Casual, family-run Liz trips lightly through Asia, offering tempura shrimp, orange sesame chicken, variously stuffed steam buns, excellent lo mein, Vietnam’s shaking beef, and KFC (Korea’s famous fried chicken, not the Colonel’s). The Scottsdale Quarter location belies the down-home vibe, where customers are often served by Liz herself.

With its dim lighting and glass-enclosed wine wall, this North Phoenix standby exudes an upscale vibe, but the Cantonese-influenced menu feels familiar, offering classics such as moo goo gai pan, chow mein, and sweet and sour pork. Read a bit more carefully to unearth New York-style egg rolls (filled with shrimp, pork, and peanut butter), crispy, sautéed taro, Thai curry shrimp, and filet mignon with black truffle sauce.

Admittedly, this West Valley institution shows the wear-and-tear of 30+ years, but it’s still one of the best places in town for Hong Kong-style dim sum. A multitude of small Cantonese dishes — har gow (translucent shrimp dumplings); char siu bao (fluffy barbecue pork-stuffed buns); turnip cakes; and lotus leaf wraps (stuffed with chicken, pork, mushrooms and sticky steamed rice) — are served from laden carts trundled to each table. The noisy, bustling weekend brunch ends at 3 p.m. After that, customers order from a menu of Americanized favorites featuring crab Rangoon, Mongolian beef, and kung pao shrimp.

True to its name, Sichuan-style Spice Spirit offers many dishes loaded with fiery chilis, including spicy bullfrog (a delicacy) and Wushan grilled fish, which may be ordered “hot and spicy” or “numbing spicy.” Other specialties include cumin lamb, Beijing roast duck, duck soup (no, the Marx Brothers are not involved), and an entire section devoted to skewers of barbecued lamb, pork ribs, chicken gizzards, fish cakes, squid, and more.

The handmade bao, dumplings and noodles at this tiny spot in Mekong Plaza are made from family recipes originating in Northern China. The xiao long bao (pork soup dumplings gushing with juices) are justifiably famous, but don’t sleep on excellent beef chow fun or springy dan dan noodles sparked with five-spice chili sauce.

It’s all about the noodles at this recently renamed and rebranded Tempe spot, specializing in the hand-pulled lamian noodles of China. The place originally opened as Kungfu Ramen, a confusing name to some that suggested Japanese ramen, not Chinese lamian. Don’t be misled by the mainstream chicken dishes. The excellent noodles are still there, offered in various styles: thick, thin, regular, chive, wide, extra-wide and knife-sliced. Get them in fantastic soups and stir-fries, and don’t sleep on the dumplings.

Although there are many good reasons to visit this attractive Sichuan-skewed café, the biggest one just may be the Chongqing chicken — garlicky, battered nuggets fried to a crunch, then stir-fried with mala, the spicy mix of Sichuan peppercorns and chilis that pleasantly numbs the tongue. Pan-fried dumplings, enveloped in crisp, lacy batter, also make the don’t-miss list, as do sliced beef and ox tongue in chili sauce (when it’s available) and pork spare ribs in dry pot.

Chef-owner Chris Chen brings Chinese fine dining to Gilbert, turning out creative cocktails in whimsical glassware to pair with traditional dishes and modern takes on classics (such as lemon and passionfruit chicken feet), all served on fancy porcelain plates. The showstopper is flaming Peking duck, but the hand-made xiao long bao are stellar too.