It’s fair to say we’ve come a long way from thinking honey chicken at the local food court is as good as Chinese food gets. Here in Perth, there’s a whole lotta Chinese food to be discovered—from juicy dumplings to Sunday dim sum, to hand-stretched noodles and Chinese degustations—we’re lucky to be able to enjoy authentic, multi-regional Chinese food at pretty much any time of day.
Get ready to make your way through this mouth-watering list of the best Chinese restaurants in Perth.
Dumplings
Authentic Bites And Juicy Bao Bao
Northbridge
The dumpling kings at Authentic Bites and Juicy Bao Bao are serious masters of their craft. The lines are long but we promise it’s worth it. The Shanghai soup dumplings (xiao long bao) are some of the juiciest, tastiest morsels of goodness we’ve ever tried. The scallion noodles are a crowd favourite too.
Mom Dumpling House
East Victoria Park and Willetton
Dumpling lovers are all about the goods offered by Mom Dumpling House, specialists in the art of North-Eastern Chinese cuisine. Both restaurants are packed out with big round tables for large groups to enjoy their delicious, hand-crafted pockets of flavour in an authentic environment.
My House Dumpling
Leederville
Formerly located within the Wembley Food Court—which if you don’t already know, is a melting hot pot of international flavours—My House has now found a new home on Oxford St in Leederville. They're still dishing out iconic Taiwanese style dumplings that are definitely in the running for Perth’s best. Our fave has to be the chicken and prawn dumplings in spicy sauce.
People’s Inn Dumpling House
Perth
For highly authentic Northern style dumplings (jiaozi), head to People’s Inn Dumpling House. They also have a seriously good share-style offering, including something called ‘Flammable Spicy Noodles’ that we dare you to try. The pork and prawn dumpling noodle soup is a favourite.
Dim Sum
Northbridge Chinese Restaurant
Northbridge
Northbridge Chinese Restaurant remains a Perth fave and is always packed on the weekends. We recommend getting there early unless you’re prepared to line up. The deep-fried prawn dumplings are the ideal way to start your feast along with the rice flour rolls - crispy Chinese dough fritters stuffed with prawns and seafood, wrapped in soft rice paper deliciousness on the outside.
Canton Bay
Northbridge
Walk past Canton Bay on a Sunday and the crowds of people gathered outside will tell you all you need to know about how good the food is. The dim sum is divine, as are the meat dishes, rice and noodles. Bring a group and order as much as you can.
Fortune Five
Northbridge
Ask any dumpling or yum cha fiend and one of their top spots is bound to be Fortune Five in Northbridge. Steamed, pan fried, deep fried - the dumplings are all top notch. Just make sure you save room for the BBQ pork, roasted duck and fried rice. Could it get any better?
Dragon Palace
Northbridge, Joondalup and Cockburn
You can’t go wrong with dim sum (or any meal for that matter) at Dragon Palace. They’ve got all the usual dim sum goodness from pan-fried dumplings to steamed egg yolk buns and honey BBQ pork. What really does it for us is the fried ice-cream. Hands down the tastiest in Perth.
Casual Dining
City Garden
Northbridge
While Billy Lee's often gets all the cred as Perth's premium late-night Chinese spot, City Garden is our pick of Northbridge's china town. The sizzling tofu is enough to win anyone over, and we reckon their salt and pepper squid tentacles beat the rest. Snap up a seat in the bustling laneway, order some soju and fill your table.
Mr Bun
Perth
Mr Bun is famous for their delish and very convenient rouijamo—it’s basically a Chinese hamburger, and if you’ve never tried one you need to get yourself over there immediately! Their hand-stretched kudaimian are also an absolute winner—these are thick, flat, wide noodles that hail from northern China, and here they’re served with perfectly tender chunks of braised beef. Seriously delicious.
Good Fortune Roast Duck House
Northbridge, East Victoria Park
The roast duck lovers in your life are sure to tell you Good Fortune is the only place to go. Crispy skinned and succulent, you’ll be booking your next visit before you’ve finished your meal. Want more? The roast pork is also damn good, as is the salt and pepper squid and steamed greens smothered in oyster sauce.
Ocean Dragon Chinese Restaurant
Watermans Bay
It wouldn’t be a list without a good ol’ suburban Chinese thrown in for good measure. Sit back and admire the views of the Indian Ocean whilst sipping on a drink and figuring out how many childhood faves you can manage. Sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken and sizzling beef are amongst some of our top picks.
Joy Kitchen
Fremantle
Joy Kitchen started over 25 years ago in the centre of Fremantle before settling into its home towards the foreshore. The high quality Cantonese food uses the best local produce and is cooked to perfection. There’s a great selection of cocktails, local wines and local and international beers. This is a little more upmarket than your usual neighbourhood Chinese so we recommend your Sunday best.
Chinese Fusion
Emily Taylor
Fremantle
Whilst not strictly Chinese, it would be remiss of us not to talk about the delectable dumplings on offer at Emily Taylor. Even better, you can get settled into a Yum Brunch every Saturday and Sunday, so you can stuff your face with two hours of bottomless dumplings and free-flowing sparkling, wine, beer and tea for $85 each. Drooling yet?
Lucky Chan's
Northbridge
Lucky Chan's could be best described as a hipster Asian restaurant fusing all sorts of cuisines and trends, including Chinese. As you peruse the menu, sip on a spiked bubble tea and have a nibble on their elevated prawn crackers with lemon pepper and sriracha mayo. Next up we’d recommend the gochujang pulled jackfruit dumplings doused in the tastiest soy caramel, char sui chicken and wok tossed rice cake noodles. For dessert? It’s obviously the fried ice cream with miso caramel.
Miss Chow’s
Claremont and South Perth
Miss Chow’s specialises in handmade dumplings and you simply can not go without ordering the Shanghainese pork and crystal prawn hargow. You’ll also find other tasty Chinese classics with a modern twist like sang choy bao, duck spring rolls and an epic fried rice. Their Hokkien noodles, which originate in China’s Fujian province, are deliciously reminiscent of hawker food, and the sweet and sour free range pork will quickly become your usual.
Lucy Luu
Mount Hawthorn
More Asian fusion than traditional Chinese, you can still expect to see some ridiculously good Chinese-inspired eats on the menu at Lucy Luu. The dumplings are mighty fine and the crispy Mount Barker chicken and blue swimmer crab fried rice will guarantee you’ll be visiting again. If you’re ready for a big feed, you can’t go past the feed me menu—you can even request what dishes are a must-have for the table.
Fine Dining
Silks
Burswood
For a slightly more upmarket experience, the obvious choice is Silks at Crown Perth. You may be splashing the cash, but we know that their gleaming Cantonese style food is worth it. From tender roasted meat to fresh seafood to Perth’s most upscale dim sum, your taste buds will be thanking you. This place is opulent - the lavish grandeur and Chinese majesty of the fit-out set the scene for a seriously fine dining experience.
Grand Orient
Perth
If you’re feeling a little bit fancy, you need to check out the wonderfully stylish Grand Orient. Inspired by the old-world and housed in the iconic Melbourne Hotel building, the Cantonese menu utilises both modern and traditional cooking techniques with classic flavours. Go here for a special occasion and choose one of the set menus.
Andly Private Kitchen
West Leederville
Andly Private Kitchen is not your average Perth Chinese restaurant. This is an intimate, highly authentic, banquet-style degustation experience that you must—seriously—book in advance. There are only seven tables, and Andly’s reputation is notoriously good, so they pack out often. The degustation you’ll receive is completely tailored to each guest (dislikes disclosed upon booking, please), and each dish plated up like a work of art. This one’s for the bucket list.
Want more? Here are our favourite places to get dumplings and drinks in Perth.
Image credit: Nancy Hanna (Authentic Bites Dumpling House). Elle Borgward (Dragon Palace and Good Fortune Roast Duck House) and Silks