It's far from new and even farther from the Chinatowns of San Francisco or New York, but still, New Chinatown, a much-loved institution in South Miami, has won fans with its diverse menu and friendly service for more than 20 years. And though prices have gone up, it's still affordable and portions are very large.

In addition to Mandarin, Cantonese and Szechwan style dishes, you can also try Western classics including pepper steak, chow mein, sweet and sour everything and a fine rendition of shrimp in a velvety egg and lobster sauce.

Dim sum options include crab Rangoon, chicken wings, and three kinds of dumplings including siew mai, an earthy wonton wrapper stuffed with finely ground pork.

Wonton soup with crunchy ribbons of bok choy and slivers of pork had a telltale neon yellow broth, indicative of an artificial enhancer. Still, the kids loved the saltiness and the bulging packets of meat and vegetables.

Singapore noodles, needle-thin rice strands, are stir-fried with a dash of curry powder, spindly strips of chicken, plump shrimp, carrots, onions, bean sprouts, snow peas, water chestnuts and white mushrooms. The shredded pork extravaganza, a spicy dish with a good sweet kick, is another addictive entree. Pork tenderloin is shredded with finely diced red pepper and carrots then fried with crunchy water chestnuts and onions. It's also available with shrimp or chicken.

The steamed whole fish country-style could have been a feast on its own. A 2 ½-pound red snapper is served whole and graciously de-boned by a dexterous waiter. The sweet, white flesh was perfect with the ginger-soy sauce and scallions.

For dessert, our waiter deposited a pile of fortune cookies on our table. We were already full. And so were our take-home bags.