Two Maryland Restaurants Make Yelp’s 2024 “Top 100 Chinese Restaurants” In The U.S. List

Yelp has released its 2024 list of “Top 100 Chinese Restaurants” across the country and two Maryland restaurants (including one in Montgomery County) have made the list.

As stated by the company, “Yelp experiences a significant increase in searches for Chinese restaurants every December, as people seek out warm and comforting meals. In 2023, the peak number of searches occurred on Christmas Day.” Yelp compiled this list by identifying non-chain businesses within the Chinese category and ranking them based on various criteria, including the total volume and ratings of reviews. Additionally, all businesses included on this list had a passing health score as of October 2, 2024, when available.

Coming in at #11 in the country is Pepper House– located at 10176 Baltimore National Pike #105, Ellicott City, MD (Howard County). Pepper House is an authentic Sichuan restaurant serving delicious and authentic noodles, dumplings, malatang, side dishes, and more. Pepper House has a 4.7 rating on Yelp with over 200 reviews. It has an even higher rating on Google, with 4.8 stars on more than 370 reviews.

Per the restaurant, “Sichuan cuisine is famous for being spicy and fragrant, as well as using the numbing Sichuan peppercorn. Our dishes are customizable to your preferred level of spice and numbing. We can also accommodate gluten free and vegetarian requests. We hope you enjoy. Our dishes are created using our Housemade Chili Oil. You can even buy a jar to use at home!”

Coming in at #88 in the country is Shi Miaodao Yunnan Rice Noodle– located at 819 Hungerford Dr. in Rockville (Saah Plaza). The restaurant specializes in serving authentic Yunnan rice noodle dishes. On Yelp, Shi Miaodao has earned a 4.6 rating on 125 reviews and has earned a 4.3 on Google with over 160 reviews.

In a 2021 Washington Post article, Tim Carman writes, “Shi Miaodao Yunnan Rice Noodle is a Chinese import that has, in recent years, started to seek franchisees in the United States. Ye, a restaurateur with many years of experience in Chinese and Japanese cuisines, has the franchise rights for Rockville, he says. He spent a month at the Shi Miaodao’s corporate headquarters in Hangzhou (about 1,500 miles from Yunnan) to learn how to run one of its noodle shops. As part of its franchise agreement, the Chinese company sends Ye dried noodles and packets filled with a secret blend of spices, each one customized for the 10 or so soups on the menu.”