Anyone know about Chinatown? (Chicago, Phoenix: restaurants, shops, bus) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

nanannie · 01-30-2009, 08:32 AM

We are planning on going this Sat. Any hints on best places to park? Favorite restaraunts? Interesting shops to see? All my years here, I have never been and thought my 12 yr old would find it interesting. Thanks.

long101 · 01-30-2009, 08:50 AM

parking isnt usually an issue, there are quite a few side streets you can find a place to park. My favorite resturant is Mayflower, not very popular but a smaller place that has amazing sesame chicken!

oakparkdude · 01-30-2009, 08:55 AM

My info may be out of date, but you may want to check out these two restaurants: Phoenix and/or Joy Yee's Noodle. My favorite restaurant is Seven Treasures, but its the kind of place best appreciated at 1 AM after a night of partying.

jwaiter · 01-30-2009, 09:24 AM

My favorite restaurant in Chinatown is Moon Palace. Love it.

There's so many restaurants you're going to get dozens of answers.

Thepreacherswife · 01-30-2009, 09:35 AM

Street parking is usually available on Saturdays, generally on Wentworth. If you park in the pay lot underneath the L, some of the restaurants will validate parking.

Phoenix is good for dim sum, Lao Sze Chuan is a nice cloth napkin restaurant. The Chicago foodie forum was started by devotees of Little Three Happiness on Cermark near Wentworth.

Your 12-year old may like bubble tea (cold teas or fruit drinks with tapioca balls that you suck through a ginormous straw) and his/her eyes may explode at some of the sights (at least one restaurant has whole raw and cooked ducks and chickens hanging in a window) plus the seafood merchants usually have some interesting displays.

nanannie · 01-30-2009, 10:32 AM

Excellent information. Thanks much everyone.

jlawrence01 · 01-30-2009, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thepreacherswife

Phoenix is good for dim sum, Lao Sze Chuan is a nice cloth napkin restaurant. The Chicago foodie forum was started by devotees of Little Three Happiness on Cermark near Wentworth.

There are two "Three Happiness" restaurants on Cermak. The better one is the small one, hence "Little Three Happiness". Order the salt and pepper shrimp.

Drover · 01-30-2009, 08:05 PM

Yeah, it's worth mentioning that the name is just "Three Happiness." The "little" part is simply used by the LTHforum folks to distinguish which of the two Three Happiness restaurants they like.

jlawrence01 · 01-31-2009, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drover

Yeah, it's worth mentioning that the name is just "Three Happiness." The "little" part is simply used by the LTHforum folks to distinguish which of the two Three Happiness restaurants they like.

The "Little" Three Happiness is a small 10-12 table restaurant that serves family style, well prepared meals. When I have non-Asian guests that want to try out a restaurant, I will take them there as the food is well prepared, and generally very good. The staff also remembers customers that stop in frequently.

I will not comment on the larger one across the street as I have not eaten there. That restaurant always seems to draw the tour bus crowd.

I also like Spring World which is in the Chinatown mall area.

sharkylittleton · 01-31-2009, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sukwoo

My info may be out of date, but you may want to check out these two restaurants: Phoenix and/or Joy Yee's Noodle. My favorite restaurant is Seven Treasures, but its the kind of place best appreciated at 1 AM after a night of partying.

Yup, this pretty much still stands. Dim sum at Phoenix and lemon grass chicken wings and a fresh fruit smoothie at Joy Yee's... still my Chinatown favorites.