Empire Chinese Kitchen

Name: Empire Chinese Kitchen
Address: 575 Congress St, Portland, ME, 04101, US
Telephone: 207-747-5063

Chinese

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Sun–Mon 11:30am–8:30pm; Tue closed; Wed–Thu 11:30am–8:30pm; Fri–Sat 11:30am–8:45pm

575 Congress St, Portland, ME 04101
207-747-5063
Last verified: October 2026
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Close-up of a steamed crystal-skin dumpling topped with diced carrot at Empire Chinese Kitchen in Portland, Maine

Dim sum: The Cantonese tradition of small steamed, fried and baked plates (dumplings, buns, rice rolls, ribs) eaten with tea, usually from mid-morning to early afternoon. Dishes are priced by plate size (small, medium, large, special), so a table of four can try a dozen things for the cost of two entrées. On this menu as: Starters & Dim Sum.
Potstickers: Crescent-shaped dumplings (jiaozi) pan-fried on one side until crisp, then steamed in the same pan so the tops stay tender. Boiled versions of the same dumpling are usually listed as "boiled dumplings" or shui jiao; the fillings (pork and cabbage, pork and chive, shrimp, or vegetable) are the same. On this menu as: Pork Potstickers (4).
Wonton: Small dumplings in a thin square wrapper, loosely gathered rather than pleated. Served in clear broth (wonton soup, often with egg noodles), deep-fried as an appetizer, or tossed in chili oil as a Sichuan cold plate, "red oil wontons" or hong you chao shou. On this menu as: Wonton Soup.
Bao: Soft, slightly sweet steamed yeast buns. Filled versions (baozi) hold barbecued pork (char siu bao), vegetables, custard or red bean; baked char siu bao has a glossy golden crust instead. Unfilled folded buns (gua bao, "lotus leaf buns") come with braised pork belly or Peking duck to stuff at the table. On this menu as: Char Siu Bao (2 buns).
Kung pao: Diced chicken (or shrimp, tofu) stir-fried with dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, scallion and peanuts in a sweet-sour-savory glaze. The Sichuan original is dark, tangy and numbing; the American-Chinese version tends to be sweeter, saucier and heavier on the vegetables. On this menu as: Kung Pao Chicken.
Char siu: Cantonese barbecued pork: strips of shoulder or belly marinated in hoisin, honey, soy and five-spice, roasted until the edges char and lacquer red. Sliced over rice, folded into buns, or hung in the window with roast duck and soy chicken. On this menu as: Char Siu Bao (2 buns).

How these dishes compare

Wontontypically $9.99 across 241 menus
Egg rolltypically $6.23 across 194 menus
Wonton souptypically $10 across 175 menus
Baotypically $8.95 across 169 menus
Kung paotypically $16 across 169 menus
Potstickerstypically $10 across 156 menus
Char siutypically $8.63 across 144 menus
Mongolian beeftypically $16.95 across 124 menus

Empire Chinese Kitchen on our other sites

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Empire Chinese Kitchen

Menu

Starters & Dim Sum

Entrees

How these dishes compare

Empire Chinese Kitchen on our other sites