Our 10 Best Chinese Restaurants in NYC, 2013 Edition

4. Mission Chinese - While this wildly popular spot on the Lower East Side makes no claim to authenticity, you can't deny the excitement of the reinterpreted Chinese food being offered, mainly in a Sichuan vein. Dishes like ma po tofu (reinterpreted with house-fermented fava beans and pork shoulder), chonqing chicken (made using wings and swatches of cow tripe), and kung pao pastrami (above) will leave your mouth in a burning smile. 154 Orchard Street, 212-529-8800

3. Sheng Wang - Stalwart of the southernmost block of Eldridge Street, the site of many lower-end employment agencies, this is Chinatown's quintessential working-class eatery. Choose the hand-pulled noodles or the peel noodles - both made in-house - and have them deposited in soups or (our fave) stir-fried with eggs and greens. The pork-stuffed steamed dumplings are some of the best in town. Shown above: house special hand-pulled noodle soup, topped as is the custom with a wad of pickled mustard greens. 27 Eldridge Street. 212-925-0805

2. Hunan Kitchen - For those unfamiliar with this cuisine, said to be inherently spicier than Sichuan, the menu of Hunan Kitchen will come as a revelation. There are many opportunities for the vegetarian, too, including a stif-fry of smoked bamboo every bit as good as barbecued meat, and steamed winter melon with crushed pickled peppers (above). The food, often associated with Chairman Mao, is a pleasing welter of salty, sour, and smoky flavors. 42-47 Main Street, Flushing, Queens, 718-389-8100