This restaurant is an icon of the Dinkytown area specializing in Cantonese cuisine. It’s affordable for college students and the flavors bring Chinese immigrants a taste of home.

There are two Tea House locations, but the one near the University of Minnesota is the place to order exceptional dumplings from. There’s a good amount of numbing peppercorns and just enough sweetness in the Sichuan dumplings to make them just about impossible to stop eating until the whole order is gone.

For those who miss the original iteration of Little Szechuan on University Avenue, this restaurant near the University of Minnesota retains some of those recipes, like the Geshalan Ma La chicken, little nubs of fried chicken nestled into garlic, ginger, scallions, and a mountain of dried peppers.

Chef-owner Tammy Wong is a beloved figure in the Minneapolis food world and her family-run restaurant has been serving American-style Chinese food to generations of Minneapolis residents. No order from here is complete without a batch of her signature, crackling-crusted egg rolls, and the Sichuan wontons, a savory (and not at all spicy) tender noodle wrapper cradling shrimp and pork smothered in a rich black bean sauce.

The fires and unrest of this summer in the wake of George Floyd’s killing almost claimed this tiny mom-and-pop shop in a strip mall on Nicollet Avenue. The gas station behind it still hasn’t returned. However, Cheng’s Garden continues to serve the best fried rice found in the cities and orange chicken that bears little resemblance to the food court iteration. Expect hunks of chicken breast breaded and served in a sweet, spicy sauce with leaves of charred orange peel.