling in an invigorating Sichuan beef broth fragrant with five spice. If the cart is selling her shrimp dumplings, tails sticking out the side of the wrapper like a little handle, get them. Of course, like many food carts, takeout is a given; walk up to place an order.

Chen’s Good Taste

Of course, there needs to be some Chinatown representation on our Chinese restaurant map, and Chen’s Good Taste has been a favorite in this neighborhood for years. Many consider Chen’s some of the best wonton soup in Portland, particularly when topped with the restaurant’s stellar roast duck, roast pork, or char siu. Visitors will also find standards like beef chow fun and fried rice.

XLB

Coming from former Aviary chef Jasper Shen and Linh Tran,​ this Williams counter-service spot is named for its signature dish — xiao long bao, aka steamed dumplings. Still, its entire menu is pure Chinese comfort food; the Shanghai noodles are a particular standout, with tender pieces of shrimp and crumbles of rendered pork. The ambience mixes Portland industrial with playful Chinese style, with vintage lanterns and animals from the Chinese zodiac stenciled on the walls.

Bao Bao

After transitioning from a cart downtown to a brick-and-mortar east of the Burnside bridge, Bao Bao continues to serve its outstandingly fluffy bao to the masses. Diners can choose from a mix of different savory or sweet fillings, from curry chicken to red bean, plus occasional specials like purple yam. While the bao are the main attraction, the juicy pan-fried dumplings and comforting congee make great companions; the restaurant has also amped up its soup lineup, with options like suan la fen, a tangy chicken soup with potato starch noodles.

Qiao Noodle House

Qiao Noodle House specializes in Yunnan’s crossing-the-bridge noodles, a sort-of DIY noodle soup that comes with several tiny trays of pickled and fresh vegetables, thinly-sliced meats, and a tiny raw quail egg. The broth itself has incredible depth and the noodles are particularly bouncy; however, it’s worth exploring the restaurant’s various sides and appetizers as well, in particular the tofu skin salad.

Chin’s Kitchen

Chin’s Kitchen closed briefly during the pandemic, but the city’s top spot for Dongbei Chinese food is back open. That’s some seriously good news, because any Portland rainy season calls for Cindy Li’s Chinese sauerkraut and pork, served on a nest of potato starch noodles — it’s straight-up comfort food. Any order should also include dumplings and la pi, that colorful julienned vegetable salad with sheets of translucent noodles.

Powell’s Seafood Restaurant

A classic Portland Chinese restaurant, Powell’s has only gotten better over the years. The menu here has something for everyone, with items like General Tso’s chicken, salt-and-pepper squid, Peking duck, and a seafood combination pot. But really, Powell’s is one of Portland’s best spots for those looking to eat fresh seafood from a tank, which can be cooked to preference. Powell’s also has a large dining room capable of seating groups, and is open everyday for lunch and dinner.

Happy Dragon Chinese Restaurant

The family behind this Cantonese restaurant moved from the farming town of Independence to open this Montavilla banquet hall, replete with lazy Susans and red-tablecloth-lined tables. Start with a plate of jellyfish, served with plenty of sesame seeds and a gently spicy sauce; from there, delicacies from the deep like abalone and sea cucumber beckon. However, the true move at Happy Dragon is its Peking duck, a two-course service with a choice of follow-up — the lettuce cup service with minced duck meat is the correct move. The first course is served with bao as opposed to pancakes, so guests can make little duck sandwiches.

Fortune BBQ Noodle House

This strip mall Cantonese barbecue spot serves impossibly juicy roasted meats, lacquered in sticky-sweet sauce before landing in takeout containers. Char siu here is a particular standout, intensely flavorful with just enough fat rendered out; the roast pork, as well, comes with an impressive layer of crunchy-crispy skin, the meat below tender and salty. It’s available by the pound, on a plate of rice, or over a bowl of noodle soup. Add a few pork-and-shrimp wontons as a treat.

H.K. Cafe

For a while, everyone was arguing between Wong’s King and Ocean City over who has the best dim sum, while H.K. had been quietly killing it. Visiting for dim sum is well worth it, especially with dishes like fresh shrimp fun (wide rice noodle), chashu bao (baked pork buns), and jan dui (sesame balls with red bean paste).

Yang Kee BBQ Noodle

Stepping into Yang Kee, ducks and chickens hang in the case, to be sliced for bowls of soup, stir-fried with noodles, or piled into takeout containers. Wonton soup here is a popular order, piles of thin noodles and dumplings arriving with a crown of sliced duck; typically, however, regulars come in for takeout orders of meat, be it steamed chicken or roast pork.

Pot & Spicy

Southeast Harrison’s Pot & Spicy is a destination for its chuan chuan xiang, a skewer-centric, hotpot-adjacent dish popular in Chengdu. Anyone who walks in will see tubs upon tubs of skewers in a cold case, fish balls and oyster mushrooms and pork belly and quail eggs, lotus roots and shrimp and octopus. Those skewers are available fried or slipped into a tub of boiling broth, whether it’s golden with curry spices or swirling with chile oil. The larger menu also has a few fun additions, including chicken feet with pickled peppers or curry beef shao-bing.

Sichuan City Chinese Restaurant

A cute and cozy spot tucked away in Happy Valley, Sichuan City delivers explosive flavors and a multitude of spicy seafood items. Most dishes here are family style, and a medium to large group is recommended for the larger dishes. Diners looking for something special should aim for the cumin beef ribs, the hot boiling fish, or the spicy fish and intestine in a clay pot.

Master Kong

A few blocks east of 82nd Avenue, this Division Street spot remains a buzzy spot for morning meals of congee, dumplings, and wonton soup. The house-made jianbing is a revelation, steaming hot with plum sauce, scrambled egg, and scallions; other hits include its soothing congees, fragrant with ginger and grounded with things like salt pork or preserved egg. Really, though, it’s incredibly hard to go wrong here, with stellar dumplings and noodle soups.

Excellent Cuisine

The name of this fairly new dim sum spot on Southeast Division gets the point across: Excellent Cuisine’s handmade, piping hot dumplings and buns are exactly as described. In the former home of Portland dim sum legend Wong’s King, Excellent Cuisine wraps shrimp in sheets of red rice noodle, delivers steamer baskets of knobby, juicy shu mai, and fills lotus leaves with intensely flavorful sticky rice. Even beyond its dim sum, Excellent Cuisine’s larger menu is full of gems, including its roast duck and braised fish head in a clay pot.