Mojie Noodle is located in the tiny food court of President Square Plaza in Arcadia. The quick-service restaurant specializes in traditional Guilin rice noodles. The broth is made with boiled pork, ox bones, and various seasonings, with the most common ingredients being pork and pig offal. The noodles are typically topped with marinated meat slices, chopped scallions, fried soybean, pepper, and sesame oil.

The menu is small with eight different noodle options. The most popular is served dry with soup on the side (number one on the menu). The noodles are soft, bouncy, and chewy. Other favorites include the numbing spicy pork intestine rice noodles, pork trotter rice noodles, and hot and sour rice noodles. A topping bar is on hand for diners to add green onions, radish, chile sauce, and other pickled ingredients to their bowls. Each meal comes with peanuts, spicy green beans, and slices of fried and marinated beef.

This hip, fast-casual Taiwanese spot in Highland Park offers a focused menu of classic street foods, including rice bowls, noodles, and buns, along with a rotating selection of cold appetizers like crunchy lotus roots and wood ear mushrooms. Joy is the sister restaurant to Pine & Crane with locations in Silver Lake and Downtown, but its menu is more solo-dining friendly. Some items are carried over from Pine & Crane, like the minced pork on rice, but Joy also introduces some exclusive dishes, such as the flaky thousand-layer pancakes, which are best filled with egg, cheese, chile sauce, and basil. Saving room for dessert is a must — the shaved ice and soft Hakka mochi dusted with finely crushed peanuts and black sesame are excellent choices.

Sands Chinese Restaurant in Irwindale is one of the most unassuming and underrated culinary gems in Los Angeles. Expect a fairly spartan interior with only a handful of tables. The chef, who previously worked at the Sands Casino in Macau, prepares Cantonese dishes not found anywhere else in Southern California. The standout items require placing an order at least three days in advance, including the thousand-layered tofu, chicken wings stuffed with sticky rice, rolled steamed tilapia, rice wine egg white Dungeness crab, and eight treasures-stuffed duck.

Southern Mini Town is a Shanghainese restaurant that only has a few tables. The potstickers and pan-fried bao are a must. The sheng jian bao (pan-fried pork soup dumplings) are fluffy and juicy. Other must-order dishes include winter melon soup, Chinese okra with salted duck egg yolk, pan-fried Shanghai rice cakes, Shanghainese eggplant, pork kidney, and clam stew egg custard. The pork hock is a popular dish that falls off the bone and the fried fish with seaweed powder should also not be missed. Finish the meal with the osmanthus sweet soup with black sesame dumplings.

Newport Seafood is an institution in the San Gabriel Valley. The star dish is the house-special lobster fished from tanks and stir-fried with heaps of chopped chiles, scallions, roe, and garlic. The family-style restaurant uses Chinese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Thai flavors. Signature items include lobster, shaking beef, crab with tamarind sauce, and sashimi-style elephant clams.

Red 99 Grill Bistro specializes in Shanghainese cuisine but also has a handful of Sichuan- and Hunan-style dishes on the menu. The signature dish is the red braised pork belly prepared with soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, and other spices; the gelatinous skin and fat melt easily in one’s mouth.

Other popular dishes include Shanghainese eel, loofa, drunken chicken, Shanghainese stir-fried rice cake with crab, and green onion scallion noodles. Red 99 also makes one of the best renditions of jiuniang yuan zi, a subtly sweet and boozy dessert soup with fermented glutinous rice, dried osmanthus flower, and chewy glutinous black sesame rice balls. 

Jiang Nan Spring — which translates to “south of the river” and refers to the areas south of the Yangtze River, including Shanghai — specializes in Zhejiang cuisine made with lots of seafood and seasonal ingredients. One of the most unique items on the menu is beggar’s chicken, which consists of marinated chicken wrapped in layers of lotus leaves, parchment paper, and dough baked on low heat. This dish rarely appears on menus because of its complexity and laborious preparation. Other house specialties include stir-fried crab with rice cakes, braised pork belly, lion’s head pork meatballs, eight treasure rice pudding, and osmanthus glutinous rice balls.

Mr. Chopsticks has been a mainstay in the area for over three decades and is one of a handful of Cantonese restaurants that still provide free soup at the start of the meal. The lunch menu includes 40 affordable and amply portioned specials, like beef chow fun, kung pao shrimp, chicken wings, and salt and pepper shrimp. Given 24-hour advance notice, Mr. Chopsticks whips up its famous seafood winter melon soup that’s made from scratch using ingredients from the restaurant’s garden and serves up to 15 people. 

Prince Dumpling is known locally as the “Din Tai Fung dupe.” Prices are slightly lower than the soup dumpling giant’s with usually no waits and more menu variety. The restaurant even has an open kitchen where workers wrap fresh soup dumplings just like at Din Tai Fung. Although the soup dumpling skins are not quite as thin as Din Tai Fung’s, they are otherwise comparable. In addition to the ones filled with kurobuta pork, Prince also offers chicken and lobster xiao long bao, along with wontons, pan-fried dumplings, and boiled dumplings. Other entrees include popcorn chicken, crispy radish, beef rolls, abalone noodles, and many vegetarian options,

Ji Rong is a San Gabriel Valley staple that specializes in traditional Peking duck served with thin pancakes, shredded green onion, julienned cucumber, and hoisin sauce. The duck skin is sliced thinly over a layer of fatty and tender duck meat. The bones are all removed, making it easy for diners to make their wraps. There are no walk-ins for Peking duck; make sure to call ahead and reserve one at least an hour and a half to two hours ahead. Although the Peking duck is the star dish, mapo tofu, stewed pork belly, kung pao chicken, and lamb skewers are also standout options.

Tucked inside a Holiday Inn, Happy Together is one of the newer additions to LA’s dim sum scene with prices averaging $6.50 per item. There are no carts, and the dim sum is made to order. Favorites include steamed garlic spare ribs, beef balls, shrimp dumplings, and various noodle roll combinations that are hard to find elsewhere, such as one with barbecue pork and corn and another with pork and onion, along with the option to add an egg on top.

Also available are more unique dishes like pumpkin and red bean cake, cheese and shrimp egg roll, and individual-sized Cantonese soups, including steamed coconut chicken soup and cordyceps flower chicken soup. The barbecue section has roast goose, coconut crispy chicken, roasted squab, and other Cantonese meats.

This Sichuan hot pot chain made its U.S. debut courtesy of the restaurateurs affiliated with Chengdu Taste and Mian. Diners can opt for one, two, or three kinds of broth, while the sauce-making station is stocked with snacks, desserts, and fruits. Xiaolongkan caters to those who relish mala numbing spice. In addition to the standard meat selections like beef, chicken, and lamb, the menu encompasses various offal options, beef with raw egg, rose petal meatballs, and spicy crawfish. As a bonus, the buffet features all-you-can-eat offerings such as chicken feet, chips, sweet porridge, sweet jelly, glutinous rice balls, and snow fungus.

Yunnan Restaurant is an SGV institution that has been around for decades and is best known for its “crossing the bridge” noodles that are big enough for two people. The server will bring over a piping-hot broth made from chicken stock with a rich layer of fat on top and a plate filled with toppings like chicken, quail eggs, ham, bean curd sheets, chives, mushrooms, and seasonal vegetables. Fresh rice noodles are served on the side. Diners can choose to have the dish prepared by a staffer or to DIY using the heat of the broth to cook the ingredients.

Don’t miss out on the cold dish table at the front of the restaurant where diners can mix and match up to three items per order. The marinated seaweed, cold beef slices, cucumbers, and pork slices are solid. Other popular menu items include the lamb pot dry roast, water-boiled beef, and crispy rice.

Previously known for decades as New Lucky, the landmark San Gabriel Valley restaurant rebranded during the pandemic as Taste of MP, retaining the same chefs, staff, and dishes. The restaurant offers complimentary traditional Cantonese soups to sip on for lunch, and during dinner, it brings out complimentary traditional Cantonese desserts to end meals. In addition to reasonably-priced lunch specials, Taste of MP serves an array of high-end banquet-style dishes, including abalone, lobster, and other live seafood options. Favorites include geoduck prepared three ways, pork belly with preserved vegetables, salted fish with eggplant, and the popular fried salted duck yolk-covered pumpkin sticks.

Tigawok’s Chinese fast food rivals dishes found in the San Gabriel Valley and Panda Express at more affordable prices. The food is prepared by automated robots capable of stir-frying, stewing, boiling, and simmering with heat control up to 600 degrees Fahrenheit. These machines can also add up to 16 types of seasoning per dish and test the temperature before serving. Afterward, they wash and sanitize the equipment in under 30 seconds, helping to reduce the cost of labor. Entrees cost around $4 each, with a wide variety that changes regularly. The menu includes seasonal options alongside staples like mapo tofu, pork belly with peppers, orange chicken, Hunan spicy beef, chicken with Thai basil, and kung pao chicken.

Mountain House serves popular Sichuanese dishes, alongside lesser-known ones seldom seen on U.S. menus like Yibin-style ran noodles (also known as burning noodles) that are chewy, dry, and flavored with cardamine bean sprouts and roasted nut powder. The restaurant’s signature dish is the liang yi pork belly, thinly sliced pork belly dipped in chile oil with minced garlic and draped over a wooden rack. A wide range of vegetable preparations that aren’t spicy, including corn with salted egg yolk that tastes like buttery popcorn, is also on the menu.

Dan Modern Chinese is a local chain with seven locations across Los Angeles, including Playa Vista, Sawtelle Japantown, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Topanga, and Manhattan Beach. It is known for its open kitchen and upscale ambience. The restaurant specializes in handmade xiao long bao and fresh noodles. The menu offers Chinese cuisine with a modern twist, featuring dishes like three-cup chicken, street food-inspired dan mein noodles, fried rice, mapo tofu, crispy pan-fried dumplings, and scallion pancakes. Diners can also enjoy a great selection of beer and wine, as well as a refreshing menu of high-end boba drinks.

T-Kebob is a Chinese barbecue skewer restaurant with a Korean twist. Open late until midnight, it offers a vast variety of meats, vegetables, seafood, and carbs to choose from. The restaurant’s unique self-rotating machine ensures an ideal blend of smokiness and tenderness. Favorites include the cumin lamb skewers, pork belly, oyster mushrooms, and corn. There’s also a slew of offal selections like chicken gizzard, heart, and even bull penis. All skewers are accompanied by both spicy and non-spicy powders and sauces.

Kim Ky is a San Gabriel Valley institution with locations in San Gabriel, Rosemead, and Westminster. This popular Chiu Chow restaurant’s menu rivals the Cheesecake Factory’s with a section dedicated to noodle soups featuring near-infinite options for customization. Diners can choose between rice noodles; thin, thick, or flat, egg noodles; and silver needle noodles nicknamed “rat tail noodles” for their tail-like appearance. Noodles can be served soup-less or with a traditional Chiu Chow broth made from chicken and pork bones, rock sugar, fish sauce, and dried shrimp.

One of the most popular dishes is “chai tao kway,” which is a stir-fried radish cake with egg and preserved daikon dipped in vinegar. Another specialty is fried you tiao crullers made fresh every morning. Don’t skip out on the housemade spicy barbecue satay chile sha cha sauce and pickled green chiles.