International Mall

Elite '08

40

102

Sam S.

River Forest, IL

I like the Chinese Cafe/Yu Ton Dumpling House (same owners). Their weekend Taiwanese breakfast (e.g., soy bean milk, fried fritters, soybean jello, congee, rice balls) is yummy, tho' the line can be long. I come here sometimes on weeknights for take-outs. Two dishes (with steamed rice) run about $15, and it lasts 3~4 meals. Not bad. Some of my favorite dishes are House Special: Fried Tofu with Pork in Black Bean Sauce, Bitter Melon with Fish Fillet, Kung Pao Squid & Shrimp, etc.

The rest of the mall is okay. To be blunt the bathroom is clean enough for a Chinese place.

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Elite '08

30

323

Albert C.

Palo Alto, CA

I remember coming here on weekends as a kid for some good old Taiwanese breakfast, either before or after stocking up at Diho next door. Aside from the too infrequent family trips back to the mother island, I credit the International Mall with starting my love affair with Taiwanese food, breakfast in particular.

The first floor is basically a row of 5 restaurant counters and a bunch of tables. The glass elevator in the middle of the food court seems really out of place, though, and I never figured out what was the deal with the shops on the second floor. Do they actually get any business?

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2

34

Jeff H.

Chicago, IL

I just found this place today.  Having lived in LA and Boston, i was horribly disappointed in the lack of Taiwanese food here in Chicago.  Sure, there is plenty of Chinese food, Korean food, Hong Kong stuff....but not Taiwanese.  Thank god for International mall.  They actually have decent authentic Taiwanese food here!!  Not the best i've eaten, but hey, it's better than nothing.  And it was just so nice to hear Taiwanese spoken here among the shopkeepers and the patrons.  Will definitely go again.  the only negative is that it's kinda ghetto--styrofoam plates, cafeteria style seating....

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Elite '08

77

353

Christine B.

West Los Angeles, CA

Oh my God.

I haven't thought about the International Mall in awhile, since I moved to Los Angeles a few years ago, but for the next time I'm in town, I think I need to make a list of places to eat at for nostalgic purposes .  This place is definitely one of them.

Nowadays, you can get things like soy sauce and tofu and nori in the big grocery stores, but when I was growing up, my parents would drive over to Diho for Asian groceries.  And then we'd walk over here to eat.  I recall gigantic (to me, anyway) bowls of soup with noodles and seafoods in it, crispy potstickers, and shrimp dumplings.  In fact, the first time I ever had those dumplings was right here.

Now I'm homesick.  :/

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0

1

John M.

Westmont, IL

Your average "All American" traditions can get so typical, boring, yet at the same time, unhealthy when it comes to craving and dining such as your double whopper, XL pizza with sausages, etc.  There are many imitations of international styles as well as restaurants.  You have Chipotle and Taco Bell; two perfect examples to Mexican foods and the list goes on for everything else.  The International Mall is 100% authentic!  You can pretty much order anything you would like at one of their restaurants and just chill while eating.  There are other stores as well as the Chinese grocery store next door as well as other things inside the mall.  Last time I checked, there was a room upstairs for kung fu and sword fighting which I'm interested in checking out.

Above all, skip your Saturday afternoon away from your 1,000 calories burgers at McDonalds and spend the afternoon eating healthy, yet, delicious food at the International Mall as well as enjoy the experience as well as walking around.

I been going there for 10 years.  In other words, I love going there which is why I always go back after such a long time.

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Elite '08

120

1223

Dee W.

Evanston, IL

This is the main reason why I would trek all the way out to Westmont on the weekends growing up and to this day even.

It's for the Chinese breakfast stand - with hot soy milk (sweet and/or salty) and fried dough stuff and those breakfast green onion pancakes.  Yum!  And they have the Taiwanese breakfast - sao bing, yotiao, and beef noodle soups, dumplings, and the beef/pork buns.My sister swears by those pyramid-shaped things with rice, preserved egg and beef inside - still delish.  Closest thing to an authentic Chinese breakfast here besides traveling out to the opposite coasts or Asia itself.

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67

210

S R.

Philadelphia, PA

On weekends, the place is flooded with taiwanese locals who enjoy a pretty authentic breakfast here.  There are several restaurants in this food court and they all offer something unique.  To the far left, there's a restaurant that serves several tasty taiwanese dishes, such as the meat pie (gelatinous dumpling stuffed with pork and shitake mushrooms), glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaf, the oyster noodles, the sausage stuffed with sticky rice and peanuts, and the best boba tea in the food court. There's a vietnamese restaurant that sells excellent shrimp spring rolls for only about $4, everything else such as the pho is just substandard.   Next to the vietnamese food stand is a place that specializes common breakfast items on weekends. Most people like the extra-long fried crullers dipped in hot soy milk, they also serve noodle soups,  rice balls stuffed with eggs and dried meat, and chive dumplings are pretty good here. Drab decor can bother some people, the place used to be an office building or a shopping mall food court.  Plan a visit on the weekends because most popular menu items won't be available on weekdays.  Diho is right next door so the location is pretty convenient.

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