21 Essential Cincinnati Chinese Restaurants You Should Have Tried By Now
By CityBeat Staff
From decade-old establishments that have kept the family dream alive, to tasty new spots fusing tradition with contemporary flavor, these eateries are serving up the best Chinese cuisine in the Queen City.
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216 E. Sixth St., Downtown Shanghai Mama’s menu gives you the option of mixing and matching proteins with starches. The noodles are homemade, thick and rustic and very delicious. And Mama’s is very vegetarian-friendly. There are several seitan dishes, including veggie cashew chicken and the Happy Buddha. Open late on weekends to accommodate the post-hours, after-bar crowd.
Photo: Adam Doty
521 Madison Ave., Covington Quaint and comfortable with a huge beer list, AmerAsia offers all the usual Chinese dishes and chef specialties, but the food is anything but the usual. Chef Chu makes it all from scratch. His motto: “Do not take short cuts and do everything with passion and love.” Enjoy it all while taking in the eclectic décor of Kung Fu movie posters and paper lanterns. Favorite dishes include the inferno-hot Dragon Breath wontons and General Chu’s orange and sesame street chicken.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
216 E. Sixth St., Downtown Shanghai Mama’s menu gives you the option of mixing and matching proteins with starches. The noodles are homemade, thick and rustic and very delicious. And Mama’s is very vegetarian-friendly. There are several seitan dishes, including veggie cashew chicken and the Happy Buddha. Open late on weekends to accommodate the post-hours, after-bar crowd.
Photo: Jesse Fox
349 Calhoun St., Clifton Heights You know your noodles are made with love when a restaurant dedicates an entire employee just to their production, but here’s the thing: Everything else at Fortune is delicious, too. Inspired by classic Chinese noodle houses, Fortune serves a La Mian-style of handmade noodles, a practice that dates back to the 1500s. The noodles are hand-pulled and stretched out into strands, then paired with everything from vegetables to squid and shredded pork to tripe.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Yum Yum Chinese Restaurant
909 Race St., Downtown, 513-721-7705 This classic eatery is owned and operated by an older couple who haven’t changed its decor and menu since they opened it in 1975. Yum Yum Mein, Sichuan Pepper Steak and Ding Dong Chicken are still crowd favorites, and the prix fixe dinners haven’t gone out of style just yet. Dessert is, as expected, a fortune cookie for each guest, and after-dinner coffee will run you 40 cents, if you can spare it. Cash only.
Photo: Hailey Bollinger
5842 Hamilton Ave., College Hill The mom-and-pop dining experience, Chinese style. To start your meal off right, try the Hot & Sour Soup along with the Governor’s Chicken with stir-fried mixed vegetables for your entrée. Tasty alternatives include the beef with broccoli, the Szechuan crispy duck or the Szechuan crispy shrimp.
Photo via Chung Ching’s Facebook
317 Buttermilk Pike, Fort Mitchell; 2444 Madison Road, Hyde Park Transcending the typical Chinese American menu since 1977, Oriental Wok and the Wong family offer upscale, innovative, fresh and delicious chef-prepared cuisine that’s never boring — from five-spice tofu over stir-fried greens to pepper steak in a black bean sauce. Serves excellent beer and wine selections, and their annual Chinese New Year party is a blast.
Photo via Facebook.com/OrientalWok
10400 Reading Road, Evendale Located in Village Crossing, Sichuan Chili opened in 2013 and features a menu dedicated to traditional Chinese and Sichuan meals. The fully-stocked menu offers Sichuan classics like Kungpao Chicken and Bo Bo Fish, as well as a wide variety of appetizers. New specialties like Ma La Rabbit and Golden Sand Corn are introduced nearly every month, so be sure to put this spot on your must-visit list.
Photo: Christian Gill
4750 Fields Ertel Road, Landen Yuke Qiu and Jennifer Niu opened Noodle & Hot Pot in 2018. Hot pot is kind of like fondue dining meets a hibachi grill — everyone at the table cooks their food in the boiling soup at the center of the table. The restaurant offers seven different soups: nine boxes spicy, spicy, bone, wild mushroom, tomato, tom yam and curry. They also have a hot pot buffet special, a Thursday lunch special and bubble tea.
Photo via Facebook.com/HotPotOhio
2974 Madison Road, Oakley This Oakley staple offers up a wide-range of traditional noodle dishes from Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Hong Kong including favorites like pad Thai and Catonese pan-fried noodles. The menu also includes soups, salads, appetizers and “fun dishes to share,” like lettuce wraps and calamari.
Photo via Yat Ka Mein Facebook
