5 Lesser-Known Asian Food Chains That Are Way Better Than Panda Express

1. Pei Wei Asian Kitchen

Founded in 2000, this American restaurant chain serves Pan-Asian fare and has 119 locations in the United States. Dishes are made in an open kitchen using wok-firing cooking methods. Pei Wei is dedicated to serving high-quality food that is fast, fresh, and bursting with flavor. The restaurant also offers gluten-free and vegetarian options.

Recommended Dishes

• Firecracker Shrimp: This dish is absolutely delicious and includes crispy shrimp tossed in a spicy and sweet Firecracker sauce, then topped with scallions. It contains 340 calories.
• Feast for 3: Your choice of three regular-size entrées with brown or white rice. It comes with eight chicken dumplings, eight crab wontons, or one order of signature lettuce wraps with six Thai donuts.

2. Din Tai Fung

Founded in 1958 by Yang Bingyi, this Taiwanese chain restaurant specializes in Chinese cuisine. It’s well known for the famous paper-thin wrapped xiaolongbao dishes. Each xiaolongbao has 18 folds. The company is based in Taipei, Taiwan, and also has branches in the United States, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, mainland China, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Macau, and the United Kingdom.

Recommended Dishes

• Hot & Sour Pork Soup: The delicious, tangy, spicy, and sour soup is filled with fresh ingredients, including buttery-soft tofu, sliced bamboo shoots, crunchy wood ear mushrooms, and silky eggs. It is then topped with their house seasoning and fresh green onions.
• Crab & Kurobuta Pork Xiao Long Bao: Succulent Kurobuta pork and crab fill this scrumptious traditional Xiao Long Bao. The natural sweetness of the crab complements the rich flavor of the pork, creating a rich yet delicate seafood flavor.
• Chocolate Buns: The perfect dessert for all chocolate enthusiasts. This dessert includes a rich chocolate truffle wrapped in a fluffy, soft bun. Each bite is bursting with chocolate lava.

3. Pick Up Stix

Founded by Charlie Zhang in 1989, this fast-casual restaurant chain has more than 70 locations. It serves Asian cuisine and Chinese American cuisine as well. The company serves takeout and dine-in and offers some delivery services and offsite catering. Furthermore, it supplies meals to private schools as part of the lunch program.

Recommended Dishes

• Hot Honey Chicken: This tasty dish is filled with crispy chicken and tossed with their signature honey garlic sauce, chili, spicy habanero, and topped with green onions.
• Drunken Noodles: Delicious stir-fried rice noodles with sliced marinated chicken breast, red bell peppers, white and green onions, garlic, chili, and fresh basil wok’d in a spicy savory sweet sauce.
• Gourmet Fudge Brownies: These brownies are to die for. They are chocolatey, fudgy, and rich in flavor.

4. Chin Chin Restaurant

Founded in 1983, Chin Chin Restaurant has five locations in New York and Southern California. Each dish is made with premium ingredients and prepared using traditional Cantonese-style cooking. Dining here is a great experience since the food comes out quickly and the staff is super friendly.

Recommended Dishes

• Mongolian Style BBQ Beef: Tasty flank steak with green onion stalks, garlic, chili pods, and then tossed in a savory sweet sauce on a bed of crispy rice noodles.
• Night Market Noodles: Egg noodles with crispy garlic, chopped veggies, cilantro, crispy shallots, and bell pepper tossed in night market stir-fry sauce with your choice of shrimp, pork, beef, tofu, or chicken.
• Chin Chin Churros: Cinnamon sugar churros with your choice of raspberry or caramel dipping sauce.

5. City Wok

Established in 1990, City Wok has four locations in Palm Desert, CA; Studio City, CA; Colby, KS; and Denver International Airport. City Wok’s food is addictive and bursting with flavor. Their portion sizes are great and the half-orders are perfect for sharing. Additionally, all their sauces are homemade and they don’t use any MSG.

Recommend Dishes

• Honey BBQ Spare Ribs
• Kung Pao Combo: Enjoy the best of shrimp, beef, and chicken with green and red bell peppers, brown onions, water chestnuts, green onions, and red chili peppers with roasted peanuts in a luscious spicy brown sauce. For dessert, try the coconut ginger rice pudding.