Sacramento, CAChinese

Tasty Dumpling works through Beijing style dumplings with pleated wrappers and fillings that range across pork, vegetables and seafood. Beyond the dumplings, the kitchen turns out scallion pancakes, golden buns and dan dan noodles. The Crocker Village dining room gives everything a comfortable sit down setting while keeping the menu anchored in familiar northern staples that travel well to a communal table.

Tealicious pairs a broad tea menu with Chinese barbecue prepared in a compact Freeport Boulevard kitchen. Tea smoked chicken, roast duck and crisp pork belly anchor rice plates or travel home by the pound. That flexibility makes the Hollywood Park shop useful for a single meal at the counter or a spread of meats laid out for a table at home.

Jade Fountain Café keeps a Cantonese leaning menu in a modest Hollywood Park dining room. Salt and pepper pork and shrimp with lobster sauce show the kitchen balancing crisp frying against lighter wok cooked preparations. Sitting a few doors from Tealicious, it helps make this stretch of Freeport Boulevard a concentrated place to taste distinct Chinese regional styles within a short walk.

Blue Sky Chinese Restaurant serves an expansive Chinese American menu from its Carmichael storefront on Fair Oaks Boulevard. General Tso's chicken and orange chicken headline a kitchen that also moves through noodles, fried rice, vegetables and family style entrees suited to group ordering. It functions as a dependable neighborhood spot where a large table can order widely and still eat well.

Da Fei Ge specializes in northern Chinese skewers, bringing vegetables and meats to the table under cumin, chile and smoke. The signature potato skewer stands out amid a grill format built for ordering several small plates at once. The South Land Park room rewards sharing, with each skewer carrying a slightly different texture and seasoning as the orders keep arriving.