In a bright, bare-bones restaurant on the Beaverton-Hillsboro border, owner Daniel Chen provides tingly, spicy Sichuan classics like crispy-fried Chongqing chicken, tangy and saucy mapo tofu, and crunchy lotus root dry pot. Customers can also order knockout takeout, including dishes like eggplant in hot garlic sauce and dan dan noodles.

Since 2011, Beaverton’s Taste of Sichuan has been enticing spice-seeking Portlanders out to the suburb for dishes like the mouth-numbing Chongqing hot chicken, sliced pork kidneys in tangy broth, and the crowd-pleasing spicy Swimming Fire Fish in chile oil. Around the holidays, the restaurant’s whole Sichuan crab, wood-and-tea-smoked duck, and whole fish in spicy black bean sauce tend to be major hits, arriving at the table with pomp and circumstance. Those seeking offal and spice should look to the restaurant’s ‘Wild Side’ menu, which includes Sichuan preparations of pork stomach and marinated beef tendon.

A street food staple from the former 10th and Alder carts, Bing Mi found a new home at the Nob Hill pod. Bing Mi specializes in jianbing, or Chinese savory crepes, which are filled with things like black bean paste, veggies, and crispy-fried crackers. Pros know to lean on Bing Mi’s several upgrade options — double the egg and crackers, or add proteins like duck, smoked sausage, and tofu. While the loaded smoked sausage bing is a hit, diners should keep an eye out for specials like the Sunday breakfast menu or smoked pork rib jianbing. Bing Mi also runs a handmade dumpling and noodle bar just a few steps away from the cart, for those seeking a spot to sit and relax.

Tasty Corner arrived in downtown Portland without a ton of fanfare, but make no mistake: This is some of Portland’s best new Chinese food. Mapo tofu here is particularly special, cubes of jiggly bean curd in a tingly, savory sauce laden with chiles, ground pork, and salted black bean. Chonqing chicken is velveted within an inch of its life, tender and abundant with ground spice. Hand-shaven noodles arrive tossed in chile oil, and brick-red crawfish get a little dose of heat for fun. Those who prefer their General Tso’s and honey-walnut shrimp, Tasty Corner has those Chinese American classics covered.

For carefully crafted Sichuan-style dishes in a sports-bar-like atmosphere, Duck House delivers, with football on the mounted tvs and lipstick-red chile oil on the dumplings. No dine-in visit is complete without the restaurant’s juicy and delicate xiao long bao, as well as the wontons in chile oil and dan dan noodles; for takeout, however, the restaurant’s cumin lamb, dry-cooked green beans, and Sichuan hotpot are all stunners. Ironically, the one dish that isn’t on the menu here is duck.

This fairly new restaurant in John’s Landing specializes in Sichuan cuisine, although Chinese American standards are also plentiful here. Heat seekers will be pleased to find a wide array of spicy dishes, like dry pot spare ribs, ma la fish, and eggplant swimming in hot garlic sauce. Although Street Wok does a steady stream of takeout orders, the restaurant has plenty of seating to enjoy dishes less suited for travel, like a bowl of hot boiling fish or crispy Sichuan prawns.

Coming from former Aviary chef Jasper Shen and Linh Tran,​ this Williams counter-service spot is named for its signature dish — xiao long bao, aka soup dumplings. Still, its entire menu is pure Chinese comfort food; the Shanghai noodles come tangled with tender pieces of shrimp and crumbles of rendered pork. The ambience mixes Portland industrial with playful Chinese style, with vintage lanterns and animals from the Chinese zodiac stenciled on the walls.

After transitioning from a cart downtown to a brick-and-mortar east of the Burnside bridge, Bao Bao continues to serve its outstandingly fluffy bao to the masses. Diners can choose from a mix of different savory or sweet fillings, from curry chicken to red bean, plus occasional specials like purple yam. While the bao are the main attraction, the juicy pan-fried dumplings and comforting congee make great companions; the restaurant has also amped up its soup lineup, with options like suan la fen, a tangy chicken soup with potato starch noodles.

A classic Portland Chinese restaurant, Powell’s has only gotten better over the years. The menu here has something for everyone, with items like General Tso’s chicken, salt-and-pepper squid, Peking duck, and a seafood combination pot. But really, Powell’s is one of Portland’s best spots for those looking to eat fresh seafood from a tank, which can be cooked to preference. Powell’s also has a large dining room capable of seating groups, and is open everyday for lunch and dinner.

The family behind this Cantonese restaurant moved from the farming town of Independence to open this Montavilla banquet hall, replete with lazy Susans and red-tablecloth-lined tables. Start with a plate of jellyfish, served with plenty of sesame seeds and a gently spicy sauce; from there, delicacies from the deep like abalone and sea cucumber beckon. However, the true move at Happy Dragon is its Peking duck, a two-course service with a choice of follow-up — the lettuce cup service with minced duck meat is the correct move. The first course is served with bao as opposed to pancakes, so guests can make little duck sandwiches.

This strip mall Cantonese barbecue spot serves impossibly juicy roasted meats, lacquered in sticky-sweet sauce before landing in takeout containers. Char siu here is a particular standout, intensely flavorful with just enough fat rendered out; the roast pork, as well, comes with an impressive layer of crunchy-crispy skin, the meat below tender and salty. It’s available by the pound, on a plate of rice, or over a bowl of noodle soup. Add a few pork-and-shrimp wontons as a treat.

Stepping into Yang Kee, ducks and chickens hang in the case, to be sliced for bowls of soup, stir-fried with noodles, or piled into takeout containers. Wonton soup here is a popular order, piles of thin noodles and dumplings arriving with a crown of sliced duck; typically, however, regulars come in for takeout orders of meat, be it steamed chicken or roast pork.

Southeast Harrison’s Pot & Spicy is a destination for its chuan chuan xiang, a skewer-centric, hotpot-adjacent dish popular in Chengdu. Anyone who walks in will see tubs upon tubs of skewers in a cold case, fish balls and oyster mushrooms and pork belly and quail eggs, lotus roots and shrimp and octopus. Those skewers are available fried or slipped into a tub of boiling broth, whether it’s golden with curry spices or swirling with chile oil. The larger menu also has a few fun additions, including chicken feet with pickled peppers or curry beef shao-bing.

Now operating a second location off Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, in addition to its original Southeast Division Street restaurant, Master Kong remains a buzzy spot for morning meals of congee, dumplings, and wonton soup. The house-made jianbing is a revelation, steaming hot with plum sauce, scrambled egg, and scallions; other hits include its soothing congees, fragrant with ginger and grounded with things like salt pork or preserved egg. Really, though, it’s incredibly hard to go wrong here, with stellar dumplings and noodle soups.

The name of this dim sum spot on Southeast Division gets the point across: Excellent Cuisine’s handmade, piping hot dumplings and buns are exactly as described. In the former home of Portland dim sum legend Wong’s King, Excellent Cuisine wraps shrimp in sheets of red rice noodle, delivers steamer baskets of knobby, juicy shu mai, and fills lotus leaves with intensely flavorful sticky rice. Beyond its dim sum, Excellent Cuisine’s larger menu is full of gems, including its roast duck and braised fish head in a clay pot.