Many area restaurants offer Peking duck, but few were as immediately successful as Duck N’ Bao, which landed on prominent Best New Restaurants lists within its first years. The restaurant’s calling card lies within its name. The whole Peking duck is barbecued until crisp and comes with traditional fixings like pancakes, duck sauce, soup, cucumbers, and scallions. But don’t sleep on other mains like tea leaf pork ribs, stir-fried lotus root, and whole steamed fish. You can also get your Peking duck fix at Duck n Bao’s Memorial location, at 5535 Memorial Dr. Suite O.

This Humble staple is a sure-fire contender for the best Peking duck in the city that comes with the standard accompaniments, plus a heartwarming duck soup. Beyond that, its hearty portions of Sichuan cuisine are sure to win you over. Try the crispy salt and pepper shrimp, and the house-special beef noodles for a filling dish with a fiery kick.

The Rice Box is hard to miss. The local chain tricks out its buildings with colorful, Hong Kong-esque neon signage, making them visible from down the street. Originally a food truck, the Rice Box serves American Chinese classics from four locations in the greater Houston area. Choose from General Tso’s chicken, orange peeled beef, or street bites like salt and pepper cauliflower and sweet chili wings. Mala pepper enthusiasts can look no further — the Chongqing chicken is among the tastiest in town, loaded with peppers and stir-fried to perfection.

Internationally renowned dim sum powerhouse Tim How Wan has recently planted its flag in Houston with the opening of a Katy location. An order of the famed barbecue pork buns is obligatory, but entrees like sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf provide layers of flavor to pair with dumplings. From pillowy shu mai to har gow, the chain’s dumpling selection encompasses many flavors that make Chinese cuisine shine. End a meal with an order of osmanthus jelly loaded with earthy goji berries.

After years of anticipation, the global chain HaiDiLao opened in 2021 in the Katy Grand development, and many deem it well worth the wait. The enormous restaurant serves bubbling pots of spicy hot pot with a world of meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles to choose from. But HaiDiLao received its fame in part for its unique service — grab a drink from a robot server or have snacks and a hand massage while you wait for your table. Inner Loop hot pot fans shouldn’t don’t worry. HaiDiLao is slated to open a Houston location in Midtown.

You can’t get more classic than China Garden. Open since 1969, Houston’s oldest Chinese restaurant dishes out unfussy American Chinese classics, including a savory egg foo young, tender Mongolian beef, and lo mein. Best of all, it’s located Downtown, meaning it's easy to grab a bite of Houston history before your next Rockets game or House of Blues show.

Cantonese-style Chinese barbecue reigns supreme at this Midtown destination. Diners frequent it for the crispy, fall-off-the-bone Peking duck, but the roasted or barbecued pork offerings are also worthy. For a true feast, order one of the whole-roasted pigs — a meticulously, slow-cooked hog

sure to feed a small army of hungry gourmands.

This friendly mom-and-pop Sichuan hot spot has become a go-to for locals seeking Southwestern

Chinese cuisine in a homey setting. Expect generous portions of pepper chicken, Mongolian beef, and even Peking duck served with a choice of bao or pancakes, and popular dishes like boiled pork belly with mashed garlic and Sichuan boiled fish.

For Chinese fusion, head to Hu’s Cooking, where Medical Center-area diners are met with bubbling seafood hot pots, full of shrimp and squid, and giant meatballs with cabbage. The restaurant also offers some dishes that are harder to find at other local Chinese restaurants, like its stir-fried rice cake entrees and three cups chicken, a Chinese and Taiwanese favorite.

Offering takeout-only, this Asiatown restaurant serves hefty portions of dan dan noodles and wonton soup, but its namesake dumplings are what bring people back again and again. Dumplings are steamed, boiled, pan-fried, or served in soup, in meat or vegetable varieties. Don’t leave without an order of the pan-fried onion cake or a helping of frozen dumplings to heat up at home.

This straightforward Hong Kong-style cafe is a mainstay for Houstonians seeking comforting bowls of rice dishes and porridge. The beef chow fun is the house specialty, but there is a wide range of other noodle dishes, ranging from udon to crispy or fried wok noodles. For a sweet finish to your meal, try the thick slices of Hong Kong French toast soaked with condensed milk.

Shanghai-style cooking is front and center at this hole-in-the-wall Asiatown spot. The menu highlights Chinese staples from xiao long bao to braised pork belly. Repeat visitors know to order the less-heralded dishes like the braised eggplant and scallion pancakes — perfect complements to any order.

Scratch that late-night itch for some Chinese food and head to this no-frills spot. Open until midnight daily, diners can get virtually every dim sum dish imaginable off an extensive menu of Western favorites like orange chicken and traditional offerings like lobster, crab, and beef hot pot.

Don’t live near Asiatown? Southeast Houstonians also have great options for great Chinese food. Shan Hu Chinese Restaurant has served Chinese American food to the Hobby area since 1982. Try the large portions of honey walnut shrimp and General Tso’s chicken or indulge in a bowl of sizzling rice soup with meat, vegetables, and puffed rice.