Royal China Restaurant

A stalwart of Dallas' Chinese food scene since 1974, this family-run restaurant is perennially popular for regional Chinese dishes. While you can expect to find iconic Americanized favorites such as moo-goo-gai-pan and dry-stirred beef, the rest of the menu offers more modern Chinese specialties. Items like hand-pulled noodle dishes and Shanghai-style Xiang Zao pork belly are always good choices, but the biggest draw can be found at the dumpling bar where each pillowy parcel is made-to-order. Options range from pan-fried dumplings, soup dumplings and steamed beef buns to xian bing, a crispy Chinese-style crepe filled with meat.