Nobody talks about Richardson’s Chinatown the way they should. It doesn’t have the density of Houston’s or the fame of San Francisco’s, but what it has is its own story — and that story happens to be one of the more quietly remarkable things that happened to North Texas in the last 40 years.
In the mid-1980s, Chinese engineers and scientists started arriving in Richardson to take jobs at Texas Instruments and Rockwell International. The suburb was affordable and close to work, and the community that formed around those careers eventually became something larger than anyone had planned. A group of Chinese investors bought a strip shopping center at 400 N. Greenville Avenue — a 1960s-era property that had been called Richardson Terrace — and turned it into DFW Chinatown. Dragon statues at the entrance. Life-size figures from Chinese history lining the main drive. A 25,000-square-foot Asian grocery. A community center.
And a collection of restaurants that have been feeding the area’s Chinese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese communities ever since. It opened in 1985 and has been expanding its footprint and its reputation every decade since.
It is not what most people picture when they hear the word Chinatown. It’s a strip mall in the suburbs. But strip malls built by communities for communities tend to be more alive than anything a developer puts together trying to simulate that feeling, and this one has that quality in abundance. Go on a Saturday afternoon and you’ll understand immediately. Here’s who’s there.
Jeng Chi Restaurant
Master chef Yuan Teng opened Jeng Chi in 1990 with four tables and a small bakery. The dumplings and noodles came first, the regulars came next, and then the expansion that pushed the restaurant into its current 8,000-square-foot home. Today Yuan’s son Francisco and daughter-in-law Janelle run the day-to-day operation. Over 250 items on the menu, a full bar, a café, and an in-house bakery that has been making traditional handcrafted mooncakes from family recipes since 1949.
The Small Juicy Steamed Dumpling — what Jeng Chi calls its xiao long bao — is the signature. The skin is thin, the broth is hot, and the ratio of meat to liquid is exactly right. Pick it up carefully with chopsticks, set it on the spoon, bite a small hole in the top, and let the broth settle for a second before you eat it. Beyond the soup dumplings the Three Cup Chicken, Dan Dan Noodles, Mongolian Beef, and Crispy Salt and Pepper Shrimp are the dishes worth knowing. Read our review here. Open daily 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Reservations on OpenTable. Phone: (972) 669-9094.
Maru Ramen
Maru Ramen at Suite 26 is the Japanese ramen shop that locals consistently rank among the best in the Metroplex. Tonkotsu, shoyu, miso — the broths are rich and properly built, the noodles have the right texture, and portions run large enough that most people leave with something for tomorrow. Open daily 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Phone: (972) 792-8888.
Pho Que Huong Noodle and Grill
The Vietnamese pho spot inside the complex is the one people drive from across the Metroplex to get to. The broth at Pho Que Huong is the slow-simmered kind — clear, deeply beefy, fragrant with star anise and cinnamon — and it arrives in bowls large enough to be a full meal with the spring rolls you should also order. Open daily.
Tofu Factory
Tofu Factory is the Korean restaurant inside the complex and one of the better arguments for the cuisine in this part of the suburb. Sundubu jjigae — soft tofu stew with egg and your choice of protein — is the dish most people order first. The bibimbap is solid and the banchan spread is generous. Good for vegetarians, good for everyone else. Open daily.
Genroku Sushi & Grill
Genroku Sushi & Grill handles the Japanese side beyond ramen — a full sushi menu alongside grilled items and hot dishes. It’s the kind of neighborhood sushi bar that gets overlooked because it’s in a strip mall rather than a designed room, and it’s better than its surroundings suggest. Regulars have been eating here for years. Open daily.
85 Degrees C Bakery and Cafe
85 Degrees C is the Taiwanese bakery chain with a cult following for its sea salt coffee, pineapple cakes, and soft bread rolls that come out of the oven in waves. The line at the bread counter on weekends is real and moves fast. It’s the right place to start the morning or end the afternoon. Open daily early morning through evening.
Java Land Coffee Haus
Java Land Coffee Haus is the neighborhood coffee shop inside the complex — boba tea, espresso drinks, and a comfortable place to sit between meals. The boba milk tea program is strong and the shop has the kind of relaxed energy that makes an afternoon at Chinatown feel less like an errand and more like a destination.
Good Fortune Supermarket
The 25,000-square-foot Good Fortune Supermarket is the anchor of the whole operation and worth a full lap regardless of whether you’re cooking anything. Preserved duck eggs, imported dried noodles, fresh tofu, live seafood tanks, specialty produce from Taiwan and Southeast Asia, and an entire aisle of instant noodle varieties that will make you question every choice you’ve made in a Western grocery store. Open daily.
Richardson’s Chinatown is about 20 minutes from downtown Dallas on US-75, close to the Spring Valley DART station. Go hungry and bring enough time to wander. dfwchinatown.com has the full store directory.
