Just had dinner at Cheng Du in Paoli. We've been coming here for years. Hit some rough patches in the past but thought it's only fair to update on how excellent the food and this place is. Post 2025 Christmas dinner: Appetizer: Hot and sour soup. Hits the spot on a cold winter day. Flavors are savory with soy sauce, black mushrooms, and strips of tofu. This soup preps your palate for the Asian cuisine to follow. Also had scallion pancakes to balance textures in the early portion of this meal. Crispy pancakes made with fresh sliced scallions. Paired with the warmth of the hot and sour soup and you're off to a great start. Entrees: -Mongolian beef, -Chinese Cabbage and Mushrooms, -Ma Po Tofu (only if you can handle the heat), -Hot -Spicy Fish and Tofu, -Shrimp lo mein (basic lo mein with shrimp), -Orange Chicken - think sweet and sour sauce but orange flavored including orange zest, and -Orange Chicken w/out sauce. My youngest enjoys Orange Chicken w/out the sauce-- dry like plain popcorn chicken but it's not offered on the menu so this is how we order it. I tried it plain. It's yummy. They really ought to offer an entree that's just the popcorn chicken like Taiwanese popcorn chicken. The servers couldn't any nicer. They know our family when we visit. They know our orders too. Very attentive and intuitive. My husband and one of my kids has trouble with chopsticks. The servers always bring the forks for them. So sweet, they even gave us a New Year's present-- Cheng Du magnet at the end of our meal. This is the best Chinese food in the area without going into Chinatown in Philadelphia. Thank you Cheng Du. We'll be back again for dinner. read more

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We were so happy to have discovered Cheng Du! A bit of a ride for us but worth the detour for some real and spicy Chinese food with some Chinese-American options. It's not fancy and the service while pleasant, not particularly warm and fuzzy but I would drive out of my way to come here for the food. We would definitely reorder the dan dan noodles, the spicy dumplings and the Mongolian beef. These were delicious. The duck with scallion was just ok and had way too much celery for my liking. The kung Pao chicken was just ok for one of my dining partners as they missed the veggies they find in this dish in other restaurants. Definitely worth the trip for the dishes we did like. read more

Cheng Du - Spicy dumplings - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

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I am a regular at this restaurant because it is consistently good. I am also often the only non-Asian eating there. The food is excellent, although sometimes "Americanized" versus authentic. For example, the last time that I was there I ordered a pork dish described as Szechuan with a heat level of 6. I like spicey food, but what came to my table was very mild. OTOH, they have dishes on the last page of their menu that are rated 8 and 10. I can tell you from experience that they do have "character" if you like very spicey food. The dishes are reasonably priced, and service is always very polite and attentive, all of which explains why I go there often. Recommended!! read more

Food is authentic and fresh. A little sweeter than a Chinese would prefer. Room atmosphere is nice with a little music playing. Would love to come back. read more

Great mapo tofu and good vegetables in the double cooked pork belly. Would definitely come back, heard good things about their noodles.

Fried rice has little meat and could use more flavor Chicken with broccoli comes with carrots for some reason.. It's a slight bit salty They have more authentic Chinese food but I didn't get a chance to try those yet read more

Cheng Du - Chicken w broccoli lunch special without the carrots - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

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HOT HOT HOT !!! It's all good spicy . I was recommended by friends to try out here . Order a garlic cucumber, so good fresh and crunchy . Taste very good . Spicy wanton was good too . Sauce a little soured for me but still good . The spicy chicken taste is amazing good even through the batter was thicker . Meat is smaller .. portion size good . Price good . Overall it's a good place to eat if you like is spicy . read more

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Best authentic chinese food within 100 miles. And friendly staff too. Amazing food. We ordered vegetarian dishes also. read more

Cheng Du - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

Food was ok, but I wasn't impressed with service / staff. They seemed to rush through everything and were annoyed. I was greeted with, are you ready to order? What a mindset! read more

Cheng Du - Lunch special - double cooked pork with white rice and wonton soup - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

Authentic home style Szechuan in a cozy restaurant. This place is real deal - no fancy decor or micro brew dinner night as with Dan Dan and Han Dynasty just delicious food cooked by my Uncle ( just kidding - I'm not Chinese) but felt like I was visiting and eating at a family. Started with the hit and sour soup - the best in town- tofu,pork, bamboo, and other Chinese dried vegetables- perfect spice and broth and ginger .Not diluted by soy sauce or over salted chicken broth. Dan Dan noodle- spicy and peanut perfect.AND the love that noodles were left LONG not all chopped up( my biggest pet peeve is when noodles are broken up to accommodate customers with a fork lol) Ma Po tofu is the bomb! The fermented black sauce and the chilies and others pepper spices and velvety tofu was so comforting with a scoop of hot rice . Prices are reasonable considering portions are generous to share. I took the leftovers home and enjoyed the rest for lunch during the week. I highly recommend this place if you like spicy- really spicy food. If you order mild you are missing the boat on authentic Szechuan cuisine. Stick to your local carry out if you want generic American Chinese. I'll be back for a hot pot or dried pepper dish...can't wait I'll be back read more

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We have been coming here for two years and it is our favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. The food is excellent, as is the staff. Highly recommended! read more

Today they are busy and I find the food not so great. I always have pork intestine clear noodle, and it looks very different from other times. The soup base looks thicker and it's of different color too. The taste is off. I'm a bit confused. The chicken appetizer dish is of no good too. It looks right but tastes bland. Overall not a good day today. read more

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This is my all time favorite place for great Chinese food. Everything is so fresh. The flavors are outstanding. I highly recommend this restaurant if you want a more authentic and fresh meal. read more

If you are looking for a family run restaurant that serves authentic Homestyle Sichuan food, then look no further. I have ordered takeaway from here before but dining on-premises took it to a whole new level. The service was fast and seemed like all our food appeared in 3-5 minutes even though it was fresh from the wok. Our order consisted of: - Dan Dan noodles - 9/10 - Lamb hot pot - 10/10 (it had super tender and flavorful lamb but the stars were the perfectly cooked veggies that still retained some crispness and the lotus root). - Dry chili style chicken - like popcorn chicken with a kick. You could taste the ma la from the sichuan peppercorns and dried red chilies. While we were finishing our meal one of the staff was making a big batch of wontons. Next time I have to get the wontons in chili oil. read more

Have heard this place for a while and today we finally got a chance to come for lunch. The place was not crowded at all: actually there were more takeout orders than dine in. A big compliment to how fast the dishes were made! For the food themselves, I was not impressed at all... we were not fans of spicy food, so we ordered both dishes with mild hot. They both turned out to be too hot for us... but that's okay. The mushroom dish had three different mushroom. I like that one a lot. The chicken was tender. The thing we don't like is that the dishes were not tasty.. We were both very light eaters at home and we don't like salty food. But today the two dishes were just hot and spicy, without enough salty flavor... read more

Cheng Du - Dry pot mushroom - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

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Good. We usually get take out. Dining room is somewhat small. Menu offers dishes we like.

We didn't think the food was necessarily bad, but there was not a lot of flavor to it. It tasted like the oil wasn't fresh. Very nice service! read more

I have been to this restaurant many times. The food is authentic Chinese and good. Service is good and fast. Ambiance is relaxing and clean. I can say it is the best restaurant in the neighborhood. read more

Food was hit and on point. Ordered and chose to pickup as it was very close. Food was prepared on time exactly what we wanted. Great staff. Restaurant was what u would expect. Food was GOOD!! Worth a try if you're craving. read more

Cheng Du how do you do? Classic Sichuan cuisine that is delicious and priced right. Located in Paoli shopping center makes for easy parking. BYOB since they don't sell any alcohol here. To gauge the spiciness of the dish with 10 being the hottest. Look for the number attached to the dish. You can ask them to adjust the level to your comfort level. Liked: Great balance of flavors and textures: 1. Spicy beef noodle soup 2. Bok choy with shitake mushrooms 3. Pork kidneys 4. Kung pao chicken 5. Dan dan noodles Liked a little less: 1. Spicy dumplings - The dumplings tasted like the ones you buy in an Asian supermarket. 2. Fried pork ribs with fried panko bread crumbs - They tasted like ribs you would get at a big box store. The staff was cordial as we were seated promptly and tea was brought over. Portion sizes were generous and the Sichuan peppercorns, garlic and chili peppers gave our dishes a sweet and fruity numb tingling punch that was well accepted. They accept Major credit cards and if you pay in cash they'll give you a discount. read more

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Terrific Szechuan cuisine. Been going for years and never had a bad experience! Their Szechuan dumplings and dry chili pepper chicken are to die for! I highly recommend this restaurant. Best Chinese Szechuan food in the Paoli/Malvern area! read more

I came here with a group of coworkers when traveling for work based off of a recommendation. We all shared everything we got which is the best way to do it in my opinion. We got dumplings in chili sauce, wontons in spicy sauce, Dan Dan noodles, egg rolls, and scallion pancakes for appetizers. For entrees, we got hot sauce style chicken, cumin style lamb, garlic sauce style pork, hot pot style beef, dry chili pepper style shrimp, scallion style fish. Everything was really good. My favorites were the scallion pancakes, Dan Dan noodles, garlic style pork, hot pot style beef, and dry chili pepper style shrimp. The spice levels aren't for the faint of heart, but they can be adjusted. We left them as is and the 8s were very spicy. I think the service could have been a little better. They weren't great about refilling our water and it took a long time to get our bill. We told them before we ordered that we wanted separate checks and they said that was fine, but then when the bill came, they wouldn't split it and would only let us use two credit cards. I really enjoyed the food. Just make sure to have alternative ways of splitting the bill if you need to. read more

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Ever since I went to the restaurant last week, I've been craving to come back! My friend and I ordered mapo tofu without pork and a shrimp dish. It was delicious... I ate so much, yet I still had some food to pack for home! My friend did think the mapo tofu was super oily, but I enjoyed it. It was spicy and tasty. The shrimp dish was also amazing and spicy. We were also served tea which went very will with the dishes. The service was very nice and prompt. The interior was very "no-frills". Just good food and good company. That's it :) I'm looking forward to coming here again! read more

Cheng Du - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

Food is nice and the staff is friendly. It is a home style kinda place. Nothing fancy.

Good and authentic Chinese food. The homestyle tofu is excellent. Dine in area is small but cozy.

Come in here for a takeout order. I had two orders of Scallion Pancake and Tofu mixed with Minced Shrimp and Shrimp. The pancakes tasted great and I would highly recommend that you give it a try next time when you are here. The Tofu dish tasted good but the ingredients were different than it described. There was no fish or shrimp. They used smoked ham instead. The tofu was lightly fried before they stir fry all the ingredient. It has a great texture and soaks up all the other flavoring during cooking. I was kind of looking forward to how they prepare the fish and shrimp. Will have to try other dish next time. This is a great place to try authentic Chinese food!! read more

Cheng Du - Tofu with Minced Shrimp and Fish (missing shrimp & fish) - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

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Great food & service! Ordered pick up and it was available ASAP. Food was great, a little bit spicy, but enjoyable! read more

Terrific restaurant!! One of the best Chinese cuisine restaurants we've tried. Fast service. Everything tastes fresh and delicious!

To be honest I did not expect to find a restaurant like this in the Paoli Shopping Center. Formerly Le Saigon, Cheng Du brings that much needed authentic touch to the Paoli area. Walking in, Cheng Du occupies a small space, but it's incredibly inviting and the chatter throughout the restaurant makes you feel like you're eating at a neighborhood joint. For the price of Cheng Du style Chinese food, I was pretty satisfied with the quality and quantity of food that I received. Starting off, the Szechuan Spicy Wontons were pretty small and lacked the numbing heat I was looking before, but a decent starter. For a restaurant such as Cheng Du, I would advise going for some of the bolder dishes. Our spread included dishes such as Steamed Pea Pods, Hot & Spicy Lamb with Cumin, Tofu with Shrimp, and Braised Beef in Szechuan Chili Sauce. The simplicity of a nice white clean dish worked harmoniously with the bold flavors of each of our dishes. My favorite was probably the Ma La Xiang Guo (麻辣香锅) aka a medley of large pieces of protein and vegetables in a spicy aroma. For a speedy service and pleasant authentic dining experience, I will be back for more. read more

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A large group of us (15+) went last week for lunch to celebrate Chinese New Year. The inside was small, but it wasn't crowded so we had enough space. The food is amazing! We ordered Dandan noodles, pork dumplings, scallion pancakes, pork spareribs, General Tso's chicken, eggplant with garlic sauce, and dry chili pepper chicken with pepper corn...just to name a few! The dishes were generous in size. The waitstaff was polite and they brought out the food nice and hot, ready to be devoured. Unfortunately, they screwed up one of the orders involving the sliced fish, shrimp, and tofu, as our dish had no fish or shrimp....it was just a pot of soggy tofu. No one likes that. Overall, I enjoyed my time and hope to come back next year! read more

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One of the nicer Chinese restaurants in the mainline area. Out of the things that we ordered I think garlic shrimp was the best ! Ambience was casual and nice and the service was awesome ! read more

This place is amazing. I cannot believe it's hidden in a shopping plaza. The service was fast and friendly. The food was delicious. The price is very reasonable. What a gem and a great find. read more

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Wonton is very bad, literally no meat in it, wraps are super soggy, sauce is very sour, not spicy at all. Noodles are soggy too, I thought chengdu style dandan noodles are supposed to use egg noodles thats a bit chewy? Beef brisket is decent, not overcooked and toufu in it is very flavorful. Hygiene can be improved, the table is so sticky that I couldn't pick up my plate easily. I was super super thirsty after eating all the food, so definitely high sodium in everything. read more

Food came out rapidly. We got the Mongolian beef, king Lao chicken, and fried rice. All we're excellent and portions sizes are really good. Food came out in fifteen minutes and it came out fresh tasting. The king pao came with rice. Delicious, and we will be coming back. read more

Cheng Du - King pan chicken and fried rice - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

Yo wtf this authentic Sichuan place has no business being in a strip mall in suburban pa but I'm so glad it's here. Definitely one of the best restaurants in the area hands down. I just had a lamb and scallion cause that was a favorite of mine at this place we went to in college but everything looked great. Some people were eating these soups that seemed incredible. Looking forward to coming back here read more

Cheng Du - Scallion style lamb - Szechuan Near Me - Paoli, Pennsylvania

Tried again and disappointed. Suspect they are cutting corners. Dumplings tasted like frozen packaged food. Sauce was basically plain soy sauce without anything else. Fried rice kind of authentic Chinese style but with a little too much soy. Hot and sour soup very sour and salty, not much complexity. In general, food tasted like they were oversalted to cover up lack of freshness? Containers for soup and rice were also not full, leaving impression they were skimping to save a little money. This is not the way to sustain a business with returning customers. So disappointed. Back to Ping Pong, I think. read more

Solid Szechwan food. Usually do take out so can't comment on the service however the order is usually ready in 10-15 min. Cumin lamb, mongolian chicken, orange chicken, hunan chicken are recommended. Dan Dan noodles are now made that well, choice of noodles and components need work. But overall we enjoy the food. read more

My family's favorite Chinese restaurant in the suburbs, hands down. This restaurant is our #1 frequented restaurant when we don't feel like making our own Chinese food at home. Previously, our go-to restaurant was Ping Pong, which has a much bigger space, but the quality of food has gone down. Now, we're always at ChengDu - offers authentic Sichuan cuisine! Atmosphere: casual, and a relatively small restaurant. My family's only complaint about the space is that they only have 1 large round table for big groups / they liked the space at Ping Pong more. You are able to call ahead and book the large table (along with small tables) if you want. Food comes out quickly - maybe 10-15 minute wait for their dishes. Food: My dad is from Sichuan, and this is his favorite restaurant in the area. Some dishes we recommend - H2 (Pork with Celery and Dry Bean Curd) if you want something less salty, and our go-to vegetable dish: Dou Miao (pea shoots/pea leaves - a bit like spinach, but not quite). I personally think their dishes fall on the saltier side, but would pair well with the amount of rice you get. It's also BYOB. Tip: These dishes are meant to be shared, family-style! I totally understand if you want a full plate of one dish to yourself, but we've seen several groups now each order their own dish (sometimes, 2 people each ordering the same dish), and then just eat it with rice. I'd recommend sharing your plates with whomever you go with - eating a single plate of General Tso's chicken on your own just doesn't seem like a super balanced meal to me. Would recommend mixing it up / ordering plates to share - be adventurous! 5/5: Definitely one of the best restaurants in the area serving authentic Chinese food. The only downside is the space, but either way, would highly recommend for dining in or a takeout option. read more

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I was a very big fan of Cheng Du for authentic Szechuan cuisine. The space inside isn't very large, so I would actually recommend making a reservation is you have a large group of people. We did have a large group, but we came earlier for a weekend lunch and they had a large table available. We ordered in the authentic manner by getting shared plates, and discovered that the overall flavor and spice of this restaurant were really good. We were recommended Cheng Du by a friend because the chef formerly worked at Ping Pong. We ordered the Dan dan noodles, beef noodle broth, scallion pancakes, eggplant, spicy fish cooked in water, mongolian beef (non-spicy), ma po tofu, and the fried pork belly. My favorite was actually the beef noodle broth, which wasn't spicy, because the flavor of the broth was just really great! It also had a lot of beef in it that was very tender. The spicy dishes were definitely spicy! Overall, the taste was very authentic to actual Szechuan food! read more

Talk about lucking out. We wanted Chinese food. We didn't Yelp any place or get personal recommendations. Cheng Du was closest to our hotel, so we went with no expectations. And wow -- dinner was great. Moderately spicy in a Szechuan restaurant is still spicy. And the ma po tofu didn't disappoint. Chicken with vegetables is usually good, but not necessarily noteworthy. It's very good here, as is their beef chow fun. We had takeout two nights later. I was a tad disappointed. Wontons in the soup were delicate and tasty, but the broth was bland, with nothing to jazz it up. No greens. No slivers of pork. The shrimp in General Tso's shrimp were particularly large, but the sauce? A bit gloppy. Would I return to Cheng Du? You bet! read more