Authentic Chinese cuisine in the East Bay

See our feature, Where to rock the wok in San Francisco.

The Great Wall of China is far, but great Chinese food is not. Freshly pulled noodles, hand-pinched dumplings and chili-laden meat platters are within easy reach because East Bay restaurants keep those loaded Lazy Susans rotating.

Forego the fast food imitations and sit down for some authentic cuisine, whether you’re in a Chinatown or not. At one of the following BARTable Chinese restaurants in Oakland, Berkeley and El Cerrito, where the tea cups always feel half full, loyal locals have learned where to go to satisfy their grasping chopsticks.

Photo courtesy of Yelp.

Shandong is a much-hyped popular stop in Oakland’s Chinatown; expect to see lines. Handmade noodles are the famous attraction here, with a visible area where dough is continuously rolled and cut atop a heavily floured counter space. Complimentary hot tea precedes the large portions of chow mein noodle plates, dumplings, meat and green bean platters that fuel family-style feasts from opening till closing.

Shandong

12th St. Oakland City Center

Photo courtesy of East Bay Express.

Great China

Downtown Berkeley

Photo courtesy of Yelp.

What’s in a name? A lot of spicy recipes from China’s Sichuan Province. Szechuan Pork with Explosive Chili, Kiss of Fire Orange Chicken, Spicy Fried Rice. The menu at this casual Oakland Chinatown restaurant makes it clear it celebrates plenty of full flavors not meant for the fearful. Red walls and hanging red lanterns further reflect the powerful tastes that keep patrons coming back to Spices 3 for plates that boldly brim with red chilis.

Spices 3

12th St. Oakland City Center

Photo courtesy of Yelp.

Noodles Fresh

El Cerrito Plaza

by Linda Koffman

Linda Koffman is an SF-based freelance writer and editor. Also a beginner gardener by day/performing songwriter by night, she feels grateful to live a life of extremes balancing plenty of contemplative silence with rocking out in a band. When not writing, she keeps her hands busy (and dirty) with old guitar strings and soil, and enjoys engaging with the Bay Area’s diverse environmental and cultural beauty. She loves puns to a fault and shamelessly laughs at her own jokes.