Ten Favorite Chinese Restaurants in Greater Phoenix

By Ando Muneno Mon., Jan. 30 2012 at 10:00 AM

This Asian market may not look like a restaurant but once inside you'll find it will be hard to leave hungry. The market is certainly well stocked but the real draw is to either side of the checkout lines. On the right you'll find their deli which serves up some of the best roast duck in the Valley. To the left you'll find the real gem; a small bakery serving everything from seasonal moon cakes to massive BBQ pork stuffed bao. 5. Tien Wong Hot Pot

Do you have a large group of friends craving a communal Chinese experience? Is it too late to order dim sum? Tien Wong Hot Pot won't let you down. After you sit down at this surprisingly well appointed eatery you'll need to select a soup base and then order off a surprisingly long ingredient list. If you're confused the helpful staff will be more than happy to guide you through the process. If not, they'll get out of your way so you can fill your bubbling hotpot with thin slices of meat and the freshest vegetables.

4. Nee House Chinese Cuisine

Like dim sum, a Peking duck is an archetypal eating experience unique to China. As luck would have it Nee House serves up one of the best in the Valley. Their duck possess all the hallmarks of good duck: Crisp skin, succulent fat and flavorful meat. Served alongside a handful of other dishes you'll find it's easy to put together your family style meal fit for royalty.

Location Info

Venue

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Wahsun

8056 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix, AZ

Category: Restaurant

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chinese restaurants in phoenix

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Doublen28

I went to China Magic Noodle House the other night for the first time. The food was pretty good, but the service was so slow it was practically non-existant. Therefore, I don't know if I'll be back.

Mikey1969

Gourmet House is nowhere on the list? Wow, this is about as good as the "Dive Bars" slideshow, is everyone just phoning it in around here?

Ando Muneno 12 hours ago in reply to Mikey1969

It's entirely possible I had an unusual experience though. Is there a particular dish I should have tried?

It definitely wasn't the 'divey' vibe as much as the 'hidden gem' vibe. Unless the quality has plummeted since I was last there, pretty much everything should be good. Personally, I'm a little picky on which dishes I like at a Chinese restaurant, but Gourmet House sets the standard on both Hot and Sour soup and Mongollian Beef. I have still dropped in there when visiting Az, but I have definitely not found anyone who can make either of those anywhere near as good. Everyone else has about a 90% chance of having sweet, unexciting Mongolian beef, and although most in Phoenix have decent Hot and Sour, up here in SLC, it's not the case. For some reason, around here, 'Hot and Sour' translates into 'Thick and syrupy'. I have also have far better luck with such staples as Sweet and Sour Pork and Chicken, the S & S sauce isn't some glow-in-the-dark chemical-tasting nightmare, and the veggies and pineapple are fresh. My wife and kids love Orange Chicken, Broccoli and Beef, etc., still more basic dishes, but done much better than the throw-it-together-from-the-freezer style you get most of the time. Always good portion size for a good price as well.

It didn't used to be the place for atmosphere, that's for sure, but looking at pictures online, it looks like they have made it a little less like eating in a room attached to the kitchen, seems like they actually have a little bit of ambiance, something DEFINITELY missing from before..

All in all, it is the best Chinese food I've found in my life that didn't require us to save money, plan ahead, and dress up for 'dinner'. From what I understand, their Shark Fin Soup is to die for also, but I've always been afraid to risk the money on something I don't end up liking, since Chinese food has a small list of things I don't like(Cabbage and 'mushy' veggies are out, for example).

Sorry about the 'phoning it in' thing, I still am burned that I will never get the time back that I thumbed through the 'Dive Bar' slide show and hardly found anything that actually said 'dive bar', most of it was either hipsters, or just plain 'blah'. Your article is far more thought out, and better presented, and I apologize for jumping on you. My bad.

Ando Muneno

Hey no problem, getting called out by readers is an occupational hazard.

Ando Muneno

Actually, I went to Gourmet House three times (twice in 48 hours) while working on a different story and I did not have a fantastic experience. I know it's won awards in the past and I can see its appeal as a divey Chinese restaurant but I just didn't love it.

It's entirely possible I had an unusual experience though. Is there a particular dish I should have tried?

Azhomes4u

Wondering why Great Wall on 35th AVE and Camelback is not on this list..hands down should be #1 pretty apparent you have not been there. You must go for Dim sum or just a meal...