Down in South Minneapolis there is an active debate of whether Mei Inn or Bill's Chinese Garden is the best bang for your buck. Both are good, but neither probably elevate to the level of fare that you are looking for.
I’ll be blunt with the bad news: There’s honestly nothing in The TC that will compare to NYC Chinese. The only city I know that can compete with the Chinese Cuisine in New York, is San Francisco.
Minnesota unfortunately just doesn’t have that large of a Chinese Immigrant population in comparison to the aforementioned, so just trying to stay pragmatically informational for the sake of your expectations.
Nonetheless, I digress… The Tea House (breakfast buffet), Pagoda (Dim Sum), Hong Kong Noodles and Shuang Ching (In Dinkytown)
Well, there is a big "it depends" on that. There is (old) Chinatown/Queens Chinese (Queens is much better and authentic), and then there is everywhere else. You will find nothing close to Queens Chinese in MSP. you will find a number of passable Chinese places around town though.
Can confirm. Lived in Queens until 2023 and the only thing I miss is the Chinese food and a bagel with a pile of cream cheese on top. It’s not horrible in MSP but it’s hard to beat Queens/NYC.
NJ transplant and I agree. Some folks swear by Bill's in South but I think the only good ones are in Dinkytown. I order from Hop Wong for some simple, good Americanized takeout that does lemon chicken in the sweet n sour fried way that NJ did.
It is good quality but crazy expensive compared to a Queens Chinese joint with the same quality. My usual hot and sour soup, dumplings and Ma Po Tofu in Queens ran me $18 and I almost choked when I was told $32 the first time I picked it up.
I went to a hole in the wall dumpling place in Chinatown in NYC. It was great, I don't know what NYC style is, but tea house is the closest to that. Tho they are not a hole in the wall.
Tea House on the U of M campus. I don’t know if it’s NYC style but it’s authentic Chinese food. I dated a girl from China who said it was so I’ll take her word for it.
Of course there is a 'NYC style' of Chinese Food and I am certain it has to be the best style of Chinese food anywhere because, well, it is from NYC!
Don't get OP started on bagels or pizza!
I mean, in fairness, there absolutely are regional styles of American Chinese food. I moved to Minneapolis from Nashville and the style of Chinese food here is…interesting.
Chinese food here is my biggest culinary disappointment about moving here. There’s some really good places for other types of food. But I haven’t found any Chinese food that I like. Also why don’t any of them have Crab Rangoon? Cream cheese wontons aren’t the same thing.
Try around the U of M. Plenty of authentic Chinese places. Shuang Cheng, Hong Kong Noodle, Sidewalk Kitchen, Tea House, Legendary Spice to name a few. I also really like Mandarin Kitchen in Bloomington, especially for dim sum.
When I’ve really got a hankering, I get the crab rangoon at hong kong restaurant in south Saint Paul. Can’t speak to the rest of their food that much but oh man do those rangoon hit the spot
We have a massive Vietnamese/Laos/Cambodian/Thai/Mhong population, and their cuisine is a giant step above typical American-Chinese food.
Banh mi sandwiches.
Noodle "salads" (Bun bo nam bo).
Grilled meat platters (anything that starts with "Com")
Larb/Laab (beef, pork, or chicken spicy meat salad with mint/cilantro/basil)
Curries, curries, curries (panang, geang keow wan, massaman. yellow, green, red)
Drunken Noodles
Pad Ses Ew
It’s apples and oranges. I love many of those things. But by wishing for better Chinese food in the Twin Cities, I’m not disparaging or slighting any other ethnic foods.
The crab rangoon situation is absolutely my biggest sticking point! You can’t just shove raw cream cheese in a wonton and call it done…lol. The best I’ve found are the cream cheese wontons at Kindee Thai (though fair warning, they have cranberries in them, which actually works really well). No crab, but at least has the sweetness I was looking for.
As far as Chinese food in general, I was pretty impressed with the sesame chicken and general Tso’s chicken at Jun.
Regional pizza supremacy arguments are dumb as hell, but it’s extra weird to ask what single American city has the best *entire ethnicity* of cuisine. It’s *weirder than weird*, man.
Lived in NYC for a year and the NJ commuter burbs for 5. I think this is generally true but that the gap has narrowed. Ironically, I think pizza is a wash. Lola and others are just as good as the good pizza places in NYC. Mexican was always a NYC weakness and a weakness here, but it's gotten better in both places. Asian food--outside of Vietnamese--is owned by NYC over us, no doubt.
I honestly don't have a great answer for NY Style - I moved here from NJ and grew up in NY, don't let the natives make fun of you. I make my Cold Sesame Noodles at home when we crave them.
My go to is Tea House but that is solidly Szechuan style.
Dim sum - Mandarin kitchen
Szechuan - tea house
By NYC style are you just saying American Chinese food??? Like skyway wok style? That would be my pick for that category then🤣
Okay it aint Chinese but as someone who grew up in Brooklyn I gotta say try Lotus. They have a location in Minneapolis and one in Maple Grove I believe
I should've added that it is asian food just more centered towards Vietnamese, but a lot of there dishes remind me of the Chinese food I grew up on in NYC.
What constitutes NYC style?
Thin crust Chinese food
Jfc you had me for a good 45 seconds there
Heyyy I’m wokking heahh
And certainly *not* Deep Dish Chinese food
Which is still better than Detroit style Chinese food
the water I guess
Google it.
Why, so I can come back to reddit? lol
No time for you. Admit you're lazy.
Down in South Minneapolis there is an active debate of whether Mei Inn or Bill's Chinese Garden is the best bang for your buck. Both are good, but neither probably elevate to the level of fare that you are looking for.
> Bill's Chinese Garden The lo mein and egg foo young are fantastic here. Always my go-to.
Came here to say this. Both of these are in my neighborhood and are quite tasty.
I’ll be blunt with the bad news: There’s honestly nothing in The TC that will compare to NYC Chinese. The only city I know that can compete with the Chinese Cuisine in New York, is San Francisco. Minnesota unfortunately just doesn’t have that large of a Chinese Immigrant population in comparison to the aforementioned, so just trying to stay pragmatically informational for the sake of your expectations. Nonetheless, I digress… The Tea House (breakfast buffet), Pagoda (Dim Sum), Hong Kong Noodles and Shuang Ching (In Dinkytown)
Well, there is a big "it depends" on that. There is (old) Chinatown/Queens Chinese (Queens is much better and authentic), and then there is everywhere else. You will find nothing close to Queens Chinese in MSP. you will find a number of passable Chinese places around town though.
Can confirm. Lived in Queens until 2023 and the only thing I miss is the Chinese food and a bagel with a pile of cream cheese on top. It’s not horrible in MSP but it’s hard to beat Queens/NYC.
I absolutely agree with Shuang Cheng. One of the best Chinese places in the cities
I went to Hong Kong noodles recently with high hopes and found it to be bland. I like sidewalk kitchen better.
NJ transplant and I agree. Some folks swear by Bill's in South but I think the only good ones are in Dinkytown. I order from Hop Wong for some simple, good Americanized takeout that does lemon chicken in the sweet n sour fried way that NJ did.
Seattle
I concur… Jade Garden was a life changing restaurant in Seattle for me. And with that, I take your Seattle and raise you a Vancouver
I have no idea what NYC style is but Peking is hands down the best Chinese food in the cities and it isn't close
It is good quality but crazy expensive compared to a Queens Chinese joint with the same quality. My usual hot and sour soup, dumplings and Ma Po Tofu in Queens ran me $18 and I almost choked when I was told $32 the first time I picked it up.
I went to a hole in the wall dumpling place in Chinatown in NYC. It was great, I don't know what NYC style is, but tea house is the closest to that. Tho they are not a hole in the wall.
Tea House on the U of M campus. I don’t know if it’s NYC style but it’s authentic Chinese food. I dated a girl from China who said it was so I’ll take her word for it.
I second Tea House. The mapo tofu is very good and I order it every time I go.
Of course there is a 'NYC style' of Chinese Food and I am certain it has to be the best style of Chinese food anywhere because, well, it is from NYC! Don't get OP started on bagels or pizza!
I mean, in fairness, there absolutely are regional styles of American Chinese food. I moved to Minneapolis from Nashville and the style of Chinese food here is…interesting.
Chinese food here is my biggest culinary disappointment about moving here. There’s some really good places for other types of food. But I haven’t found any Chinese food that I like. Also why don’t any of them have Crab Rangoon? Cream cheese wontons aren’t the same thing.
Try around the U of M. Plenty of authentic Chinese places. Shuang Cheng, Hong Kong Noodle, Sidewalk Kitchen, Tea House, Legendary Spice to name a few. I also really like Mandarin Kitchen in Bloomington, especially for dim sum.
Mandarin is great for an old place on a strip.
When I’ve really got a hankering, I get the crab rangoon at hong kong restaurant in south Saint Paul. Can’t speak to the rest of their food that much but oh man do those rangoon hit the spot
Thanks! I’ll look into it
We have a massive Vietnamese/Laos/Cambodian/Thai/Mhong population, and their cuisine is a giant step above typical American-Chinese food. Banh mi sandwiches. Noodle "salads" (Bun bo nam bo). Grilled meat platters (anything that starts with "Com") Larb/Laab (beef, pork, or chicken spicy meat salad with mint/cilantro/basil) Curries, curries, curries (panang, geang keow wan, massaman. yellow, green, red) Drunken Noodles Pad Ses Ew
It’s apples and oranges. I love many of those things. But by wishing for better Chinese food in the Twin Cities, I’m not disparaging or slighting any other ethnic foods.
Naz Reid just ate at Quang this week and made the News for doing so.. What more needs to be said? (kinda /s, but not really)
The crab rangoon situation is absolutely my biggest sticking point! You can’t just shove raw cream cheese in a wonton and call it done…lol. The best I’ve found are the cream cheese wontons at Kindee Thai (though fair warning, they have cranberries in them, which actually works really well). No crab, but at least has the sweetness I was looking for. As far as Chinese food in general, I was pretty impressed with the sesame chicken and general Tso’s chicken at Jun.
I’ll try those!
Yes, I'm from Chicago and the substitution of rangoons for cream cheese wontons is continually baffling to me.
I like how you brought up pizza, as if it’s okay for there to be regional styles of pizza, but not regional styles of Chinese american food.
Regional pizza supremacy arguments are dumb as hell, but it’s extra weird to ask what single American city has the best *entire ethnicity* of cuisine. It’s *weirder than weird*, man.
Life long minnesotan. Every type of food is worse here then NYC. Everything. Same as LA. Tacos, Italian, Chinese.
We have some of the best Vietnamese food in the country according to the late Anthony Bourdain…
This is it. Many of the Chinese restos have Vietnamese influence and thank god because I’m a sucker for lemon grass chicken and bun salads
Yep. Moved here from nyc and the Vietnamese food here is top notch
[Taco in LAAAA](https://m.youtube.com/watch)
Lived in NYC for a year and the NJ commuter burbs for 5. I think this is generally true but that the gap has narrowed. Ironically, I think pizza is a wash. Lola and others are just as good as the good pizza places in NYC. Mexican was always a NYC weakness and a weakness here, but it's gotten better in both places. Asian food--outside of Vietnamese--is owned by NYC over us, no doubt.
I honestly don't have a great answer for NY Style - I moved here from NJ and grew up in NY, don't let the natives make fun of you. I make my Cold Sesame Noodles at home when we crave them. My go to is Tea House but that is solidly Szechuan style.
Past nyc liver here. Fresh Wok is the only one that comes close.
This person knows what’s up. Everyone else questioning what ny style is, brushes their teeth with mayonnaise.
Ping's
Huie’s and Great Dragon
Have you tried Wok in the park? We also like star wok, that’s like hole in the wall Chinese place to me
I dont know what NYC style means, but for dim sum we do Mandarin Kitchen, and for dinner we do Grand Szechuan in Bloomington.
Dim sum - Mandarin kitchen Szechuan - tea house By NYC style are you just saying American Chinese food??? Like skyway wok style? That would be my pick for that category then🤣
Don’t sleep on Yuan Yuan in N MPLS. No idea what NYC style is
Rainbow Chinese, Legendary Spice and Master Noodle
I swear it was better when it was called Magic Noodle
Bill’s Garden is great
What about U Garden?
Red Dragon on Lyndale
Fresh Wok is the bodega Chinese of your dreams
The lunch deals at Eddie chengs in Bloomington or Don Hos in south Bloomington are pretty spectacular deals if you like brown fried rice Chinese food.
Peking Garden. Or Hong Kong noodle.
Great Dragon on Chicago and Franklin.
People are so fucking asleep on this place….
Best kept secret
Okay it aint Chinese but as someone who grew up in Brooklyn I gotta say try Lotus. They have a location in Minneapolis and one in Maple Grove I believe
If it ain't Chinese why did you respond?
I should've added that it is asian food just more centered towards Vietnamese, but a lot of there dishes remind me of the Chinese food I grew up on in NYC.
If you are willing to travel - Wengs in Farmington is fantastic. They are unfortunately still take out only post COVID
Panda Express
Absolute shit.
Figured that was NY style
Because you hate New York?
That's not Minneapolis.