This Massive Pennsylvania Restaurant Serves Some Of The Best Chinese Food In The US

New York City's Chinatown and large West Coast cities like San Francisco are well-known for their delicious Chinese food. But even knowledgeable foodies may be surprised to learn one of the country's best places to chow down on authentic Chinese dishes is actually located in Pennsylvania. It's Philadelphia's China Gourmet, which earned a spot on our list of the absolute best Chinese food in the United States for a variety of impressive and tasty reasons.

Set in the northeastern part of the City of Brotherly Love, China Gourmet is the exact opposite of many small, hole-in-the-wall-style establishments that many look to for authentic meals. The restaurant's main dining room is a cavernous space that seats over 400, accommodating massive crowds for the seven-day-a-week dim sum service that has made the establishment famous. More than 50 different dishes are available for diners to sample, all painstakingly prepared in the authentic Cantonese style. These include everything from shrimp dumplings and baked buns with barbecued pork to chicken feet, sticky rice in lotus leaves, and durian mochi.

For those who aren't familiar, dim sum is truly an experience beyond just a meal. It is thought to have roots in Southern China, and there are certain rules of etiquette around ordering it. Diners flag down waiters pushing carts of various small plates of food around the dining room and grab the desired amount for their table. Some of the other important things to know about dim sum include how the staff tally up orders by marking a menu card and that restaurants serve tea to accompany the small bites.

While the dim sum service may be the star of the show at China Gourmet, those arriving outside of typical dim sum service hours can instead have their pick of a delicious and diverse menu stocked with authentic noodle dishes, soups, hot pots, and more. Though some dishes might bear a vague resemblance to familiar cheap Chinese food from carry-outs, they're prepared with a skill and quality far outpacing most comparable Philadelphia restaurants.

If the impressive location and expansive dining options aren't enough, look to the conclusions of those who've dined there. China Gourmet has earned an impressive 4.2-star rating on Google with over 950 reviews. Meanwhile, recent Yelp reviews praise the attentive service, large portions, and reasonable prices. One happy customer remarked, "For a place that repeatedly came up as the top recommendation by Chinese locals for the best dim sum in Philly, China Gourmet has definitely lived up to the hype." The eatery also appeared on the Philadelphia Inquirer's list of the top restaurants defining the city's dining scene.

So, whether you're craving dim sum or just a high-quality Chinese meal, the top choice in the Philadelphia area is clear. A trip to China Gourmet offers a dining experience that's among the best in the nation.