The delicious dishes from the top Chinese mainland restaurants have been made into La Liste. [Photo/China Daily]

La Liste's international advisory board looks at the dining experience, including food quality, ambience, decor and service.

For La Liste's restaurant guides, the organizer typically looks at reviews of the restaurants by guidebooks, online sites and trusted publications.

The La Liste listings are based on an algorithm where each review is converted into a standard grade, each guidebook is given a trustworthiness score and online customer reviews are also considered.

"This means that restaurants don't know which aspect to focus on in order to be selected. The La Liste ranking is based on many factors. There is different criteria－flavor, service, wine lists," says Xie.

According to Xie, in the past, Westerners learned about Chinese cuisine through Chinese restaurants overseas, many of which are in Chinatowns around the world.