Voted “Best Chinese” several years running by the Santa Barbara Independent, this small eatery on Upper State Street has been serving fresh, authentic Mandarin and Szechuan cuisine for more than 20 years. The Hot and Sour Soup boasts a thick, spicy stock with a tang of black Chinese vinegar, and is loaded with bamboo shoots, button mushrooms, wood ear, egg and thin slices of tofu, topped with a dusting of white pepper. Locals know it is a meal unto itself.