ST. LOUIS, Mo. – How do you find a new restaurant? There are a lot of online reviews, but it can be hard to determine which ones really matter. One man has a way to find the best food.
A viral TikTok video by Freddie Wong reveals a method to find the most authentic cuisine near you. The filmmaker and eSports player says the best restaurants on Yelp have exactly 3.5 stars. The video explains why top-rated businesses are not always the best.
“The easiest way to find authentic Chinese food, assuming you’re living in a major metropolitan area, is to go on Yelp and look for restaurants with three and a half stars. Exactly three and a half. Not three, not four. Three and a half stars is the sweet spot for authentic Chinese food,” said Wong in the video.
There seems to be something to this theory. Some of the best Chinese restaurants in the St. Louis area have 3.5 stars on Yelp. Feast magazine profiled several of them in a “Food lover’s guide to University City’s Olive Boulevard dining district.” The River Front Times also included Yen Ching in their best of St. Louis list.
“Why is this the case? Here’s my theory. Cultural expectations for service are different in Asia. They’re not proactive. They’re not going to come up to you. They’re not going to just, proactively, give you refills. You need to flag down the waiters. People on Yelp are insufferable. They’re digging all these restaurants because the service is bad. However, the food balances it out. So you end up at three and a half stars. It’s the sweet spot, trust me,” said Wong.
Wong said that this method works for other types of cuisine. So, if you’re looking for something good to eat then look for that sweet spot on Yelp, 3.5 stars.
Here are all the St. Louis restaurants with 3.5 stars under the category “Chinese” on Yelp:
Webster Garden – 5 S Old Orchard Ave Saint Louis, MO 63119 Yen Ching Restaurant – 1012 S Brentwood Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63117 Hsu’s Hunan Yu – 11539 Gravois Rd Saint Louis, MO 63126 Panda – 930 Brookwood Ctr Fenton, MO 63026 A Taste of China – 9225 Gravois Rd Saint Louis, MO 63123 Sho Wok – 10204 Manchester Rd Saint Louis, MO 63122 China King – 3849 Gravois Ave Saint Louis, MO 63116 – Sun Restaurant – 7218 N Hanley Rd Hazelwood, MO 63042 Panda Pavillion – 5353 Chippewa St Saint Louis, MO 63109 Lulu Chinese Express – 8450 Eager Rd Dierbergs Markets Saint Louis, MO 63144Wei Hong Seafood Restaurant – 7740 Olive Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63130 Asia Gourmet – 412 N Tucker Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63101 China King – 1042 Loughborough Ave Saint Louis, MO 63111 Asian Kitchen Korean Cuisine – 8423 Olive Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63132 Super Wok – 2951 Dougherty Ferry Rd Ste 106 Saint Louis, MO 63122 Hunan Empress – 162 Four Seasons Shopping Ctr Chesterfield, MO 63017 Joy Luck Buffet – 8030 Manchester Rd Saint Louis, MO 63144 Chong Wah – 4129 Lindell Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63108Sunny China – 9934 Kennerly Rd St. Louis, MO 63128 Robata – 7260 Manchester Rd Maplewood, MO 63143 Royal Chinese BBQ – 8406 Olive Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63132 Kim Van Restaurant – 2649 Gravois Ave Saint Louis, MO 63118 China House – 10020 W Florissant Ave Saint Louis, MO 63136 Red Door Chinese Eatery – 217 N 7th St St Louis, MO 63101 Hong Kong Express – 2247 S Grand Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63104 Park Chop Suey – 1321 Chouteau Ave Saint Louis, MO 63103 Great Wall – 3190 Telegraph Rd Saint Louis, MO 63125 House Of Wong – 7515 Forsyth Blvd Clayton, MO 63105Dynasty Buffet Sushi & Hibachi – 21 Dillon Plaza Dr High Ridge, MO 63049 Wok Express – 12209 Dorsett Rd Maryland Heights, MO 63043 Panda Chinese Restaurant – 487 S Kirkwood Rd Saint Louis, MO 63122 Grand Wok Chinese Kitchen – 5612 S Grand Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63111 China King 11660 Manchester Rd Des Peres, MO 63131 Chinese Express – 7022 Clayton Ave Saint Louis, MO 63117 St. Louis Kitchen – 7325 Manchester Ave Maplewood, MO 63143 Blue Elephant Royal Thai Cuisine – 7816 Forsyth Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63105 St. Louis Bubble Tea – 6677 Delmar Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63130 Hong Kong Express – 3406 S Jefferson Ave Saint Louis, MO 63118 China King – 1064 Lemay Ferry Rd Saint Louis, MO 63125 Delmar Chop Suey – 3336 Delmar Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63103 Thai Country Cafe – 6223 Delmar Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63130 Chong Wah Restaurants – 8208 Olive Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63132 Sapporo 2 – 3043 Olive St Saint Louis, MO 63103 China Garden – 229 Lamp And Lantern Vlg Chesterfield, MO 63017 Fu Yu Chinese Kitchen – 4521 Gravois Village Ctr High Ridge, MO 63049 China King – 3954 S Broadway Saint Louis, MO 63118 China Chop Suey – 6165 W Florissant Ave Saint Louis, MO 63136 Thai Kitchen – 2031 Dorsett Vlg Maryland Heights, MO 63043 Business websiteChina Moon – 9020 Saint Charles Rock Rd Saint Louis, MO 63114 China House – 401 Broadway Venice, IL 62090Grand Wok Chinese Kitchen – 5612 S Grand Blvd St. Louis, MO 63111 Hunan Chop Suey Chinese Restaurant – 9806 W Florissant Ave Saint Louis, MO 63136 Ichiban Sushi Bar Japanese Restaurant. -12388 Olive Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63141 eChinese Express – 311 De Baliviere Ave Saint Louis, MO 63112 China Express – 12308 Natural Bridge Rd Bridgeton, MO 63044 Thai Nivas Cafe – 11054 Olive Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63141 HuHot Mongolian Grill – 12675 Olive Blvd St Louis, MO 63141 Leawa Chop Suey – 9983 Lewis And Clark Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63136 New Chong Weh – 10839 W Florissant Ave Saint Louis, MO 63136 Thai Gai Yang Cafe – 6250 Delmar Blvd Saint Louis, MO 63130 Vinh Chop Suey – 8304 N Broadway Saint Louis, MO 63147