10 Best Regional Chinese Cooking Comes to Portland With Appetizing Results

It's a winning combination for any restaurant: attentive service and good food. Fortunately, Panda Garden Restaurant does well with both of these expectations. This eatery is a favorite spot with Portland's lunch time crowd in light of its quick preparation and generous portions. However, Panda Garden is great for quality evening dining, as well. In addition to the standard Chinese cuisine offerings, this restaurant also stands out for its diet and heart healthy offerings. In particular, dishes such as Steamed Scallop with Vegetables are steamed to perfection with a light sauce served on the side. Also worth sampling is Moo Shu Vegetable with egg, tree mushrooms, cabbage, bamboo shoots and plum sauce (also served on the side); Hunan Chicken featuring chicken, mushrooms, snow peas, broccoli, baby corn, red pepper and water chestnuts in a delightfully zesty black bean sauce. As mentioned, the wait staff is friendly, efficient, and always ready with menu recommendations.

Opened in 1998, Chia Sen has successfully brought upscale, gourmet Chinese cuisine to nearby Scarborough. The restaurant's interior is expansive but also intimate with comfortable, cushioned hardwood chairs and tables, subdued lighting, and a playful Buddha statue as its centerpiece. The focus here is on quality Chinese food with a Taiwanese accent. This is most evident in the restaurant's Chef Specials selection. Among top choices are Taiwanese Pineapple Shrimp, a regional favorite, with jumbo shrimp that is fried to a golden brown and tossed with homemade sweet mayonnaise sauce. Other menu standouts include Peking Style Chicken featuring delicately floured and fried white meat chicken, cooked with carrots and bell peppers, and served with Chia Sen's own sweet and spicy sauce; and Beef and Scallops on Sizzling Platter with lightly fried sea scallops, tender beef, and mixed vegetables cooked in a wok in a special brown sauce.

For several years now, Maple Leaves has offered a signature Chinese dining experience along the southern Maine coast. This restaurant offers welcome versatility in Chinese cooking with expertise in classic regional styles such as Szechuan, Hunan, Kung Pao and Yu Hsiang cuisines. The restaurant's interior is casual but inviting with comfortable seating and a lounge for enjoying before or after dinner cocktails. The wait staff is very welcoming and will eagerly make recommendations from the menu. For those with special dietary needs, Maple Leaves is more than willing to tweak their recipes for your dining pleasure. Among menu highlights are Yu Hsiang Three Delights featuring shrimp, chicken and beef with broccoli, water chestnuts, pea pods, and mushrooms in a delicate garlic and ginger sauce; and Szechuan Chicken with water chestnuts, green pepper, cabbage, mushrooms, carrots and onions cooked in a hot and spicy sauce.

When it comes to Hunan cuisine, there are few restaurants in the Portland area that are as authentic as Imperial China Chinese Restaurant. Here, traditional Hunan cooking – recognized as one of the eight great traditions of Chinese cuisine – is truly an art. True to its heritage, this South Portland eatery prepares dishes with all of the classic Hunan characteristics including spicy, hot flavor; deep rich color; and appealing, fresh aromas. Menu items can be prepared through different methods including braising, smoking, frying and stewing. Menu standouts include spicy and tantalizing Hunan Chicken; Beef with Spicy Tea Sauce; Mangoes Duo featuring jumbo shrimps and chicken sautéed with fresh mangoes and vegetables in a house sauce; and the classic Shrimp and Pork Hunan Style with black bean sauce and jumbo shrimp in a special chili sauce.