OMG!!!! finally tried this place and... I think it might be our favorite Chinese place in Minnesota!!! Much better than Peking garden... reminds me of China ;) they even have GuoTie with the right kind of sauce! read more

Tonight our dinner at Sunxing Restaurant in Chengdu (the capitol of fine Sichuan food in this province of China) confirmed that Tea House in Golden Valley and Little Sichuan Restaurant in St. Paul can hold their own with the best Chinese restaurants. The entertainment at the Tea House Sichuan Opera after dinner, however, supported the view that you should venture to Chengdu for your next Chinese meal. read more

Not sure why this place is listed under the "tea room" category. It's just a regular Chinese restaurant. There's no tea on their menu.

Doesn't look like much when you pull up, but the food was great. Avoided the true Szechuan and played it safe with juicy buns and scallion pancakes for apps then Mongolian pork and shrimp and veggies for entrees. Everything was great but I was partial to the pork. Deep rich flavor. Potions were huge also. Vivian was great help picking new things to try. Would go back in a second!! read more

The Teahouse...a fantastic restaurant located behind Target across I-94 from the Sun Ray shopping center in a little strip mall where you would never expect to find some of the best Chinese food ever. Excellent service, excellent food. High quality ingredients quickly prepared at a fair price that usually need no seasoning whatsoever once delivered to the table. My husband and I especially like the crispy crab balls. I like the beef with peapod, and he likes the chow mein. Well worth the trip. Often we order a couple of extra entrees to pack for lunches through the week. The decor is dark wood accents with dark salmon colored walls- very relaxing and elegant. Not what you would expect from observing the outside of the building. I believe there is dim sum available on the weekends, though we have gone for regular meals. Try this one- you'll like it. read more

This is by far my favorite Chinese restaurant in all of the Twin Cities, and I've tried several! There's plenty of options here for those who enjoy traditional/authentic flavors or more "westernized" tastes. I highly recommend the kung pao chicken and the Szechuan style double cooked pork if you're up for something spicy and leaning more on the authentic side of things! read more

Originally from Portland, my dim sum taste isn't as refined as those from San Francisco or Vancouver but at least I know that food shouldn't be served raw. 2 dishes that were served to us with raw shrimp and our pork buns were still cold inside. Needless to say, I'm never coming back. read more

We usually eat here when we're in St. Paul. For moderately priced Asian this is one of the best we've found. The Lemon Chicken is fabulous! (We try to remember to ask them to hold the bed of lettuce though-it can add a bitter taste). It is lightly "crunchily" breaded. We are also a fan of the Szechuan green beans. read more

I came to Tea House in Saint Paul because I heard great reviews about it. The restaurant was rated one of the "best Chinese restaurant of the Twin Cities." Pft, yeah right! The server was so rude. She rolled her eyes at me and gave me one hell of an attitude. I am Asian and maybe therefore they thought they could have the audacity to treat me lower then them. There were other workers there doing nothing but just sitting around. The manager was just there seeing the server being rude while doing nothing! How disgusting is the service here?! Do not go here! Will I ever recommend someone coming here? Never ever in my life. If you want good service and good Chinese food, go to HoHo's down the street. This was one hell of an experience! Ha! read more

It's in a little out of the way strip mall but very nice interior. The Dandan noodles are outstanding! authentic Chinese cuisine with lots of Chinese diners. Everything we've tried was very good! read more

My date and I arrived well before any other guests showed up and we caught the staff by surprise on a Wednesday evening. Jay, our fantastic server, recommended the scallion pancake, green beans, and the chicken and asparagus blades. The food was fantastic! Jay took great care of us and after we paid, some two hours later, the staff and Jay continued to fill our glasses with water and let our conversation continue uninterrupted until we were one of the last two tables in the restaurant. This kind of service is above and beyond my usual expectation when dining out and it was VERY appreciated. The food was fantastic and the ambiance was great. Highly recommend the Teahouse for your next outing. read more

Don't let the surrounding environment (a somewhat rundown-looking strip mall on an I-94 frontage road) deter you from visiting the Tea House. Ever since they went into business, I am hard-pressed to eat Chinese food anywhere else. I lived in San Francisco for eight years, and I don't think I ever had Chinese food there as good as this. Every time I go there, I see a lot of Chinese people eat there, and that is always a good sign. It is almost always busy when I've been there. The menu is pretty varied, with well-known dishes and several that aren't so well-known. As another review pointed out, there is a separate menu listing dishes that are of a traditional Szechuan style. By all means, throw caution to the wind and don't let the "special" menu intimidate you: I've always found the wait staff to be helpful in answering questions about the food. Everything tastes fresh and the quality is consistent. Fried foods aren't greasy, and the hot-and-sour soup is balanced consistently. I don't know for sure, but I believe the sauces that accompany dumplings and rolls are house-made, and they're much more flavorful and less sweet than what you get in the little packets from a typical Chinese restaurant. Portions are generous. I'm a hearty eater, and I almost always have leftovers to take home. The cold spicy noodles are even better the next day. The dining room has a very relaxing, pleasant look and feel about it. There are nice, little touches to the service, like a plate of orange wedges after a meal. Prices are certainly reasonable, between the cheap and moderate on Yelp's price range. The lunch special is a good value, as well. They do take-out, and they also offer delivery in a very limited radius. read more

Yum! We went here for dinner on a quiet sunday night. The staff were gracious, polite and swift. They even brought rubber-banded chopsticks for our two kids. The duck in bean sauce special was delicious. The duck was moist and tasty and the veggies fresh and crisp. My wife ordered the eggplant "chef recommendation" and it was fantastic. The eggplant was soft and tasty. Perhaps a little bit too much suace, but I have no other complaints. As others have pointed out, the sesame chicken is indeed very good; a big hit with our 8 year old. Out ever-picky 3 year old wanted noodles and I can say that the lo mein noodles were cooked very well and were yummy. read more

Not good. The staff is lack luster, the food not at all like any Szechwan I've ever eaten, and the price is high.

The teahouse is by far our favorite place to eat. We eat here at least once every couple weeks. We have tried most everything on the menu and everything is great. the flounder is a favorite with the hot and sour soup. lunch special is well worth it..go early or late for lunch because it fills up but well worth any wait. read more

Now that Little Sichuan on University Ave. has gone hot pot, Teahouse has become my go-to East Metro Chinese restaurant. It's improved in the years since I wrote my first review: Authentic, delicious Sichuan food (Chongqing chili chicken, ma la fish). Dan dan noodles, soup dumplings, and scallion cakes are excellent. I'd stick with the Sichuan specialties; Moo shi pork is tasty but they serve it with frozen commercial pancakes that inevitably crack and fall apart. I've come here more often recently and am usually served by the same waiter, a friendly, middle-aged man with a dry sense of humor and a sly smile. He's a delight! read more

The best Asian cuisine on the east side. Juicey Buns are out of this universe.

I chose this restaurant to celebrate New Years Day with my sons, as starting off the New Year at a nice restaurant is our tradition. I had read about this place in the newspaper, and tried it for takeout once before. We had an awesome experience! Our green onion pancake appetizer was delicious, and so was our tofu vegetable soup. Then we had their boiled fish (exceptional), stir-fried pea greens (yum) and a deliciously seasoned scallop and shrimp dish. Our waiter was wonderful and the ambiance was nice, too. Excellent all the way around. Nothing could be faulted. We really should have taken some pics. read more

I'm not local and I thought I'd try this place out on a whim... and I was not disappointed! The mini juicy dumplings and Mongolian lamb hit the spot! The staff were also understanding when I realized I left my cards at my hotel room a few blocks away lol read more

Delicious and authentic Asian food. The staff is willing to help you figure out what you would like - including offering items that are not on the menu. read more

RUDE! They walked past us many times, we tried to get there attention, but they ignored us. I did not see one smile from any of the staff. I had sesame chicken which was very fatty. Never again will I go there. read more

The best Chinese food... Ask the server what to get. Stay away from your comfort typical Chinese food like fried rice or low mein or sweet n sour... Their food is not just good food... ITS AN EXPERIENCE... Their juicy bun dish!!!... Also, what threw my whole Chinese cuisine mindset was, typical you get the heavy, oily sauce... This place has these sauces and broth that looks like it will be heavy and greasy, BUT NO!!!... It's light, flavorful, perfect... I had a party of 4, we let our server suggest their best... We had a total of 10 dishes that were better than the last. It's almost like a course set service!!!... Top notch food, top notch service, I urge people to not only eat here, but experience here... read more

Different style from the Plymouth location, but that just makes it another unique gem. The mini juicy buns are so damned good. Chicken element was full of clean flavor that stuck with me like a billboard in my head telling me to go back for more. Chung king chicken was crazy good. Reminds me of how people describe umami savory. Yum! read more

Drove all over trying to find this place. Tucked away is an understatement. Was greeted promptly and ordered takeout. Just fried rice and egg rolls. Should have tried the recommended items from previous posters but was in a hurry. Rice was above average, egg rolls average. Will go back to dine in next time I'm in town. Decor is dark but interesting... read more

Szechuan or Sichuan, however you spell it, they have the best dishes. You can find that luckily pretty easily around the TC area. When I moved here 7 years ago, I didn't think I'd find any authentic Chinese restaurants...til I tried Tea House. They have several locations, including the newer one in Dinkytown. If you want something exotic, and thrill for the senses, get away from the cookie cutter Chinese restaurants and give this a go. This place is the real deal! read more

Tea house - Ma la (tongue numbing spicy) appetizer cold dishes. Soo tasty! - Szechuan Near Me - Saint Paul, Minnesota

The best decorated Chinese place in the city, but the food is very average. Everything has tons of sesame oil, and both times we've been there the sauces have been very bland. Boring brown sauce! There were also chunks of lemon grass in both dishes that were WAY too much lemon grass flavor when you accidentally bit into one of them. read more

A hidden gem with nice deco and great food. If you like authentic Chinese food, try the Couple'beef (very spicy), soy sauce duck, salt pepper fish (fry flounder fillets). Same great taste as those in Chinatown New York, and a much better and cleaner dining atmosphere. Oh, don't forget the steam juicy bun read more

Best Chinese in the area and great lunch specials until 2 pm. Soup, egg roll, entree and rice for less than $8. SO fast too. Nice, crunchy stir fried veggies. Flavorful soups and sauces. Try it...you won't be disappointed. read more

This is by far the best Chinese restaurant I have ever been to! Service was excellent, food even better and on top of all that--cheap! One can tell the owners take great pride in their business. It was such an enjoyable experience I told my husband that I'd go back in a heartbeat! read more

Good food, decent service, moderate prices. And it's quiet (a rarity in the Twin Cities restaurant biz).

The teahouse is our go to for comfort Chinese food in the area. I am a huge fan of the juicy buns, hot and sour soup and shredded beef! The staff can be quick and to the point but the food is always good! read more

Best part is that the cook is not afraid to make order spicy, even though it's pretty white in this area of town. I usually get the same thing: Kung pao baby shrimp and chicken fried rice. It's ready in a flash [under 10 minutes] and exceptionally tasty. Wait staff is friendly, even though I only get take away. read more

Finding a good Chinese restaurant in St paul has become difficult. But the tea cup is worth a visit. The fried rice kung pao chicken and hot and sour soup are 5 * it's what I always get. Don't know about the other entrées they serve. It will cost you a bit more than nearby places around 25$ for these 3 items. read more

Love the food here. Never eaten in, but takeout is always piping hot, fresh, and delicious. Best Chinese I've found in the cities.

Fantastic. I have been here dozens of times and never been disappointed. I definitely recommend trying some of their Szechuan specialties, the staff are proud to serve these dishes for a good reason! That being said, if you're the type of person who only ever orders fried rice and lo mien at a Chinese restaurant, then maybe this isn't the place for you. The wait staff are also very friendly and helpful, which is always a big plus. read more

Ordered take out. Had the Hunan Lamb for $15. I would say there was @ $1.50 worth of chopped lamb and two huge chopped onions. It was 90% onions. I'm not even exaggerating. Would never order again read more

Great place for lunch. I work close so it is a nice place to get a quick delicious lunch. They have a good lunch menu that is reasonable for the amount of food you get with it. read more

This is my favorite Chinese restaurant in the whole world! Although the food is greasy... I don't care! The flavor makes up for the grease. It's Chinese food... all Chinese food is greasy! At least the best dishes are! It is almost impossible to find authentic Szechuan cuisine anywhere even in California where it is highly populated with Chinese. The service is not that great, but what do you expect... since when have you ever received good service anywhere from Asian restaurants... I highly recommend this place! If you don't like spice then this may not be the place for you. Although it's not spicy to us spicy food lovers... Szechuan cusine are known for spicy dishes and you will find lots of delicious dried red chili peppers stir fried in your dishes. read more

Damn!! This place is awesome! Great Dim Sum for Minnesota. We ordered the crab juicy buns (crab soup dumplings), pork dumpling, and another pork dumpling in hot sauce which isn't spicy at all. Everything was absolutely delicious. You really feel like your in someone's home. Place isn't located in a great spot. Near closed businesses, and from the outside place doesn't look very appealing. Don't be fooled! Try it for yourself! read more

Absolutely fantastic little secret. The service left us with more to be desired but honestly it was 45 min till closing and I'd be pretty anxious to get the hell out of there too if I had been there all day working. The food was fantastic and the soup dumplings were spot on. No complaints coming out of this guy. I'm new to the area also so I'm excited that I have a go to dim sum spot! Woot read more