Top Ten Chinese Dishes of 2016

Sichuan Dan-Dan Noodles at Noodles Fresh, El Cerrito, CA.

These are the Chinese dishes I consider the best I tried in 2016, with more emphasis on new places I discovered. Here you'll see one of the major trends in recent years in Chinese restaurants on the West Coast: the use of in-house made, hand-pulled, and hand-shaved noodles.

Toothpick Lamb at Chengdu Taste, Los Angeles, CA.

We took a road trip in February to LA, and in preparation, decided to check out what Chinese restaurants food critic Jonathan Gold likes. We went to two Chengdu Taste restaurants, and everything we had was superb, this dish especially. Essentially pieces of lamb with a spicy dry rub (cumin, chiles, Sichuan peppers, etc).

Cold Chicken In Chile Sauce at Lulu's Kitchen, Concord, CA. 

Difficult for the natives to fathom, but outstanding Chinese cuisine has come to the once-boring suburbs. Lulu's mostly does Szechuan, and I gotta warn you, their version of Medium Spicy is a whole lot more like Very Spicy. However, this one, while it seems like it could burn the roof off your mouth, it's actually relatively mellow. Nice opening or closing dish.

Oysters with Ginger & Scallions at East Ocean Seafood, Alameda, CA.

 While most of the selections on this list are Szechuan, here's one place that does Hong Kong style, and has the reputation of serving some of best Dim Sum in the Bay Area. The oysters cooked to perfection, and I would guess the scallions & ginger get wok stir-fried together first, and then the oysters are added at the last minute. 

Dry Wok Spicy Duck at King Tsin, Berkeley, CA.

 I've never had a duck dish at a West Coast Chinese restaurant that wasn't fantastic, and here's a version that's not Peking Duck nor Tea-Smoked Duck, simply stir-fried in the wok with onions and peppers. Like everything here, seems like effortless brilliance.

Hunan Smoked Pork & Leeks, at Wonderful, in Millbrae, CA.

 There's a whole other scene in the South Bay, one centered around Miltpitas, and one on the peninsula, in Silicon Valley. One evening we were running errands, and let our instincts guide us, and just so happened we hit paydirt. This was almost like a Spanish dish--if only sprinkled with some Smoked Paprika!

Hand-Shaven Dan-Dan Noodles with Pork, at Seven Stars Pepper, in Seattle, Washington.

 So this place is just south of Downtown Seattle, close to their Chinatown. Really nice texture on these noodles, not as thick as they look, and they're good at sopping up the brilliant sauce. Seems like hand-shaved noodles must be made fresh.

Stewed Pork Shoulder with Hand-Pulled Biang Biang Noodles, at Miah's Kitchen, Xi'An Food, in Redmond, WA.

 This was our dinner the following night, with folks we know from the Mycology scene. Seven Stars is doing hand-made noodles, but their style is more on the refined side; Miah's Kitchen seems more like home-cooked fare, hearty, solid and sustaining. 

Shrimp & Pork Dumplings, at Great China, Berkeley, CA.

 Shrimp, pork and chives stuffed into hand-made dumplings, steaming hot. Just a touch of broth inside. Many consider Great China the best Chinese restaurant in Berkeley, but they definitely have competition.

Smoked Chicken at Noodle 21 in San Pablo, CA.

A lot of the best restaurants are in strip malls, and here's a great example of that. Doesn't look like much, but this is chicken that tastes like Roasted Duck with a Five Spice Dry Rub. Surprisingly delicious for chicken!