The Best Chinese Food in San Jose
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The best Chinese food in San Jose, according to the experts: the San Francisco Chronicle and the James Beard Awards have both weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Sifu Wong Kitchen comes out on top, and the good stuff runs deepest in Sunnyvale and Cupertino.
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Lei Garden and Mian hold the next two places. The San Francisco Chronicle shows up on more of this list than any other guide, with the James Beard Awards next.
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Rank 1. Sifu Wong Kitchen
Chinese
A dim sum restaurant attached to a Sunnyvale Ramada Inn sounds like a punchline, but the kitchen-feed TV looping footage of cooks pulling noodles and stir-frying greens sets the tone quickly. This is a spacious, serious dim sum house with a sunroom and patio, serving har gow, barbecue pork buns, and chicken feet glossed in sweet sauce. The house chile oil quietly runs the whole operation. Black charcoal buns filled with salted egg custard are the crowd favorite.
The awards
- San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle: Best dim sum restaurants in the SF Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle: Best restaurants in Palo Alto, San Jose, the Peninsula and South Bay
- San Francisco Chronicle Best dim sum restaurants in the SF Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Palo Alto, San Jose, the Peninsula and South Bay
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Rank 2. Lei Garden
Cantonese
A live tank of crabs and fish greets you at the door of this spacious Cupertino dim sum hall, which hits peak chaos on weekends when families fill the room and steamer crates stack up fast. The taro puff shaped like a swan, stuffed with scallop-flavored taro, is the kind of thing that makes the table go quiet for a second. The San Francisco Chronicle named it among the Bay Area's best for dim sum.
The awards
- San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle: Best dim sum restaurants in the SF Bay Area
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Rank 2. Mian
Chinese
The awards
- San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle: Best Chinese food and restaurants in the Bay Area
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Rank 2. Saigon Seafood Harbor
Cantonese
Saigon Seafood Harbor runs a hybrid system: you fill out a paper order slip, then carts bring the food anyway. It's a dim sum parlor in a Sunnyvale strip, and the barbecue pork buns arrive with that glassy, lacquered top that signals someone is paying attention. The siu mai gets a drizzle of chile oil, and the scallop dumplings are translucent little parcels with enough celery to keep things bright. Weekend tables fill fast, so come early or come hungry enough to wait.
The awards
- San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle: Best dim sum restaurants in the SF Bay Area
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Rank 5. Koi Palace
Upscale Cantonese
The awards
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant