Ditto on pfChang and one more
 

Ditto on PF Chang. I'd even go as far as to say they're a bit overpriced, but very yummy.

Another chain on the high side with wonderful food quality is Sam Woo. Several locations in southern California including one at Metro Pointe (a small "Mall" adjacent to the world-famous South Coast Plaza. The Metro Pointe location is a hybrid, on one side it has the "take out" buffet-style ... on the other side a nice (expensive) sit down. Very tasty.

In Los Angeles, I like Yujean Kang in Pasadena. Upscale Chinese food in a pretty setting. There's also Din Tai Fung in Arcadia - the only Chinese restaurant I've ever known to have an open kitchen, so you can see how clean it is and how your food is prepared. The bathroom is spotless! ;) It's not particularly upscale or expensive, just clean and absolutely wonderful food.

PF Chang is such a "Gwai Lo" type of place and the food is so.....

IMO there are No good chinese restaurant in USA (They are all acustom to the US Western style! evident from those stupid Fortune Cookie which does NOT exist in HK)

I would assume that, generally speaking, restaurants have to adapt to western tastes in order to succeed in the U.S., but my goodness, you must eat out a lot to know that there are "no" good Chinese restaurants! How many thousands must there be? Also, I don't quite understand what a fortune cookie has to do with the quality of the food.

Have you ever been to San Francisco, Monterey Park, CA, Flushing, NY,... just to name a few? There are tons of good, authentic Chinese restaurants to be found there, not limited to only HK-Cantonese style either. And most do not give out fortune cookies at the end of a meal.

Btw, I like to crack open fortune cookies just to see what's in there. :D

And do you have to read the fortune out loud at the table and add "in bed" to whatever it says? :D

I have to add another one now
 

I found another "clean and expensive" one, mainly Mandarin-HK style but also featuring some Vietnamese delicacies such as Bao and Summer Rolls ...

Cafe Chin Chin located in the Tustin Marketplace, Tustin, CA

Food is pricy but all is made fresh to order and the taste is fabulous. One of their specialties, Orange Chicken has a much more delicate taste than most places I've tried which go over the top with sweetness. Definitely worth trying.

Seattle has quite a few great Chinese restaurants, and Vancouver has even more incredible ones. SEA's International District is also great for Thai and Vietnamese- and Malay Satay Hut, mmmm. I'm addicted to their mango curry.

This was in the LA Times yesterday, and pertains to this topic a bit. Registration may be required, but it's free.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedi...ck=1&cset=true

Silks at crown in Melbourne is also very nice, not as pricy as flower drum but food is absolutely delicious, some dishes even better than flower drum! Some! Toilets smell very nice, and very beautiful marble floors. The soup even smells good, and the restaurant is decorated in ancient chinese vases, overlooking the yarra river and the city. I would give it a 9/10 for food and 10/10 for environment.

Tommy Toy's in San Francisco - upscale setting with formal service. Site of many a society-matron lunch.

I was just talking to my friends about the same frustration I have. Tse Yang in NYC is pretty good, upscale, very clean. The food is a little 'gwai lo', but I only had lunch there. THeir fried rice though is top notch. Those who have real fried rice know what I mean. Fragrant, fluffy egg flakes, light rice, NOT GREASY.

Shanghai Pavillion on the Upper East Side in NYC is pretty clean too. ANd the price is not that bad. Chinatown has great food, but boy, why can't we have a clean place down there?

I agree the best Chinese Restaurants are in England! My boyfriend's family always takes me to The Szechuan Inn when I am over visiting in Newbury. The atmosphere is very fancy and the service is wonderful. Sometimes the waitors and waitresses are so on top of things it gets a little annoying! The food is unbelieveable. We order the dinner for 4 or 5 people and get about 5 courses of amazing food. I've had Chinese in the United States several times but it was always take out or something very casual and cannot compare to the amazing food at the Schezuan Inn. I find there are tons of fancy Japanese, Indian, and Thai restaurants but it is difficult to find a nice sit down Chinese restaurant. If there are any in the Virginia area I do not know about please let me know!

No one's mentioned Billy Kwong on Crown St, Surry Hills (Sydney). It's not pure tradition cantonese but the flavours have the chef's (or owner & executive chef Kylie Kwong's) touches and demands for freshness and meticulous preparation. The food there has a lot more flavour, and noticeably less oiliness, because she evidently doesn't believe in shortcuts that traditional chinese restaurant kitchens use. The kitchen is open so you can see into it. Hard to hide lacking hygiene standards.

BYOB too. :)

clean and expensive, sure, clean, expensive and authentic--probably not.

chinese food rocks, and i frankly don't care whether it's 'authentic' or not. i think pf chang's is fine, and have enjoyed both shun lee in nyc and ming dynasty in houston. that said, my husband and i went to china last year just to eat--four different provinces, four different cuisines--and have had other china trips as well. in fact, i'm typing this from my hotel in hangzhou. (try the hyatt, it's lovely.)

i've had nothing in the us or canada--nothing--that tastes like the food in china, with the possible exception of those dried fried string beans and some dim sum. i must confess i've not tried chinese food in europe, being all-too happy to enjoy the local cuisines when i'm there.

my husband, who has been traveling to china for over 20 years, says that with the exception of a few high-end cantonese restaurants, most regional chinese cuisine isn't available anywhere except in china. that said, we're both grateful that we have something to eat that's not mexican or italian!

to get back on topic, i'm with the pu tong hua speakers--i don't care so much about the bathroom if the food is good enough--much like in china itself :D