Chef Xiong - Taste of Szechuan

Solid Chinese food! We ordered the twice cooked pork, cucumber salad, and the lamb. I think the lamb was probably the strongest dish: the lamb was super flavorful and juicy. While their spicy cucumber salad definitely had quite the kick, I also found it quite refreshing, which I appreciated. The pork might have been the weakest dish, though even there the meat was quite tasty. Also appreciated that it wasn’t hard to get a table on a Friday night - definitely recommend for anyone looking for their fix for spice/Chinese food!

I have been to many many Chinese and Sichuanese restaurants in Chicago. Chef Xiong’s is hands down the best I have had and super authentic. Chef Xiong himself is very friendly and always comes out the kitchen periodically to greet the customers and asking for feedback. His staff are always very attentive. I recommend dine in if you can, because food comes out the most fresh and tasty that way. The chef himself is also trained in Sichuanese cuisine and is very knowledgeable when it comes to cooking. His restaurant is my go to restaurant when I have friends visiting in town or when I organize a get together. My friends(Chinese and Non-Asians) all love his food SO much!!

First timer at Chef Xiong and was impressed! The authenticity of the Sichuan cuisine was on point. Definitely recommend the spicy fried chicken, green beans, and mapo tofu. Prices are very reasonable for the portions you get as well. The dining room is also warm and inviting. Would definitely return when in the area.

Aah Chef Xiong is always so delicious and a must-go whenever I'm visiting Chicago. It's usually not too busy whenever I come (never had to queue before), but I feel like it is much more deserving of ~social media fame~ than some of the suggestions I see online nowadays. I digress. Honestly all their dishes I've tried have been fantastic, so some highlights: -- Szechuan jelly noodle w black bean sauce (青椒豆豉涼粉) have a wonderfully springy/chewy texture, and I love that you can taste the fresh flavour of the noodles themselves. The chili bean sauce was sooo yummy -- definitely has a kick — and I love the crisp (clean!) spicy flavour that pairs well with the refreshing taste of the jelly noodles. -- Chongqing popcorn chicken (重慶辣子雞) - maybe my favourite dish here (a bit hard to say, since everything was so good). It comes in a really cute chicken-shaped basket. The chicken bites were really crispy without having too oily of an exterior, and the generous portion of chilli peppers made it Really Quite spicy. -- Kung pao chicken (宮保雞丁) is always a classic and Chef Xiong's is no different. I loved the slightly sweet sauce (I​ definitely prefer it to the Cantonese/southern-style kung pao chicken), and the savoury juicy flavour of the chicken pieces was great, too. -- For a non-spicy contrast I like to order the Chinese jajangmyeon (炸醬麵) - the noodles were perfectly cooked, meat sauce rich and filling, and it gave our burning taste buds periodic breaks in between everything else. It's also really inexpensive for the huge portion size. -- I've also tried smaller dishes like the mapo tofu (麻婆豆腐) and wontons in chilli sauce (紅油抄手), which are all delicious too, though I think they don't stand out as much as the other dishes I mentioned. Overall, I can't recommend this restaurant enough. I loved everything we ordered, and the price point for the large portions and deliciously authentic food is just the cherry on top. Already thinking about my next visit here :)

We would like to have some dumplings or seafood noodles for lunch on our last day of this Chicago Christmas trip. However, those restaurants were quite full during lunchtime. I was surprised this authentic Szechuan restaurant had a lot of seats. Honestly, their spicy food was amazing and authentic. We got a lot of spicy dumplings and popcorn chicken, even though our stomach had got hurt by spicy hotpot. We definitely will come back and have more spicy food with stronger stomachs. A free bowl of rice came with entrees. Their service was great. Some American Chinese dishes and chef specials were also available.

When someone says they would like their fried rice spicy, I don’t think it means to put 50 pieces of jalapeños in a container this size. A bit overkill. Ordered a spicy Shrimp fried rice. 4 pieces of shrimp, 50 pieces of jalapeños—not a good balance there.

As soon you walk in you are welcomed and seated quickly. The restaurant is decorated so beautifully and the wine glasses on the table were a nice touch. Very classy! We actually met Chef Xiong and he is very kind and professional. The food was amazing!!!!! My family and I enjoyed everything. The service was fast and friendly and the restaurant appeared to be spotless. The menu has a really good selection and we will be stopping by again to try out some new items on it. Best wishes to you Chef Xiong :)

I prefer dinning in instead of doing the takeout, it tastes better. In general their food is pretty consistent. The Beijing duck comes with only 5 thin slices of wrap and you need to pay extra for more wraps. This is quite weird to me since it doesn’t make sense for the portions, and most of places the extra wraps are free at least they should be putting enough wraps to match the amount of other ingredients.

For my first time in Chicago, I wanted to visit one of the many restaurants in Chinatown and explore another city's Chinatown. This day, we were in the mood for Szechuan cuisine. The part that drew me to this spot was that Anthony Bourdain said this place had the best mapo tofu. We actually didn't end up getting the mapo tofu as we really wanted other items but hopefully I can make my way back here another time and try the mapo tofu. The wontons in chili sauce was a decent appetizer. The skin was not too thick, there was a good amount of filling and I loved the fresh garlic in the spicy sauce. I personally feel that Chongqing popcorn chicken is a classic so I had to get it. It was a good portion and had the perfect balance of sweet, salty, spicy, and numbing. Twice cooked pork is another thing I normally get from Szechuan restaurants so we had to get the twice cooked pork fried rice. The fried rice was flavorful and the pork had a slight crisp to it. The food came out pretty quickly and the staff made sure to refill our waters--very important for a restaurant that serves spicy food! The restaurant looked clean and had a slight modern feel to it. I was very satisfied with this meal and will definitely make this one of my go-to spots in Chicago.

Food and service is amazing! The Goji Chrysanthemum tea is refreshing. My wife ordered the duck special. Very tender, not gamey. The vegetables were cooked perfectly, still a little crispy. The flavor of the orange chicken was very good, unlike anything I've ever had. The texture was a little crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Definitely recommend trying!

I absolutely LOVE Chef Xiong - everything here is delicious. The service is very fast and friendly. It's a decently sized space but definitely get on a waitlist or come off hours because it will get crowded fast!!

Delicious Szechuan served hot and fresh with ample portions, located just across the street from mainstreet Chinatown. The ambiance was casual, with a bar at the entrance, banquette seating and small tables in the dining room with chill city music playing. We had shrimp with dried red chili peppers, wrinkled green beans and Mongolian beef. Both dishes were great; however, my lunch partner said the Mongolian beef was the best they ever had, juicy and tender and spiced just right. Servers were friendly and prices were reasonable. We'll definitely go back!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Szechuan food and any spicy Asian food so I was extremely happy to have Chef Xiong as one of my vacation meals! I didn't even know Anthony Bourdain had raved about this place before, but now I understand why. The Chongqing popcorn chicken had sooo much chicken inside and was very flavorful, crispy, and spicy. The mixed dry pot was actually my favorite and I loved how light and dry it was without absorbing too much oil. The food was well tossed and assorted with all different kinds of proteins. I never eat intestine but Chef Xiong made it taste so good that I didn't even realize it was intestine! My second favorite part about my meal was that the cold sesame noodles helped wash all off the spicy food and Chicago summer sweat away. The chicken and dry pot were both hot but after a bite of the noodles, it felt like the best reset with a side of crunchy bean sprouts. Also apparently they have 40% on DoorDash from 2-5pm!

oh my GOSH was this the BEST dry chili chicken I have ever had in my years of living on this planet. the most crispiest, spiciest numbing dry chili chicken I have ever had. seriously so good!!! rice was also very good but a tad bit over flavored tastes better mixed with more white rice! honey walnut shrimp is not mind blowing but perfect yummy gold standard. i also love the chicken basket !!

Decided to try this place because Anthony Bourdain came here and I was not disappointed. This restaurant definitely lives up to a Szechuan spiciness. We got the popcorn chicken, pork wontons and braised chicken with potato. I would recommend the popcorn, chicken and the pork dumplings. I wasn't really a fan of the braised chicken with potato because it tasted like curry almost which I'm not a fan of. We went in the middle of the day on a weekday so it was not busy at all. We were able to get quick and easy service. I would say this location is somewhat casual so you don't have to dress up for it. There is a lot of construction going on, on the outside of the restaurant so just be sure to use your map when looking for it.

I got the popcorn chicken and honestly wish it was more crunchy, it was kinda soggy. I also got the hot and sour soup and felt like it wasn't sour enough. came here to get my Szechuan fix but probably will not return unfortunately.

Great food with lots of peppercorn and spices, at reasonable prices. Some of the best Chinese food in Chicago.

Found this place for the first time while walking around Chinatown. A lot of the usual popular places had lines out the door, so we decided to try this place. Glad we did! The food was great and came out very quickly. My favorite was the eggplant with green peppers (jalapeños). Great amount of spice if you like spicy food. Decor was good but not too flashy or commercial feeling. Definitely give it a try!

We all enjoyed our authentic Chinese dishes at this cosy Chinatown restaurant. My Beijing duck and garlic eggplant were delicious. My daughter's ribs were very tasty too. We will be back soon

Another excellent 5 star meal here! Got the usual: Pea sprouts Popcorn chicken Toothpick lamb Beef Brisket Dry Pot Beef tongue in peppercorn soup Fish filet in peppercorn soup Other dishes are good too, but above are our favorites. There's a rumor they're closing by end of November this month, but I hope it's not true...

Unbelievable Szechuan cuisine! Loved by Anthony Bourdain for a good reason. Heat levels from low all the way to nerve agent level. BYOB which is awesome. I paired a great Aussie Shiraz which works well for me with spicy food. Portions of some dishes are family size so check before ordering. Service was laid back but worked fine was a slow dinner.

Updated review: I haven't come back in a long time mostly because I was intimidated by the choices and not knowing what to order but I took a friend's recommendation and am very satisfied! Xinjiang beef and/or lamb is fire!!! So much flavor, nice cumin notes and spicy! Yummy! I don't usually dig lamb but they made it accidentally instead of beef so I got to try it for free and I'll be having it on purpose in the future. This is the second time I've had Lamb and enjoyed it (the other good Lamb is at Uncle Zhang's in the dumplings!) I ordered the crispy pork ribs and asked for gluten free, they were able to accommodate and those things are soooo tasty! I'm a little baffled by the crinkle fries in it, but they're tasty too so no complaints. And of course the stir fried green beans are the bomb. Those didn't stand a chance at being leftovers! They're friendly and fast with takeout and it still tastes great when you get home. See you next time Chef Xiong!

Wow. Every dish we had here was so good with plenty of spices. This is definitely not a place for someone who can not stand spicy foods. I LOVE spicy so this was perfect. My party of 5 came on Saturday for prime dinner time and had to wait 40+ minutes, but it seemed like a tour group had come in right before we came. We got cold pork belly roll appetizers which were super yummy and unique. I've never had anything like it before. The pork belly was rolled with cucumber which added a nice crunch to the bite. We also tried the spicy popcorn chicken. It was super spicy with tons of mouth numbing spice. I wish the chicken pieces were larger, it was mostly small fried bits. They did have a nice flavor and fry to them. We also enjoyed the mapo tofu, eggplant, pork belly and green peppercorn fish filet. I loved how everything came out hot to order. Super tasty and would definitely come back if I am in the area again!

Loved this restaurant! I don't have a lot of Szechuan food normally when I go out, so this spot was very unique. Every dish was super tasty and seriously spicy. Get the spicy chicken (popcorn chicken) - the restaurant is known for this. Super spicy. Mouth numbing but the flavor is so good and the fry on the chicken is perfect so you can't resist eating more. All the other dishes were great too that we had, including pork, green peppercorn fish, and a cold beef roll appetizer that we had. This is a unique mala spice cuisine, and from my experiences with it, this restaurant really nailed it. The service was very fast and the dishes came out as they were ready. We did have an issue getting seated on time and had to wait quite a bit for a table for 5, but this was because we happened to come right after a huge tour bus group came through this restaurant so it was not their fault. The restaurant is a tight operation with not very many workers (seems like a small family-run business) and it's impressive that they kept up so well with such a dinner rush.

Walking around Chinatown on Lunar Year, the streets were bustling and people lined the doors or every establishment to get in for a New Year meal. Stopped into Chef Xiong taste of Szechuan and had to say, the food was tasty. Tried a little bit of everything, quite low key dining, staff was friendly, not much conversation. Started with the wontons, spring rolls and potstickers, wonton soup was definitely the star of the starters. Mongolian beef was excellent, king Pao shrimp had a wonderful taste, would not recommend the crispy curry chicken. Would have rather it not be fried and the curry was a bit too thick. Combination fried rice and the pork ribs were also ordered. Food was fresh, colorful, and great presentation. Portions were not too overwhelming and the value was reasonable.

What can I say? Unassuming restaurant with the BEST FOOD. Because Everything was fresh and made with quality ingredients and love, some items took longer than others but so worth the wait. Glad we were able to get in, as it is a popular restaurant and we definitely see why. If ever in Chicago and looking for the real deal, look no further.

This is a pretty solid, affordable spot for Szechuan food in Chinatown. Strong spice level, friendly and attentive service, but I felt that overall, the dishes were too salty. My group of 5 got the following items: - Brown sugar rice cake: this was a delicious, slightly sweet appetizer and palette cleanser in-between the spice of the other dishes. - Spicy mixed dry pot: this was my favorite item that we ordered; a ton of numbing spice and flavor and diverse amount of items inside it. It's also super salty though and will definitely leave you downing 500 cups of water afterwards. - House special duck: the duck had a lot of fat, but otherwise the taste was really fantastic. - Stir-fried cabbage: wouldn't really recommend this dish; the cabbage was overcooked. - Crispy pork ribs: these were pretty good, very crispy, but overall way too salty. - Twice cooked pork fried rice: wouldn't particularly recommend the fried rice here, it's nothing too special. The prices at Chef Xiong are solid and reasonable, especially compared to other Szechuan restaurants in the area. Overall, I would definitely come back, as the menu is expansive, and there's still a lot I'd be looking forward to try! -- Price (relative to peers): 4.4/5 Food: 4/5 Ambience: 4.2/5 Service: 5/5 Overall Value: 4/5

First place in Chinatown to disappoint No toilet paper in the bathroom and the waiter seemed to think I was lying? Water glass was dirty at the rim so be sure to check ur glass! We ordered Chongqing noodles, beef brisket noodle soup, and Chinese jajangmyeon. There was no protein in the Chongqing, don't know if it comes with any but it didn't have a discription nor was it under the vegetarian section on the menu. Beef brisket noodle soup had zero brisket in it and the broth was bland. Jajangmyeon was the only edible dish so we ended up sharing it between the 3 of us and still didn't want to finish it.

Excellent spot. I've been going to Chinatown forever and don't know how I missed this place. Classic menu, clean environment and flavors. Quick service!

Located in the Chinatown, Chicago. The food was authentic Sichuan cuisine, the atmosphere was casual, the service was attentive. The prices were inexpensive. We ordered: 5*Live Fish in Chili Oil Soup蜀香沸腾鱼: fish was very fresh and tasty, it was numbering hot and spicy. The portion was huge. 5*Tobin Noodle宜宾燃面: noodles mixed with ground pork and preserved vegetables. Authentic and delicious.

Came here based on reviews. Maybe if we were more adventurous (and meat) eaters our review would be different. The king pao tofu and green beans were DELICIOUS 5/5 stars. However the curry shrimp was bland (no spice) and the shrimp fried noodle was just ok. We should have asked for spicy, that might have helped. My son got the sweet and sour fish fillet. It was a whole plate of fried fish (!!!) with super red sauce. No flavor in the fish though. Not sure we'd return unless it was just for the tofu and green beans.

We come here all the time and love it--highly recommended. The interior is really clean and nice. It's also perfect for small or large groups. We like to order the Chinese Broccoli (Dry Pot) (which is actually cauliflower) and Fried Fish Filet with Chili Pepper--both are awesome. Don't be shy about asking them to reduce the spice level because it can get spicy! The service is very efficient even when the place is busy.

Great Szechuan flavor in the food, was looking for a little bit more of that mala kick. Eggplant was unexpected favorite of the table, the service was fast and ambiance is clean and friendly. Solid spot for a good portion of food at a decent price.

As you should know, Szechuan cooking can be very spicy! This place doesn't disappoint here: they're known for their popcorn chicken which comes crunchy fried and mixed with almost as many red chili peppers as chicken. I was craving this so loved it. The dan dan noodles (they go by another name on the appetizer page) with pork were a greasy-spicy masterpiece: absolutely crave-able. Service was kind if brusk here (fairly typical Chinatown), and was efficient for the whole packed restaurant (servers never stopped moving!) but things were understaffed so it meant a 20-30 minute wait to even place an order. However we had been greeted very quickly, sat, water poured, and they saw our wine bottle and got us a corkscrew and glasses immediately without asking, so the extra wait wasn't too bad considering we had our wine and the environment was pleasant enough. Chinatown is small, but this location isn't directly in the "new" Chinatown plaza strip or the old Wentworth strip, so I'm guessing it gets less tourist traffic, which is fine with me. Great pick.

This is some excellent Szechuan food and it is mala to the max. People who are not fans of that fiery, numbing combination of Szechuan peppercorn and chilis should take the heat ratings of certain dishes seriously, because they pack a punch. Luckily for me, I love it, and while some dishes can be fairly spicy, they do it without overpowering the flavor. I've had half a dozen or so dishes from here and all of them were winners, the chongquing popcorn chicken, yibin noodles, malo tofu and chefs special lamb being my favorite. The portion sizes are large, the service is fast and the food is some of the best Szechuan I've had so far. I can't wait to try more of their menu

Wonderful food!! Highly recommend! Try the chef special chicken stir fry. You can't lose no matter what you pick

I had an awesome experience at this spot! Their dishes here were very authentic and they really offer the good taste of Sichuan food. Their menu was big and they offer variety of food. As a person who like spicy food., this place literally saves my tongue. The waiter there is super nice and very considerate. The only problem I encountered is their place, it is not that big, but hope they will improve and expand the whole place. Definitely would come back again for the food.

Wah this place was highly recommended to me by my friends - and deservingly so! Our group of three came for dinner around 7:30pm on a Saturday. When we arrived, the restaurant was maybe half-full (?) but it seemed like there was only one server at the time, so it took a bit longer than expected for us to get seated / order. Overall, I have two words to describe our meal - authentic and spicy. We started with the Szechuan jelly noodle w black bean sauce (青椒豆豉涼粉) which was soo yummy. The chilli oil was plentiful and indeed quite spicy, and it complimented the light refreshing flavour of the noodles themselves. We also had an order of the wontons in chilli sauce (紅油抄手). This was not bad - again, certainly very spicy - but I'd say the wontons themselves were pretty standard. We had the mapo tofu and the Chongqing popcorn chicken (重慶辣子雞). Mapo tofu was very yummy - very spicy, and the tofu was soft and flavourful throughout. The chicken was maybe the highlight of the meal (although it's hard to say, since everything was so good). First, it came in a really cute chicken-shaped basket. There was a really generous portion of chilli peppers which made it Really Quite spicy, and the chicken itself was perfectly crispy and juicy. For a non-spicy contrast we also had the Chinese jajamgmyeon (雜醬麵) - unsurprisingly, another amazing option. The noodles were perfectly cooked, meat sauce rich and filling, and it gave our burning taste buds periodic breaks in between everything else. Also our meals came with rice (not a side order) which is a small but appreciated touch. I loved every bite of my meal here, and Chef Xiong's popularity is definitely well-deserved. It's always a tad rare to find really, really authentic mala flavour at most restaurants in the US. Too bad that I don't exactly live close by, otherwise I'd find myself here all the time! I cannot wait until my next visit :)

Guess I don't like Szechuan food. This place "appeared" to be great with the atmosphere, high ratings online, and pic of non other than Anthony Bourdain with the chef, but it was quite disappointing. I had the famous popcorn chicken and fried rice and while both had subtle flavors that were unique I just couldn't really enjoy it. Social proof, popularity, and appearances are often wong... I meant "wrong." I ended up giving the food to a homeless guy. and I would have either way good or bad.

This was my first time eating here and I thought it was some fantastic szechuan cooking. The steamed wonton dumplings in hot chili oil was amazing along with the hot beef noodle soup...yum This stuff will open up and clear all your sinuses with its spicy goodness...Hope to go back and try some other spicy hot dishes.

Found this authentic Szechuan style restaurant while in Chitown on business. The food here was very good and very authentic as far as flavors and presentation are concerned. Make sure you like your food spicy if you're eating here. My favorite dish was the dungeonous crab. It was fresh and flavorful and I scraped the shell to get every bit of crabby goodness.

I am adding this place to my rotation of the best Szechuan eats in Chicago! I finally got a chance to dine in here and 100% recommend coming in person. I had ordered delivery from here before but I feel like my dining in experience was so much better in terms of the taste of the food, even though I ordered completely new dishes while dining in. Takeout alone is a solid four stars from me. The interior of the restaurant is tastefully decorated and the whole experience was very pleasant. Despite it being Labor Day weekend, there were actually plenty of empty seats during lunch hours when we came. One inconvenience is that their bathroom is located in the basement and it's not wheelchair accessible, unless I missed an elevator somewhere. Our server made some helpful recommendations for authentic, classic dishes and honestly all of them were so good. The spice levels are customizable and I found their medium spice level to be very tolerable for my taste buds. We had three hungry adults and ordered 5 dishes to share, which was absolutely perfect in terms of variety and we had some leftovers. For a nonspicy dish, try the soft tofu in salted egg yolk sauce. This was my first time trying this dish and it was so creamy, smooth and a perfect balance to all of the other spicy dishes that we ordered. If you're looking for a vegetable, their stir fried pea tips are excellent. For a slightly sweet finish to the meal, their brown sugar rice cakes are a great option- each piece is very large and filling. They make for a great snack to take home for later. I will definitely be coming back here to try more dishes!

We had a wonderful time! Our party of four ordered a selection of dishes to share. All of them were fantastic! The service was prompt and non intrusive. As it's BYOB, they stock a nice selection of glassware. Highly recommend!

Great food, great service, and a good ambiance and decor. We tried the Sliced Pork in garlic sauce which was succulent and sweet, the house special duck which was peppery and flavorful, and the taiwanese popcorn chicken which was spicy, perfectly battered and so good. A surprise favorite was the celery, which was the best celery I've had.

Chef Xiong is another good Chinatown restaurant with lots of spice and flavor. It certainly is authentic, even with the American menu items. Lots of Szechuan classics along with the burning spice. Also it's good this is one of those Chinese places they refill your water every couple minutes whenever you drink a bit. This is a place you'll be drinking a lot. I came at lunch with a couple others who had been here before. Seems like it was bigger than expected, not like a lot of these cramped authentic places. That didn't mean the food was any less good though. It was the best Chinese food I've had in days. The portions aren't bad for how much they charge you. I had the Kung Pao Tofu, a classic. It's about $13 for a good amount of stuff. This has crispy pieces of tofu. It was all coated in a spicy sauce that out my mouth on fire. The others had some chicken and pork. Generally good comments about everything. This was a pretty big portion for lunch. Clean and classy. It has bathrooms at the bottom of the stairs. They say there's no bathrooms but just ask for these.

Service was great at this casual spot. Had the spicy green beans and they were just spicy enough. The Basil Chicken had jalapeños, which weren't expecting, and it was a very tasty dish. We ordered veggie fried rice, even though it wasn't on the menu and they made it for us. Portions are generous. I'd come back here again.

First time here and it was amazing! We shared a bunch of different items and nothing let me down. Service was great and food came out fast!

This was truly the worst Chinese food I've ever had! I ordered hot and sour soup and mapo tofu. It was inedible! When we told the waiter the food was awful, he said he couldn't control what comes out of the kitchen. Avoid at any cost!!!

I came here twice for dinner - both times within a span of a week! The staff is friendly and they have a great variety - portions are also on the larger side which is a plus. The Eggplant with Garlic sauce is probably my favorite dish, despite being on the sweeter side. The Fried Fish Filet and the Taiwanese Chicken are also great too - the way they fry everything is perfect, not too oily and just the right amount of crisp. The fish also had a nice spicy kick to it. Even the broth in the Pickled Vegetable Soup is so flavorful. Highly recommend and def a new favorite of mine in Chinatown : )

The beef dish was too sweet. The wanton was ok. Probably won't eat there again. The delivery was timely. First time I have tried them.

I liked the food here. I had the Mapu Tofu on one occasion and another dish with ground lamb (can't recall the name!) on the other. Both had a strong cumin based sauce that left a strong aftertaste that was unlike anything I'd had before. Felt very authentic and flavorful.

Was looking for best Chengdu/Szechuan restaurants in Chicago, and Chef Xiong popped up. Didn't meet my expectations. The Mapo Tofu was good though, as well as the wontons in chili oil. Don't recommend the pork intestine dry pot, the pork was a bit stale? Like the rind was sharp/hard to chew. I really enjoy a custom dry pot but they had set menu items.

Absolutely some of the best Chinese food that I have ever had. I am a big fan of Szechwan food, and this place really hit the spot. The restaurant was also clean, and the service was great. An easy five star rating for me!

Excellent food. Best Szechuan in Chicago. Hot and sour soup and sweet and sour fish filets to die for.

In the top 5 of worst meals we have had. Shrimp Kung Pao - shrimp undercooked - terrible after taste. Chicken with peppers - more hot peppers than chicken- dry and horrible.

Worst service I have ever had in Chinatown. Over 40 minutes to get some takeout Kung Pao chicken. People who were sat 20 minutes after I placed my order got their food before I did. I saw 4 staff members and 6 customers. The guy who took my order was on his cell phone the entire time I was there. Then 2 kids and one older women-- she kept coming in and out of the kitchen, blowing her nose constantly. Worst experience I have ever had in Chinatown in 20 years. I'll never go back to this dump. My one worry was that the food might be amazing and then I'd potentially be torn, but nothing to worry about. Disgusting. While not the worst kung pao I've ever had, it was certainly in the bottom 5. Just chicken, peanuts, and a bit of sauce. Not a single vegetable. Wtf?

Crispy Pork Ribs (with fries) Secret dish: Toothpick Lamb * delicious * super friendly staff * definitely coming back * highly recommend * will bring out of town folks