clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile
Four shrimp dumplings in a bamboo steamer with a sprig of parsley in the middle.
Shrimp dumplings from Mandarin Kitchen.
Mandarin Kitchen

12 Outstanding Chinese Restaurants Around the Twin Cities

Hand-pulled dan dan noodles, dim sum, and everything in between

View as Map
Shrimp dumplings from Mandarin Kitchen.
| Mandarin Kitchen

There are plenty of excellent Chinese restaurants around the Twin Cities, from dim sum institutions like Mandarin Kitchen and Yangtze Restaurant to beloved Cantonese staples like Shuang Cheng. For hand-pulled noodles, Sichuan fare shimmering with chili oil, or Anhui-style braised whole walleye, look no further than these Chinese restaurants around Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Note that these restaurants are listed geographically.

Read More
Eater maps are curated by editors and aim to reflect a diversity of neighborhoods, cuisines, and prices. Learn more about our editorial process. If you buy something or book a reservation from an Eater link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics policy.

Yangtze Restaurant

Copy Link

Though Yangtze has a full menu, it’s best-known for its weekend dim sum, served every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Spare ribs arrive in a rich black bean sauce; golden-seared shrimp and chive dumplings are packed with sharp allium flavor. Round out the meal with sweet bites of egg custard pie.

Rainbow Chinese Restaurant and Bar

Copy Link

Situated on Eat Street’s main drag, chef Tammy Wong’s Rainbow Chinese has been churning out excellent Chinese-American fare since the late 1980s. (In fact, it recently received a “historic small restaurants” grant.) At the moment, it’s operating as takeout only Wednesday through Sunday, but dining room service is returning soon. Wander down Eat Street for plates of sauteed green beans and ma po tofu, simmered with Sichuan peppercorns.

Cheng’s Garden

Copy Link

Tucked away off Lake Street and Nicollet in south Minneapolis, Cheng’s has a variety of Szechuan and Hunan specials, from double-sauteed pork to hot and spicy shrimp. The mai fun — a pan-fried thin noodle dish that’s especially popular in southern China — is a great bet, as is the classic, comforting fried rice. Cheng’s has been a local favorite for years.

Mandarin Kitchen

Copy Link

Find some of the Cities’ best dim sum at Mandarin Kitchen. On weekends, this spot is packed with families, and the line often wraps out the door. Start with dishes like pan-fried turnip cakes, and add pillowy steamed chicken buns, crispy egg custards, and steamed pork dumplings. (Mandarin Kitchen has a vast menu of entrees, too, and hot pot.) At peak meal times, small parties of diners can expect to share tables — an arrangement that only adds to the bustling, convivial atmosphere.

A person using chopsticks to grab one of three pan-fried chive dumplings on a plate.
Pan-fried chive dumplings from Mandarin Kitchen.
Mandarin Kitchen

Grand Szechuan Restaurant

Copy Link

Chef Luo Guanghe’s dishes, shimmering with chili oil and studded with peppercorns, hit all the hot, sour, mouth-numbing notes of classic Sichuan cuisine. Try the beef and tofu in peppercorn broth, or the spicy lotus roots as an appetizer.

D. Fong's Chinese Cuisine David Fong's Savage

Copy Link

Part of the storied Fong legacy, D. Fong’s Chinese Cuisine is well worth the drive south to Savage. The entire Chinese American menu is reliably tasty, from the hot and sour soup to the hearty pork egg foo young.

Shuang Cheng

Copy Link

This 31-year Dinkytown staple is known for its top-notch Cantonese menu. It specializes in seafood dishes, like crab with ginger and scallions and baked lobster in a five-spice salt. (For holidays and celebrations, the Peking-style roast duck is a great choice.) Shuang Cheng has great hot pot, too.

Lao Sze Chuan

Copy Link

Also near the University of Minnesota campus, Lao Sze Chuan is a great place to share food: A plate of chilled, tangy Szechuan noodles, tea-smoked duck, and steaming beef soup, infused with spicy chili oil. Lao Sze Chuan’s appetizer list is notable, too — order some green bean jelly and spicy and sour squid for the table.

Legendary Spice

Copy Link

Legendary Spice — formerly of the Lao Sze Chuan restaurant group, now linked to a Chengdu, China-based restaurant — focuses on classic Sichuan cuisine. The vast menu spans seafood, pork, beef, chicken, and vegetarian dishes, but the highlights are among the Sichuan cold appetizers (preserved duck egg with chili pepper, sliced beef and maw, etc.) and the Chengdu local favorites (spicy mao cai, tea-smoked duck, Sichuan crawfish, etc.).

A person adding scallions to a plate of dumplings topped with chili oil.
Legendary Spice in St. Paul.
Legendary Spice

Tea House Chinese Restaurant

Copy Link

After more than a decade on University Avenue, Tea House remains a staple for excellent Chinese fare — Szechuan in particular. It’s a great place to dine family-style: Pair a steaming bowl of thick, supple kudai lamb noodles with the whole braised walleye or the classic kung pao chicken, peppered with crispy peanuts. On the weekend, come for a dim sum brunch.

A walleye in a red sauce in a white dish.
Szechuan-style walleye at Tea House.
Tea House Chinese Restaurant

Master Noodle (Saint Paul)

Copy Link

Master Noodle (formerly Magic Noodle) makes fresh, hand-pulled noodle dishes daily in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood. There are few better places for tender, springy dan dan noodles, hot sour noodle soup, and Mongolian beef fried noodles. Master Noodle also serves an excellent Taiwanese tomato beef brisket soup.

Wide rice noodles in a brown sauce and chili oil in a ceramic blue and grey bowl
Master Noodle in St. Paul.
Master Noodle

Peking Garden

Copy Link

Peking Garden is a casual, family-oriented spot on St. Paul’s University Avenue, where it’s been serving Cantonese fare since 1991. Come for the excellent hospitality, the Dungeness crab in black bean sauce, and the sizzling beef brisket hot pot.

Yangtze Restaurant

Though Yangtze has a full menu, it’s best-known for its weekend dim sum, served every Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Spare ribs arrive in a rich black bean sauce; golden-seared shrimp and chive dumplings are packed with sharp allium flavor. Round out the meal with sweet bites of egg custard pie.

Rainbow Chinese Restaurant and Bar

Situated on Eat Street’s main drag, chef Tammy Wong’s Rainbow Chinese has been churning out excellent Chinese-American fare since the late 1980s. (In fact, it recently received a “historic small restaurants” grant.) At the moment, it’s operating as takeout only Wednesday through Sunday, but dining room service is returning soon. Wander down Eat Street for plates of sauteed green beans and ma po tofu, simmered with Sichuan peppercorns.

Cheng’s Garden

Tucked away off Lake Street and Nicollet in south Minneapolis, Cheng’s has a variety of Szechuan and Hunan specials, from double-sauteed pork to hot and spicy shrimp. The mai fun — a pan-fried thin noodle dish that’s especially popular in southern China — is a great bet, as is the classic, comforting fried rice. Cheng’s has been a local favorite for years.

Mandarin Kitchen

Find some of the Cities’ best dim sum at Mandarin Kitchen. On weekends, this spot is packed with families, and the line often wraps out the door. Start with dishes like pan-fried turnip cakes, and add pillowy steamed chicken buns, crispy egg custards, and steamed pork dumplings. (Mandarin Kitchen has a vast menu of entrees, too, and hot pot.) At peak meal times, small parties of diners can expect to share tables — an arrangement that only adds to the bustling, convivial atmosphere.

A person using chopsticks to grab one of three pan-fried chive dumplings on a plate.
Pan-fried chive dumplings from Mandarin Kitchen.
Mandarin Kitchen

Grand Szechuan Restaurant

Chef Luo Guanghe’s dishes, shimmering with chili oil and studded with peppercorns, hit all the hot, sour, mouth-numbing notes of classic Sichuan cuisine. Try the beef and tofu in peppercorn broth, or the spicy lotus roots as an appetizer.

D. Fong's Chinese Cuisine David Fong's Savage

Part of the storied Fong legacy, D. Fong’s Chinese Cuisine is well worth the drive south to Savage. The entire Chinese American menu is reliably tasty, from the hot and sour soup to the hearty pork egg foo young.

Shuang Cheng

This 31-year Dinkytown staple is known for its top-notch Cantonese menu. It specializes in seafood dishes, like crab with ginger and scallions and baked lobster in a five-spice salt. (For holidays and celebrations, the Peking-style roast duck is a great choice.) Shuang Cheng has great hot pot, too.

Lao Sze Chuan

Also near the University of Minnesota campus, Lao Sze Chuan is a great place to share food: A plate of chilled, tangy Szechuan noodles, tea-smoked duck, and steaming beef soup, infused with spicy chili oil. Lao Sze Chuan’s appetizer list is notable, too — order some green bean jelly and spicy and sour squid for the table.

Legendary Spice

Legendary Spice — formerly of the Lao Sze Chuan restaurant group, now linked to a Chengdu, China-based restaurant — focuses on classic Sichuan cuisine. The vast menu spans seafood, pork, beef, chicken, and vegetarian dishes, but the highlights are among the Sichuan cold appetizers (preserved duck egg with chili pepper, sliced beef and maw, etc.) and the Chengdu local favorites (spicy mao cai, tea-smoked duck, Sichuan crawfish, etc.).

A person adding scallions to a plate of dumplings topped with chili oil.
Legendary Spice in St. Paul.
Legendary Spice

Tea House Chinese Restaurant

After more than a decade on University Avenue, Tea House remains a staple for excellent Chinese fare — Szechuan in particular. It’s a great place to dine family-style: Pair a steaming bowl of thick, supple kudai lamb noodles with the whole braised walleye or the classic kung pao chicken, peppered with crispy peanuts. On the weekend, come for a dim sum brunch.

A walleye in a red sauce in a white dish.
Szechuan-style walleye at Tea House.
Tea House Chinese Restaurant

Master Noodle (Saint Paul)

Master Noodle (formerly Magic Noodle) makes fresh, hand-pulled noodle dishes daily in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood. There are few better places for tender, springy dan dan noodles, hot sour noodle soup, and Mongolian beef fried noodles. Master Noodle also serves an excellent Taiwanese tomato beef brisket soup.

Wide rice noodles in a brown sauce and chili oil in a ceramic blue and grey bowl
Master Noodle in St. Paul.
Master Noodle

Peking Garden

Peking Garden is a casual, family-oriented spot on St. Paul’s University Avenue, where it’s been serving Cantonese fare since 1991. Come for the excellent hospitality, the Dungeness crab in black bean sauce, and the sizzling beef brisket hot pot.

Related Maps