![]() ![]() ![]() Go for steamed and stir fried rather than deep fried. Order different things: a meat, a vegetable dish, maybe some noodles. It’s more sociable, and you get more variety with the family-style setup - the more the people, the broader the assortment, so bring friends. So, here’s an alternative approach to consider: Everybody pick a dish that looks interesting, and put it in the middle of the table when it arrives. Fortunately, immigration and expansion had done us some favors in the intervening years with the addition of a handful of authentic restaurants clustered near the new Asian supermarkets. ![]() When we moved from Asia to Austin, it didn’t take long before Phyllis and I were combing through the list of local restaurants in an effort to find a bit of what we had left behind. The move also provided a gateway to Taiwan’s broad palate, introduced me to fiery Sichuan, and supplied a chuckle in that there were no fortune cookies at the end of meals - they are a purely American invention. Cantonese fare is balanced and light, presenting fresh ingredients without overwhelming them -nothing like what we had back home. It wasn’t until I got to Hong Kong that the gates opened. I had heard rumors, back in my twenties, that American Chinese food was its own thing, but even the Chinese woman I was dating at the time couldn’t find anything other than American Chinese food in our part of Texas. I wanted to tell the bros that at one time I hadn’t known either, that I didn’t know what I’d been missing. It’s no more Chinese than Tex-Mex is Mexican food to someone living in Cancun no more than an Oscar Mayer hotdog is Bavarian cuisine. Everything is deep fried and covered with gloopy, oil and sugar-laden sauces that make the choices look nearly the same. And instead of sharing, each guy settles a serving bowl in front of himself (one dude has two). The three guys get four huge, family-sized dishes delivered to their table. Dim sum is a bit like Chinese tapas, small dishes that are traditionally served for breakfast or lunch - in our case, it’s usually Sunday brunch. Phyllis and I now call Austin home, and New Fortune is our favorite place for dim sum. The push carts are a nice retro touch, as they have all but disappeared from Hong Kong, my wife’s home town and where I lived for several years. Servers lift lids off bamboo steamers and puffs of ginger and garlic advertise delicate hand-formed har gao, their pale shrimp visible through the translucent encasement, and siu mai with wonton wrappers cradling pork stuffing.Īt the table next to us, three gweilo - Westerners like me, but “white ghosts” if you translate it literally - order from the menu rather than selecting from the steamed buns and dumplings circulating between tables. Hundreds of chopsticks clink on porcelain, laughter erupts, and the twitter of multiple conversations rises from each of the dozens of round tables. ![]() This map was originally written by Frani Chung.There is nothing quite like the din of a large Chinese restaurant and the cacophony in the vast dining hall of The New Fortune Chinese Seafood Restaurant is no exception. For other nearby regional cuisines, scope out Eater's guides to Southeast Asian, Thai, and South Asian food in Austin, as well as sushi. Downtown modern Chinese hot spot Wu Chow, Sichuan delights from China’s Family Restaurant, Chinese barbecue with Din Ho and First Chinese, South Austin spicy savior Sichuan River, many dumplings and noodle slingers, and much more.įor related fare, check out Eater’s guide to the best versions of Chinese dishes in the city, dim sum, dumplings, and beef noodle soup, and for something hot, Austin’s spiciest dishes. Here are Eater’s top Chinese restaurant recommendations, highlighting the best of the best, covering all of Austin, spread out from far north to way south. It’s easy to find noodles, dumplings, mapo tofu, Americanized Chinese options, and go-to delivery spots. Despite that, the regional cuisine has grown stronger in the past few years. Austin's Chinese scene might not be as robust as the city's more well-known cuisines (hello, barbecue and tacos). ![]()
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