Set among the bright strip lights and hustle and bustle of Gouger St, Wah Hing offers a different world to the rest of the famous Chinatown strip. Yes, it’s another Asian restaurant on a street full of great Asian restaurants, but here the service is calmer, the feel more akin to refined dining, the whole experience more restrained. Start with shallot pancakes, shaped into a ring and made with a wonderfully short pastry, followed by spring rolls so plump they’re begging to be dipped in the nearby pot of sweet plum sauce. Salt and pepper squid is coated in a light batter that isn’t too oily and fires up your palate with a big chilli hit.A serve of lemon chicken comes piled high, three chicken breasts lightly battered and coated in a sauce that gets the balance right between sweet and sour. Sizzling steak arrives with all the theatre you’d expect, multiple juicy fillets crackling in the pan, coated with a glossy, salty-sweet Cantonese-style sauce.It’s a reminder of the high quality produce and generous serves you can expect at this Gouger St institution – even if you have to pay a little more. 85 Gouger St, Adelaide; wahhingrestaurant.com.au.

Little Canton is a favourite among those in the know, offering the quality of Chinatown’s finest practitioners without the hassle of going into the city. Weekend yum cha sessions are wildly popular, with laden trolleys dispensing a vast array of steamed and fried morsels. The dumplings are particularly good (try the chive version), and the pork buns and chicken feet with black bean also come recommended. At other times, you will find all your Chinese favourites at more than reasonable prices, with the crispy-skinned chicken and braised beef brisket among the specialties. 173 Henley Beach Rd, Mile End; littlecanton.com.au..

Shiqi takes the best parts of Chinatown from the CBD and brings them to the eastern suburbs, where access is easier and the parking is free. the name comes from the district in Guangdong where one of the owners, Teng Fei, grew up before coming to Australia in the early 1990s. Appropriately, the word also can mean meeting place or reunited in Chinese. With a set-up that looks purpose-built for large groups sharing a feast and, in true Chinatown style, boasts a menu of infinite variety, Shiqi also has a Chef’s Specials list that includes the most interesting dishes. Regulars might recommend the Laziji chicken, chunks of chook tossed with fried peanuts and a fearsome amount of chopped dry chilli. But it is the ground Szechuan pepper coating the chicken that has the biggest impact. Put them together and the combination is like an all-night party for your mouth, complete with a live band, fire-breathers and acrobats. The cockles in XO at Shiqi are also something special. 104 Glen Osmond Rd, Parkside; instagram.com/shiqi_restaurant.

Tipping is expected in the United States and Canada, acceptable in many European countries, whereas in Asia you need to tread more carefully (for instance, in China it can be seen as a bribe). If you’re not sure how much to tip (or whether to tip at all), it’s always best to try and familiarise yourself before you go, but if unsure, just ask.

Bai Long Store has earned a strong reputation for its interesting sweep of very cool, very modern pan-Asian dishes, but its interpretation of Peking duck steals the show. Lean roasted slices of the bird, with a deep smokiness permeating the flesh, come with bao buns, pickles and other accompaniments – and that’s just the first course. If you don’t want to invest $74 for this extravaganza (which could easily feed five), head to an enticing list of small plates including slices of pork belly with a film of crackling and grilled white kimchi, or crisp-fried chicken pieces glazed in sticky tomato and chilli sauce, topped with chopped peanuts and spring onion. Be sure to include deep-fried battered eggplant fingers dressed with feisty Sichuan caramel.Main plates of seared ocean trout in shiitake broth and lamb rib caramelised with sweet chilli and soy are also impressive. 80 Hutt St, Adelaide; bailong.store.

If there was a salt and pepper tofu shootout among Adelaide’s Chinese restaurants, perhaps with an additional BBC undercard, Concubine would surely be a contender for the top three. Its chilli and Murray pink salt-dusted tofu creations deliver just the right amount of umami and spice, while also having a skin with an appealing balance of crunch and chew. Concubine doesn’t swamp you with endless menu choices, preferring to stick to mostly classics, often elevated by the use of local ingredients, including the seafood and beef. A Peking duck starter is tweaked by serving it in a steamed bao bun rather than a pancake, while vegetarian sang choi bao relied too heavily on bean sprouts. A rich beef cheek slow-braised with vegetables and black bean sauce is gelatinous and falls apart at the touch of a fork. The Chinese influences are supplemented by a Thai influence in dishes such as the crunchy soft-shell crab with a crispy green apple salad with nahm jim dressing, as well as yellow and green curries. 38 Hindley St, Adelaide; concubine.com.au.

Adelaide’s Chinese eateries, at least many of those in the vicinity of Gouger St, are normally more concerned with function than theatre. On the other hand, Empress Restaurant, across the road from Burnside Village on Greenhill Rd, offers a more refined dining experience. While mostly covering familiar ground, and sometimes drifting into other parts of Asia, the overall cooking has an edge in precision, and the ingredients a level of quality, that puts it ahead of the pack. The dine-in menu is divided into yum cha, a la carte and banquet. Highlights include tea-smoked duck with sliced duck with generous slices of breast and a section of leg on the bone, with a simple soy-based dipping sauce but the eggplant give it a good run for its money, the squishy batons tossed through an addictive chilli bean sauce with just enough bite. The BBC — soya beans, bean curd, Chinese chutney — also gets our tick of approval. 351 Greenhill Rd, Toorak Gardens; empressrestaurant.com.au.