Chinese restaurants are prevalent in countries outside of China, but that doesn’t mean all of them are authentic or serve high-quality food. Sometimes the best way to evaluate a restaurant is not by the food itself but by other cues such as a cooking staff made up primarily of Chinese natives. Even those not born or raised in China are likely to have had exposure to authentic Chinese cooking growing up and inherited a classic recipe or two.

A menu written in less-than-perfect English can also signify that the food will taste more like natural Chinese dishes and less like the Americanized versions that are typically not as flavorful. If the restaurant publishes a small Chinese newspaper, diners should look for ads written in Chinese. This is a good indication that the restaurant attracts advertisers who are interested in maintaining the traditional Chinese culture through food and industry.

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