Chen Soleil D'est
15 rue du Theatre 75015 Paris,
tel: (33 1) 34 79 34 34
Despite the loss of the restaurant's chef Chen Fung-ching last year, the meticulous cuisine served from the stuffy dining room is still considered the best Chinese food in Paris. The first Chinese restaurant in France to earn a Michelin star, Chen Soleil D'est specialises in ultra-refined Chinese fare enhanced with Gallic flair. In the spirit of French haute cuisine the menu changes with the season, the dishes are created only from the freshest, choice ingredients and the meat and fish are sourced from the country's finest breeders. Hence, a justifiably famous Peking duck made from the fattened ducklings of Challans, five-spice pigeon from Mieral, and curried chicken from Bresse. Prices are steep and service has been known to be arrogant. Neither has stopped the city's pickiest gastronomes from returning.
Tong Yen
1 bis rue Jean Mermoz 75008 Paris, tel: (33 1) 42 25 04 23
For more than 40 years the ever-accommodating Therese Luong has greeted le tout Paris in this institution off the Champs Elysees. Politicians, actors and rock stars have paid a visit to taste what many claim to be some of the best Chinese food in the city. Dishes are certainly genuine and more than decent, and backed up by appropriately solicitous service. Yet whether influenced by the faded menus or the sad decor that screams out for a lick of bright paint, the classical cuisine seems almost dated. Then again, there's something to be said for tradition. And the regulars are never disappointed.