Chinese restaurant

A Chinese restaurant is a restaurant that serves Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese style, due to the history of the Chinese diaspora, though other regional cuisines, such as Sichuan cuisine and Hakka cuisine, are also common. Many Chinese restaurants may adapt their cuisine to fit local taste preferences, as in British Chinese cuisine and American Chinese cuisine. Some Chinese restaurants may also serve other Asian cuisines in their menus, such as Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, or Thai cuisines, though their selection is often limited and minimal compared to Chinese dishes.

Chinese takeouts (North America) or Chinese takeaways (United Kingdom and Commonwealth) are terms used to describe Chinese restaurants specifically designed for take-out, as opposed to traditional eat-in restaurants which typically offer take-out as an option; such take-out restaurants are often simplistic and lack tables or seats.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Chinese restaurants had been present in a significant majority of Australian cities and towns for over fifty years, and in many places for over one hundred and fifty years.

They emerged as commercial enterprises on the Victorian gold fields.

The significant majority of original Chinese migration came from Guangdong Province in southern China, heavily influencing the style of food, consisting of fresh vegetables and fruit, with fish, poultry, and pork, with rice, herbs and spices.

One third of all cooks in Australia were Chinese by 1890.

The first Chinese restaurants in Canada were established in Western Canada and the Canadian Prairies by Chinese labourers working on the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 19th century. Due to common anti-Chinese sentiment at the time, many Chinese immigrants were unable to work in businesses that were not restaurants or laundromats, leading to the common establishment of the former. The number of Chinese restaurants in Canada grew due to increased immigration to Canada in the mid-20th century following the repeal of the Chinese Immigration Act, 1885.

Many towns and cities across Canada have Chinese restaurants, most prominently in areas with large concentrations of Asian Canadians, such as Markham, Ontario.