Best Chinese Food in Boulder: The Lucky 7

best chinese food boulderIn this article, we cover top restaurants to try the best Chinese food in Boulder.

For being such a relatively small town, Boulder sure is a center for those who know their way around food and drink. Foodies and gourmands, even famous ones, flock to Boulder to see what’s going on in the world of cuisine, of all different categories and cultural origins.

You’ve already read about our top Asian restaurants to visit in Boulder, but did you know that we’ve also got a bunch of the best Chinese food anywhere?  Good Chinese food can be found all over the place in Boulder, but we’ve found the best of the best: the lucky 7 spots where you can get the best Chinese food in Boulder. Let us know if there are any Boulder greats you love that we missed!

China Gourmet

Up in North Boulder (or NoBo, as it’s called), China Gourmet holds the throne for tasty, inexpensive Chinese food in the classic American style. 2021 Silver award winner in the Best of Boulder awards for Best Chinese Food, China Gourmet has the works for both lunch and dinner. But the part of their menu that most Boulderites remember is the Shanghai Specials. 

Got a savory craving? China Gourmet’s got half a Salty Duck ready to go for you. A delicious and filling vegetarian option? Where do you begin? Maybe their tofu and vegetable hot pot, or their famous veggie fried rice? Got a spice fix that needs attention? Take a big bite of their Volcano Shrimp, to cure what ails ya. 

China Gourmet is not only one of the best chinese food places in Boulder, but they’ve got another branch in boulder County neighbor, Longmont. They’ll take care of you for takeout or delivery as well as a comfy, casual dine-in experience, but they don’t take credit cards, so make sure you’ve got plenty of cash when you go.

Zoe Ma Ma

Who won the 2021 Best of Boulder Award for Best Chinese Food in Boulder? Zoe Ma Ma, that’s who. And it’s not hard to see why: anything they have on their dim sum list is always to die for, and all their specials are that. 

Zoe Ma Ma is located just around the corner from the walking portion of the historic and famous Pearl Street Mall, and there’s nothing quite like popping into their little diner-style cafe for a sip of their magical chicken broth or a bite of a tender and fluffy bao. Tips are always included automatically on your bill at Zoe Ma Ma, so you don’t have to worry about that. But do be aware–supply chain issues being what they are if they run out of ingredients badly enough? All items go out of stock and they close. It can happen that a Boulderite will get themselves all psyched up for a nosh at Boulder’s Gold Medal Winning Best Chinese Food restaurant, only to be disappointed till they can restock their kitchen. But the wait is always worth it.

Formosa Bakery

What’s that you say? A bakery that makes some of the best Chinese food in Boulder? Oh, but yes they do–you see, Formosa Bakery is known not only for their Chinese food but for their Taiwanese street food and sweets as well. Located way out on East Pearl, sort of near DV8 Distillery, Formosa is one place that you don’t want to miss out on when sampling the best Chinese food in Boulder.

Sure, they’ve got their own delicious takes on the classics, like General Tso’s chicken, Mongolian Beef, all those yummy things that make good Chinese food good. But what Formosa is known for is something a bit more unusual. Besides their Taiwanese fare, Formosa is most famous among Boulderites for something called a Chinese Golden Hamburger. These lovely Chinese bun versions of hamburgers come with pork belly, barbecue, eel, or tofu, and are widely thought of as the most delicious item on Formosa’s menu.

Hao Way

Tucked away in Boulder’s Sunrise plaza over on 30th street lives a little pearl of a Chinese restaurant. Called Hao Way, it’s a no-nonsense, low-priced but high-quality place that serves up all the good Chinese classics you know and love, for lunch or for dinner. All the meats, seafood, and top-notch veggie dishes you’re looking for, prepared in all the ways you want when you’re going for the best Chinese food: lo mein or chow mein? How Way has them both. Want your dumplings fried or steamed? Either way, Hao Way’s got you covered. And whatever you want to put into your fried rice, they’ll do it for you, and at a price that won’t break the bank. Call them to pick up your takeout order, or sit for a while in their dine-in space.

May Wah

You may be familiar with May Wah as a solid purveyor of Thai and Vietnamese cuisines, but did you know that they also serve up some of the best Chinese food in Boulder? Well, it’s true–May Wah has been down South on Baseline for a while now, and Boulderites know that they deliver in the Chinese realm of things, too. Kung pao, Mu shu, Hunan…May Wah’s got it all, and they’ve got great desserts, too, in case you’re not stuffed to the gills from lunch or dinner.

Heads up, though: May Wah is closed Tuesdays, and, more importantly, they’re not affiliated with any third-party delivery companies, so if you’re in the mood for May Wah and you want your Chinese food delivered, call them directly, and support your local Boulder business.

You & Mee Noodle House

Don’t let the cute name of You & Mee throw you–sure, they’ve got a full-blown what they call an American menu, filled to the savory and spicy brim with all the classic Chinese-American cuisine we all know and love: the cashew chicken, the wontons, and all the noodles you can shake a chopstick at. 

But what makes You & Mee unique among all the great choices of best Chinese food in Boulder, is when you click on that little tab that says “Chinese Traditional Dishes.” This is where You & Mee stands alone: pork ear, stomach, or intestines are all on this menu. So are a wide array of traditional Chinese soups. Oh, and, century eggs with tofu? Yup, You & Mee isn’t messing around–they’ve got the real deal. And you can get any of it for takeout, dine-in, or delivery.

Jin Chan

Now Jin Chan (Jin Chan Zhang) is the first Chinese restaurant that pops into most Boulderites’ heads if you ask who serves the best Chinese food in Boulder. Why? Well, they’ve been around forever, they’re conveniently and centrally located, they use fresh delicious ingredients, and have long had a Boulder-wide reputation for high quality in general. Plus, it’s the go-to Chinese restaurant that most of us Boulder natives grew up ordering takeout or delivery from as a treat.

What can I say? Jin Chan won the Best of Boulder write-in award for Best Chinese food–take it from Boulderites themselves–if Jin Chan wasn’t offered as one of the voting choices for Best Chinese Food in Boulder, best believe that anyone who eats Chinese food here was going to make sure it placed, regardless. The people have spoken, and they’ve spoken for Jin Chan.

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Jennifer Zukowski

Jennifer Zukowski

Jenn Zuko is adjunct faculty at DU, MSU Denver, and Regis University. She teaches courses in writing; literature; visual, performing, and martial arts; body language and stage combat. She is the author of Stage Combat: Fisticuffs, Stunts, and Swordplay for Theatre and Film, and “I Do My Own Stunts”. She can be seen performing on stage and in classrooms in the Boulder/Denver area, and online at Daily Cross-Swords, YourBoulder, and Writers’ HQ. She tweets at @bonzuko.
Jennifer Zukowski

Jennifer Zukowski

Jenn Zuko is adjunct faculty at DU, MSU Denver, and Regis University. She teaches courses in writing; literature; visual, performing, and martial arts; body language and stage combat. She is the author of Stage Combat: Fisticuffs, Stunts, and Swordplay for Theatre and Film, and “I Do My Own Stunts”. She can be seen performing on stage and in classrooms in the Boulder/Denver area, and online at Daily Cross-Swords, YourBoulder, and Writers’ HQ. She tweets at @bonzuko.

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