This Humble staple is a sure-fire contender for the best Beijing duck in the city. Find slices of duck with crispy skin and the standard accompaniments, plus a heartwarming duck soup for those who dine in. Beyond that, its hearty portions of Sichuan cuisine are sure to win you over. Try the crispy salt and pepper shrimp and the house-special beef noodles for a filling dish with a fiery kick.

The Rice Box is hard to miss. The local chain tricks out its buildings with colorful, Hong Kong-esque neon signage, making them visible from down the street. Originally a food truck, the Rice Box serves American Chinese classics from four locations in the greater Houston area. Choose from General Tso’s chicken, orange peeled beef, or street bites like salt and pepper cauliflower and sweet chili wings. Mala pepper enthusiasts can look no further — the Chongqing chicken is among the tastiest in town, loaded with peppers and stir-fried to perfection.

After a four-year hiatus, this Cantonese restaurant made its great return, but this time, in Katy. The restaurant reopened in August, with diners waiting hours in line for a taste of its original menu, including congee and freshly made wontons that are served until sellout.  Newer dishes, however, have been just as captivating, including roasted pork belly, the saucy black pepper tomahawk that’s stir-fried with fried potato wedges and onion and served alongside the bone, and the roasted Beijing duck, which can be seen being prepared and sliced through the window at the restaurant’s carving station.

Internationally renowned dim sum powerhouse Tim How Wan has planted its flag in the Houston area with the opening of a Katy location. An order of the famed barbecue pork buns is obligatory, but entrees like sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf provide layers of flavor to pair with dumplings. With pillowy shu mai, har gow, and plenty of rotating specials, the chain’s dumpling selection encompasses many flavors that make Chinese cuisine shine. End a meal with an order of osmanthus jelly loaded with earthy goji berries.

After years of anticipation, the global chain HaiDiLao opened in 2021 in the Katy Grand development, and many deem it well worth the wait. The enormous restaurant serves bubbling pots of spicy hot pot with a world of meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles to choose from. But HaiDiLao received its fame in part for its unique service — grab a drink from a robot server or enjoy snacks and a hand massage while waiting for a table.

Many area restaurants offer duck, but few have had the immediate success that Duck N Bao experienced after its initial opening. The restaurant’s calling card lies within its name. The whole Beijing duck is barbecued until crisp and comes with traditional fixings like pancakes, duck sauce, soup, cucumbers, and scallions. But don’t sleep on other mains like tea leaf pork ribs, stir-fried lotus root, whole steamed fish, and its diner-favorite soup dumplings. Diners can also fulfill their Beijing duck fix at Duck N Bao’s other locations in Memorial and Rice Village.

It doesn’t get much more classic than China Garden. Since 1969, Houston’s oldest Chinese restaurant has served hearty American Chinese classics, including savory egg foo young, tender Mongolian beef, and lo mein. Best of all, it’s located Downtown, meaning it's easy to grab a bite of Houston history before your next Rockets game or House of Blues show.

Cantonese-style Chinese barbecue reigns supreme at this Midtown destination. Diners frequent it for the crispy, fall-off-the-bone Beijing duck, but the roasted or barbecued pork offerings are also worthy. For a true feast, order one of the whole-roasted pigs — a meticulously, slow-cooked hog

sure to feed a small army of hungry gourmands.

This friendly mom-and-pop Sichuan hot spot has become a go-to for locals seeking Southwestern

Chinese cuisine in a homey setting. Expect generous portions of pepper chicken, Mongolian beef, and even Beijing duck served with a choice of bao or pancakes. Popular dishes that shouldn’t be missed include its boiled pork belly with mashed garlic, Sichuan boiled fish, and its wide selection of stir-fries.

With locations in River Oaks, Kirby, and Post Oak, Pepper Twins offers a wide range of Chinese American and Sichuan classics alongside more innovative dishes. Start with the Mr. & Mrs. Smith appetizer, braised and chilled beef shank and tripe served with celery, peanuts, and pepper, before diving into dishes like its spicy soft shell crab, the mapo tofu, the saucy ginger fish, and sides like the dry-fried green beans or wood ear salad.

Powerhouse restaurateur Mike Tran made his name through his Asiatown restaurants, offering modern takes on East Asian cuisines in stylish dining rooms. At Mein, Tran specializes in Cantonese food, including saucy garlic eggplant and crispy, honey-roasted char siu. Complete your meal with one of Mein’s creative non-alcoholic mixed drinks, like preserved lemon 7-Up.

Offering takeout only, this Asiatown restaurant serves hefty portions of dan dan noodles, wonton soup, and pan-fried onion cakes, but its namesake dumplings are what draw diners in again and again. Find meat-filled or vegetarian-style dumplings that are steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or served in soup. Recreate the experience later at home with an order of Golden’s frozen dumplings, which taste just as fresh once reheated.

This straightforward Hong Kong-style cafe is a mainstay for Houstonians seeking comforting bowls of rice dishes and porridge. The beef chow fun is the house specialty, but other noodle dishes abound, including udon and crispy or fried wok noodles. For a sweet finish to any meal, try the thick slices of Hong Kong French toast soaked in condensed milk.

With five restaurants opened in a little over a decade, Mala Sichuan Bistro has established itself as Houston’s favorite for numbing-inducing mala prawns with crispy rice crackers, dan dan noodles, and mapo tofu. Though Mala Sichuan’s first location opened in Asiatown, owners Cori Xiong and Heng Chen now have locations throughout the city, including its most recent expansion to the M-K-T development in the Heights.

Owners Hoi and Nancy Fung opened Fung’s Kitchen in 1990, and the restaurant has since ballooned a restaurant destination, a catering operation, a banquet hall, and an undeniable fixture of Houston. Aside from its daily push-cart dim sum, the restaurant offers luxurious dishes like roast Cornish hen and a variety of fresh seafood, including its kung pao lobster. More recently, the restaurant has been drawing in diners for its viral Lobster Mountain, a towering pile of six pounds of lobster plus fries and crispy garlic that can feed up to eight people.

Don’t live near Asiatown? Southeast Houstonians also have great options for great Chinese food. Shan Hu Chinese Restaurant has served Chinese American food to the Hobby area since 1982. Try the large portions of honey walnut shrimp and General Tso’s chicken, or indulge in a bowl of sizzling rice soup with meat, vegetables, and puffed rice.