13 May The Best Chinese Takeout Dishes: As Ranked by Z & Y
Chinese takeout has been a popular past-time for American families for decades. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ordering Chinese food for delivery to go grew even more popular with dine-in options severely limited.
Ordering Chinese takeout requires slightly different decision-making than dining in the restaurant. In addition to taste preferences, customers must consider how well a particular dish will travel.
For example, customers dining at Z & Y Restaurant absolutely love the Spicy Fish with Flaming Chili Oil. However, this particular dish tastes best when served hot from the kitchen. Additionally, the soupy consistency may cause spills and messes in transit from the restaurant.
With those criteria in mind, below is a list of eight of the most popular, and highly recommended dishes for takeout from Z & Y Restaurant:
Beef Pancakes
Featuring a savory mix of beef, scallions, and a flaky dough exterior, Chinese pancakes are a takeout favorite. Like a burrito or gyro, this dish requires no utensils and is easy to eat, even on the go.
Chicken with Explosive Chili Pepper
Evangelized by culinary wizard, rapper, and TV star Action Bronson (among many others), Z & Y’s explosive chicken has a cult-like following. The great food critic, Michael Bauer, of the San Francisco Chronicle described it as “nuggets of golden fried dark meat… buried like treasures in hundreds of dried red chilis.”
Couple’s Delight
Customers at Z & Y love Couple’s Delight, also known as “Fuqi Feipian“. A classic dish in Sichuanese culture, it features beef shank, beef tripe, and beef tendon among other ingredients, bathing in red chili oil. The flavors stay fresh and make it a great option for Chinese takeout as well.
Tea Smoked Duck
Z & Y’s tea-smoked duck features a subtle aroma of smoke and crispy, fragrant duck meat. Supplementary hot and sour ingredients nicely complement this classic dish.
Mapo Tofu
Mapo Tofu is one of the most well-known and beloved of all Sichuan dishes. Discerning diners expect a good Sichuanese restaurant to serve delicious Mapo Tofu. Z & Y Restaurant embraces this challenge, impressing customers everyday with mouth-watering Mapo Tofu… and even offering a Mapo Tofu recipe online!
Read Kristen W.‘s review of Z & Y Restaurant on Yelp
Spicy Shrimp in Clay Pot
Enjoy spicy shrimp, perfectly cooked and surrounded by sautéed celery, potatoes and chopped red chilis. Although you won’t get the clay pot as part of your takeout experience, you won’t regret choosing this dish.
Lamb Cumin
The combination of tender, juicy lamb, cumin and crunchy peppers & onions make this dish a takeout favorite. Just ask Aditi from San Jose:
Read Aditi R.‘s review of Z & Y Restaurant on Yelp
Dry Sautéed String Beans
The dry sautéed string beans at Z & Y are not your run-of-the-mill veggie dish. In fact, you’ll find nearly as many reviews about this scrumptious side dish as many of the popular entrees at Z & Y. With hot oil, garlic, red chilis, and salted black beans, this dish punches way above its weight in terms of flavor.
