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Kimball (Brown)
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
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Bowing to the cult of wings.
I had to have a test at the hospital today that required me to fast, so when I got out, I knew it was time to try Great Sea. I scored an easy parking place and was actually the first customer of the day. I loved the interior, cute and kitschy. Every table has a bamboo plant on it. I felt right at home as soon as I walked in.
Of course I had the wings.... amazing. I also ordered the red noodle soup because I wanted to review something more than the wings. As there is little I can add to what has been said about the wings, I will focus on the soup.
I had no idea what to expect from the soup, except that it would be spicy. I love spicy so I was looking forward to it. When the giant bowl came out, it looked like a volcano of diced veggies, meats and seafood, surrounded by red broth. She also brought me a pair of scissors, but her English was not good enough to explain their use to me. Well, I soon found out. Like an iceberg, the secret was hidden under the red broth. LOTS of noodles!!!!! The soup was very good. Spicy and flavorful. I ended up taking most of it and the wings home. Four wings and some soup did me in. But now..... I have wings and soup for tonite and beyond.
I really loved this place. Yes, there are little things I could nitpick about, but in the grand scheme of things I had a great lunch and will be back again soon. I want to try the black noodles as well.
The waitress told me they have been there 23 years. I hope they are there for another 23!!!!! Believe in the Wings!!!
I'll start this with the caveat that we did NOT try the chicken wings everyone raves about. Maybe that was our mistake.
We live in the neighborhood and have been trying to find a good little Chinese spot. After reading reviews, we walked over on Friday night and found the dining room pretty full. Good sign, right? Decor was nothing special, but we didn't go there for the ambiance.
My gf was craving egg drop soup, and I wanted hot and sour. Unfortunately, they do not sell cups of soup - only bowls that feed 2-3. I found this really odd since, no doubt, the soup is already prepared in the kitchen. Why not just let customers order by the cup? The broth of the egg drop soup was almost syrupy and the only flavor was chicken stock. No seasoning at all, and no green onion garnish as I'm used to. Not a good start to the meal.
We also ordered egg rolls, which weren't bad, but had a strange taste and texture. Cinnamon, maybe? And the meat was - I don't really know how to explain - almost powdery in texture.
For main dishes we ordered Kung Pao chicken and Szechuan beef. Ordered both spicy since typically I find that most restaurants' version of "spicy" is what I consider medium at best. Pleased to say Great Sea understands what "spicy" means. The beef, in particular, was very spicy. Both dishes were flavorful, but were ruined by the poor quality of the meat. The chicken's texture pointed to thawing and re-freezing - dry and watery without much flavor. The beef consisted of unctuous, mushy little strips that were a big turn-off. My gf ate around the meat and overall, we were both disappointed. We took the leftovers home because I felt bad leaving them on the table, but Saturday morning they found their way to the dumpster - untouched.
Service was fine. Nothing stellar, but not inattentive. All of this cost less than $40, so maybe you get what you pay for, but with such amazing Thai in the neighborhood, I'd much rather spend the same amount and get fresh-tasting food prepared with quality veggies AND meat.
Won't be back.
This place would get 5 stars if it was easier to get to. But it's not if you are a city dweller and you don't have a car.
I have a super unhealthy obsession with chicken wings. I will eat chicken wings if they are freshly fried and tossed in front of my face - regardless of how full I am. All my friends can probably vouche for this. I really need chicken wing rehab... I sometimes wonder how skinny I would be if chicken wings were to vanish from this earth. That said, I must say, this place has chicken wings that are on my top 3 list of wings in Chicago.
GoodGod. They are amazing. They come in lollipop form - which I LOVE. I know that means I'm missing out on some of the tastiness that is the fried skin around the bone - but it feels classier for some reason - and for that, I likes! They are meaty - and the skin is super crispy while the meat inside is tender and delicious. When you chomp down - sometimes you'll get the juice just dribble out. AUGHHHH I'm sooo wanting some right now.
The black noodle (jjajjangmyun) is a good dish to order along with it. It's not too salty (compared to others I've had) - and it's the perfect ratio of sauce:noodles. They don't give you the yellow pickled radish with it - BUT they do give you the korean-style ggakdoogi (korean picked radish) and the raw onions with the pure black sauce.
The red noodle soup (jjampong) is as expected - I likes.
The shark fin soup - I know it's wrong to eat this - but the sharks are getting killed anyway so I might as well eat them otherwise they were killed for no reason - I know they are big sellers in Hong Kong - so it's not like they're going to stop anytime soon - WELL, it doesn't' matter anyway - because they barely put any in the soup.
Mango Smoothie - *sigh* I'm sorry to say but it freaked me out. The consistency was weird. It was gooey...? It looked like a mango smoothie, it walks like a mango smoothie, it talked like a mango smoothie... so it is a mango smoothie. However, it is by no means, made from fresh ingredients. I am seriously puzzled by how this smoothie was made and what exactly i was drinking. Here's the thing: I have a tendency to NOT finish smoothies and bring it home and put it in the fridge to "finish later" - normally, when i get to it - it has melted enough to have sedimentary layers. I forgot about this smoothie and came back to it 2 days later... and it was EXACTLY the same. That is not normal. It weirded me out BEFORE I put it in there and afterwards, I was 110% freaked out. Maybe it's just the mango.
LOVE THIS PLACE. It single-handedly kills any attempt to diet. I not only eat the wings and noodles while I'm there - I'll order an extra order of wings to-go to feed people who didn't get to come with me... or to feed just me for a couple days.
I've been numerous times - I do enjoy it , but not to the degree of devotion and fervor as some of my friends and family. The food is pretty frickin' good, especially the chicken wings, the jahm-bhong (noodles in a seriously spicy broth with seafood) and the cha-chang myung (noodles in a fermented black bean sauce with pork and veggies) - all probably the best in the city. The waitresses are friendly and generally english speaking. My biggest beef is the aging interior and the stanky bathrooms. C'mon Great Seas- your bustling business isn't kicking off enough cash to improve (or at least thoroughly clean) your space?
As a fried chicken connoisseur , this spot has been on my list for quite some time. Finally, judgement day arrived and I am pleased to report that GREAT SEA did not disappoint. I'm sure to be back very soon for nothin' but the WINGS! Absolutely crave-able. Hot, spicy, sweet, crispy, tasty, deliciousness!!!!
There's much more to order on the menu, but why take attention away from the main event? Wings...rice...coke. Money!
If you love wings, you'll love Great Sea. It's that simple!
I'm totally jumping on the Great Sea chicken wing bandwagon. After reading so many glowing reviews of this place and being very intrigued by Korean-Chinese food (I've never had it before), JN was so lovely to take me here. There is ample street parking in this neighborhood - score! Remember to pay for parking at the box though!! We saw a car with a parking ticket on the way to Great Seas. $120 dollars can buy a whole lot of chicken wings!
Anyway, the place is pretty small and was quite busy. We decided to do take out (so I could truly be a piggy in the comfort of my own home) and got 2 orders of the hot and spicy chicken wings (about $12 an order) and 2 orders of the cha jiang mian/black bean noodle (about $5 an order). Be warned. These portions are LARGE. My fridge is now full of noodles and wings. Yay leftovers!
The wings, like many Yelpers have previously mentioned, are incredible. They are Korean lollipop wings (easy eating!) - crispy, sweet, salty, spicy, sticky, delicious. The lollipop wings ensure you get large bites of meat (!!!) which never happens when you eat those pesky regular wings. We peeked into the kitchen while we were waiting and for a gigantic pile of wings and a huddle of staff standing around prepping them. My eyes turned into saucers. Every table had them. Great Seas might just be chicken wing mecca. So yeah, you get it, come here and eat wings!
Onto the noodles! I am northern Chinese and loooooove zha jiang mian (or cha jiang mian at Great Seas). My grandma makes the best ones in the whole world BUT I have found a good substitute at Lao Beijing... and now at Great Seas. The sauce is so good - Chinese savory black beans, little pieces of pork, and some kind of vegetable (I am blanking on the name). The noodles themselves are also good but it is probably best to eat this at the restaurant because on the way home they got all stuck together in their container (separate from the sauce).
While waiting for our food I kept spying on other tables and everything looked so yummy (especially this fiery red soup I saw coming out of the kitchen). This means I need to return to try more items... probably not too soon, as I will probably die from chicken wing over-consumption.
As we were done ordering FIVE dishes of Ganpunggi, the owner asked us if we would like to eat one more dish of Ganpunggi to break the record at Great Sea's. At this point, I just finished my 16th Ganpunggi and I was pretty much close to puking. But when we knew that we could break the record and have our pictures taken to be posted in the Great Sea's Wall of Fame, we had to order one more Ganpunggi. At this point, we decided to share the load (everyone was about to all throw up too...it was all mental from here). I immediately thought about the show Man vs. Food and I went outside to take a deep breath and ordered diet coke to push down all the Ganpunggis.
At the end of the night, we did it. I consumed 21 Ganpunggis by myself (as I'm writing this, my vision is getting blurry) and we killed 87 Ganpunggis as a team to get our picture taken!
I told the owner that I flew out from Boston to eat at Great Sea's. I also said I've yelped this place and she used her iphone to read my yelp post on the spot!! She told me she liked my post (thought it was very funny), waived the fee for the final order of Ganpunggi and gave me a restaurant sauce as a gift for me to take home!!!! Amazing~!
She says she wants to make this Ganpunggi as a chain, like Chipotle, but I hope she doesn't because everyone should fly out here to eat this one-of-a-kind Ganpunggi. Oh yea, did I say that they have one of the best Ggakdugi's around?
thanks Great Seas for one of the best dining experiences of my lifetime~!
Best Ganpunggi (Korean Chicken Wings) in the world. I mean...could you believe it? Probably not.… Read more »
Just get the Hot & Saucy Chicken Wings. Everybody gets the chicken wings. I mean everybody everybody. I've been there a time or two now and every single person in the place has the exact same thing on their table and they are grubbing hard on that exact same thing. And that thing is so damned hot that, well, it's actually kind of sexy too, so let's set the mood first through background music before I break it down for you...
http://listen.groovesh...
(oooooohwoooooo ooooohahoooooahooooah.....)
From the first moment I saw them
Ooh I knew they were the ones
Everyone else had them on their tables too
And that's why I came here anyways uhhh
They only have like one order or size of the wings and it costs $11 bucks, which had me concerned about the hype factor, until they came out - a big platter, enough for a few people (and impressive enough to get the Yelpers of the Great Fried Chicken Crawl of Chicago excited by sight alone - even after we'd already had a whole whole bunch of chicken that day). They are almost the size of drumsticks or something and dressed in such a way where all of the meat is pushed to the top of the bone, meat lollipop style, and covered in a reddish brown sauce. Be sure to look at the pictures, it's a beautiful mess.
Telling you just hoowwww fine that chicken looked
In a word, it was fried
A whole bunch of em, bright red and sticky sweet ahh
My m-o-uth was next uh
So yeah, they are kind of fucking amazing tasting - crunchy as hell, either double dipped or fried in lard or both, hell, I don't know, but they are done correctly. And the crunch stands up well under the sweet sauce, nothing turns to goop.
I ate them quickly
like I was afraid
Were they too hot for me?
Probably. Temperature hot and spicy too-hoo?!?!
Seriously, this shit is fucking hot. It comes out at some kind of white-hot volcano temperature out of the fryer or something AND it assaults you with like five kinds of spiciness that I don't even know how to identify. It made me sweat. Perhaps I can substitute it for that hot yoga? It's also thankfully served with plain white rice for maximum cooling power.
That's whyyy, un-til I don't live in Chicago anymore
I'll be there for the wings here
As long as I'm on the far northside,
have some cash and am in the mood
I'll truly adore them.
But I am going to cheat on them one day. With the Hot & Saucy Shrimp on the menu. Which is probably a mistake, because I didn't see everybody eating that, but love makes you do crazy things.
[outro: http://www.dizzler.com... ]
This place doesn't look like much from the outside, but hidden gems rarely do. The Kam pung gi and ja jjang myung combination is probably the best east of the Mississippi. The spicy chicken legs are moist, and well prepared, most restaurants take the meat off the bone, but Great Sea prepares them bone in, that takes huge amount of preparation time. I'd love to see how they do it on Anthony Bourdain's show one of these days. Great Service, try to go at off peak times as the dining room is small and can fill up fast.
How to score Great Sea...hmm...
5+ stars to the wings - super tasty, nice 'n spicy, crispy. Mmm...would definitely eat these again. After just one bite my mouth and lips were burning with pure joy! What's better is that they are lollipop wings, making them messy-less!
3 stars to the fried rice - I didn't like it (the chicken part consisted of all the pieces I wouldn't want to eat), but the hubs thought it was good.
1 star to the service - I never really expect great service at restaurants like this. But dang, 20 minutes to get our bill? That's a bit ridiculous...
About 10 minutes after we were finished, we asked for to-go boxes, thinking that would be an obvious sign. Apparently not. We had to ask another waitress at the 15 minute mark for boxes and asked for our check too. Finally after 20 minutes, we got our boxes and our check. GEESH!
Something for card users to take note of...they don't accept tips on the credit card. Weird...and generally sucks for the waitress. But since we didn't get good service, we left the $2 we had.
Once my lips have healed from the burning joy of eating the wings, we'll just plan to order to go and skip dining in.
We ate dinner here Sunday night. The place was packed and it was funny how each table had the spicy chicken wings.
Why???
Because they are so DAMN AMAZING!!!!!!!! OMG, those were the best wings I have ever had in my entire life!!!! I will definitely be back for the wings!
Downgrade. Eat their wings, buy their sauce, but that's about it.
I thought maybe the company I ate with last time didn't do a thorough job with the menu, so I gave it another whirl. My veges in my shrimp and vegetable plate definitely tasted like they were from a can, and I should have taken the hint - when they delivered me chicken wings instead of the chicken and bamboo dish I ordered. That chicken was horrible, almost made me throw up in my mouth.
3.5 stars. Thanks to Dee W and Annie W, my mystery has been solved! I wondered, in between bites,… Read more »
I am a follower so I got the wings.
Good move...they rule.
The cops ticket like a mofo over there so pay the meter or have a local homeless guy watch the car while you run in.
I take mine to go because I like to be alone while I eat the wings.
Hot and saucy chicken, ma po tofu, and cha chiang mein.. That's what my family and I always get. It's funny because I remember when the place was not as busy as it is now way before there was a yelp. This was and still is my family's spot for chinese when we go out. Funny thing is that it's owned by Koreans.
So, everyone mentions the wings here and they even have the pictures of all the people that try to break the eating record for that. I do like the wings... A LOT.. this makes up for the sometimes lousy service they give.. My mom doesn't eat spicy, but she can eat some of the wings here so they aren't too spicy (even when I've requested them super spicy.) The ma po tofu they make is quite spicy however.. Quite delicious too!
What my mom does eat and what gives me the fondest memories is the cha chiang mein. It's just noodles with black bean sauce or something. We first ordered it when my mom saw it and pointed directly at a couple eating it asking the waitress what that was and asking for an order of it. Ever since, she's always had to order it when we go. Also, much to the amusement of my family and I, there was a waitress there that always seemed to wait on us (mostly me) because she liked me. Quite amusing.. Now they do cut the noodles for you usually and mix it, but this lady cut it and mixed it and even got us more sauce. It was funny to always have all my water filled too.. I miss her... such great service back then..
ANYWAYS, this place is one where you go for the food. Maybe if you are Korean you may experience better service moreso, but otherwise they aren't always the most attentive. I'll always be a fan of this place for the wings and memories here so 4 stars!
fried chicken.
that is all you need to know
People come here for one thing: The Hot & Saucy Chicken!!!
Once again: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SAUCE!!!
This Korean Chinese Restaurant serves up the BEST DAMN asian chicken wings EVER!!! Officially titled "Kan Pun Gi," you can just tell 'em "hot & saucy chicken." These wings are sweet and hot. They're some of the best chicken wings I have ever consumed. If you're a fan of chicken wings you must try these. The sauce is what it's all about. Order it with a side of "Gak-du-gee," which are kim-chee-esque radish cubes. The wings are around $12 and can serve two....unless you happen to be eating with me.
The place is tucked away in Albany Park. The decor is pretty blah. You'll have to find parking on the street. Service is okay.
I won't lie though...the service could be absolute crap and I'd still eat here for these chicken wings. THAT's how good they are.
Go there with a large group of friends just so you can have an excuse to utilize the Lazy Susan at the large round table! lol.
Ganpunggi (Korean-style chicken wings), period. Ignore the rest of the menu, the cheesy Chinese zodiac placemats, the fact that the place is a Chinese restaurant that secretly sells Korean food. The chicken beats the Crisp counterpart in Lincoln Park. The sauce isn't all that spicy, more sweet and savory, but still delicious. Meat is juicy and pushed onto one side with a bone-handle sticking out for easy consumption. A good amount of meat for $12.
But everything else was disappointing. We're big jajangmyun (black bean sauce noodles) fans but the one here is a little bland, even the version with all the meat, onions, and other extras. Hate to say it but the instant jajangmyun sauce from H-Mart was better. But not a bad deal for around $6. The other dishes were way mediocre and on the expensive side. Service wasn't that great -- a lot of trying to make eye contact and waving in vain.
Ganpunggi is the only reason to come here.
I gotta say this Korean Chinese Restaurant is the best for its class. There is no comparison in terms of gangpungi (korean chicken wings). The sauce is subtly sweet and has a kick to it! And the chicken are like lollipops meaning they pull out one bone and pull the meat to the end so it less work for you! I love it, the meat is always tender and juicy. If there is one thing to come here for its for the chicken.
But they have more delicious dishes like their korean peking noodle dish,(jajamein?). Not a big fan of it but delicious nevertheless!
They have great mongolian beef... wow its full of scallions and gives the sauce a rather interesting texture which is delightfully thick and enough flavor to satisfy your craving!
Also their sweet and sour beef is great, not overly sweet and beef is breaded well.
The chow mein was surprisingly good as well, good additional noodle dish.
But the gampungi shrimp is very good as well. Simply shrimp with the chicken wing sauce.
Food is great, place is small and very packed and busy thus it's quite frustrating at times to wait for a table and to even get service at times. But overall this is a place I look forward to going here all the time!
HOLY CRAP! I've been here several times already and always forget the name of this place.
Love the wings! I order the wings extra spicy with Mongolian beef and white rice. DELICIOUS!
This is a must visit gem of a place. I recommend it. Service is prompt and friendly.
The Gampungi Wings.
Where do I begin? They are like a cross between heaven and hell. They are burning you, it hurts so bad yet they are so delicious that you find yourself eating through the pain.
I've been going here since I was a kid. In the 15-plus years I've been going here I've never had Chinese food as delish and cheap as it is here. It's like a beloved blanky--so comforting. My family and I always get the same thing--won ton soup (it's worlds away from your typical 2 dumplings in plain broth. it has tons of veggies, pork and shrimp. once you have this you'll never want it any other way), mongolian beef (the best ever), shrimp fried rice (big-ass pieces of shrimp, no rinky dink frozen shrimp) and their world-famous hot chicken wings. You can also get the same sauce--sticky, sweet, savory--on fried shrimp.
It looks like a hole in the wall from the outside, but it's really clean and the service is really good. If you don't live on the North Side, it's definitely worth the trip.
I am so thankful that I have awesome foodie friends from Grand Rapids, MI who would drive me and my boyfriend 3 hours to have the famous Kampungi Wings from Great Sea restaurant! Actually they referred them to the "magical wings", because they are...magically delicious!
The area this place is in is near lots of Korean businesses. The neighborhood isn't that great. We didn't spend much time inside of the restaurant since we got our wings to-go. Yes, I know what you're thinking: Your friends tortured you and made you wait almost 7 hours ( no make that 9 because we stopped by the Indian casino for 2) until you got back to Grand Rapids before you could taste these "magical wings"! Blasphemy!
I'll torture you readers some more as I talk a little about the restaurant itself: As far as the interior goes, pretty old school Chinese restaurant...I would say circa 1960's decor? Possibly? Not sure. You'll know what I mean when you see it.
Here's the fun part: When we got back to Michigan at about 3am. My friends and I couldn't go to bed without first having some of those wings. Even nuked and nearly half a day after they were freshly made, these magical wings were indeed...magical.
These wings first start off sweet, then you taste the batter and the chicken and then finally right at the end you get b!t%@-slapped by the hot. Sure maybe our lips were burning by the third wing, but we couldn't help ourselves to seconds.
We definitely killed those wings that night. I know I'll be back in the Bay trying to find something close to what we had in Chicago. But deep down inside I have the feeling that there won't be anything else like it.
But if you do get a chance to visit Chicago from out of town, I would say you must make the pilgrimage to Great Sea and get an order of those Kampungi Wings. They might be on the menu under something else, but pretty much you'll know which wings to get because every table will have at least one order of the same wings. And well, if all else fails you could always point to the large poster of wing fanatics near the front door if the waiter doesn't know what you're talking about...then maybe, just maybe your life will be complete and you can then be resurrected into Kampungi heaven.
Another one of my long-time favorites, Great Sea on Lawrence.
The spicy sauce is addictive. That honey/chili flavored deep red concoction that smothers their (giant... I hope it's chicken :) wings is truly something. The batter on wings is crispy and light. Just ignore the intense lip burning and keep eating them.
Warning; the sauce they sell to go *looks* like the real thing, but it's not. Don't waste your coin and time hauling it home in hopes to recreate that *hot and saucy* Great Sea experience. Ain't happening (which makes sense, don't want someone stealing the recepie).
Tsing Tao beer is perfect to pair with the wings.
For entrée, shrimp with mushrooms (good ones, too... white and straw mushrooms, shitake etc) and beef with bamboo shoots are both good. Another dish we love, is pork lo-mein (sound blah, but it's anything but... try it).
The place is Chinese but Korean-owned, so there is a bit of interpretation to "traditional" Chinese dishes, and not in a bad way. Also, you get free kakktogee radish/onion slices/bean paste, to start with. And they have really good cha-ja-myung noodles (which I normally detest, but this place can whip it up).
The service *used* to be awful; and I'm almost certain I was yelled at by one of the little old ladies for something, at least once.
Many people favor the take out for that reason. However; we went just a week ago in July 2009 - everyone was very friendly.. it was pretty shocking actually, after the years of nearly abusive service (which I was fine with, as the food was well worth it).
So now food *and* service rock. solid 4 star.
My personal favorite Korean Chinese (yes, that should be a category on Yelp!) restaurant @ Chicagoland. Their BBQ chicken is the best in town. Nice flavor. Parking can be tough tho... You can always take the EL tho. I used to drive from River North to this place for take out - that's how much I love their food.
If I had to choose my last meal on earth... it's be the spicy chicken wings and Mongolian beef from Great Seas, with a side of white rice... of course!
The wings are soooo succulent... delightful... scrumptious... should I keep going?
You can even try to max out on wings and get your picture on the wall (you'll see what I'm talking about when you walk into the entrance)
My only problem was that the first time I went I passed it up a few times, because i didn't see the sign... and it took me a little bit of time to find parking. but it was worth it. I'm eternally grateful to my LUC friends for introducing me to this place.
Service: Poor
Atmosphere: None
Cleanliness: Do not go to the bathroom or look on the floor, Filthy
Prices: Great
This is typical of most Asian restaurants, so no need to be alarmed.
It's all about the Chicken Wings! They do it better than anyone else in Chicagoland!
But......
I'm not a fan of the service and most the other dishes on the menu are bland.
You can get similar food at any take joint in Chicago.
You can bet, I'll be a Chicken Wing fan forever!
I'd give this place 5 stars for the famous Chicken Wings that I believe everyone comes for. But since we are rating the restaurant overall, I've tried other dishes which have been decent but nothing really stands out like their Chicken Wings. There is one other item--I do think their fried rice is the best I've had anywhere else. Service is fast and friendly. Again I'd rate five stars for their famous wings alone, which is all I really order from there. I don't know anywhere else to find wings like these.
I went here last night because I was surprised that everyone who reviewed this had to mention the Hot & Saucy Chicken Wings. And everyone is right! Amazing, delicious and a great amount for the price. They are big, crispy, and so very flavorful. I tried Medium, which to me was more like Mild amount of spicy. I also had Combo Noodles which were ok, the noodles are made there and they were great but it was a little fishy smelling and tasting. The Mongolian Beef was excellent as well, thin and tender slices with plenty of scallions. We got our food to go, because on a late Sunday night, this place was packed! This is my new favorite Chinese place.
I'd probably never attempt the wing-max feat (look out for the pictures on the wall after you step inside), but those tasty little suckers sure are crazy delicious. Sweet, spicy, and tastes even better with the white rice it comes with.
I've ordered the wings for family parties and it's always a hit!
I mean. Wow. Lawrence has been my favorite food street in the world for a year now, but this takes the fucking cake.
Holy shit. Seriously. Wow. Incredible man.
Get the chicken wings and mandarin beef. Mandarin beef, you say? Can't you get that at panda express ? Well, you can, but this is good stuff-- the best dish I've ever had at a Chinese restaurant.
Hot and Sour soup? Doesn't China express on the corner have that? Well, do they give it to you in a massive bowl (the little feeds 3 huge bowls)? Complete with pieces of shrimp, tofu and mushroom? Probably not.
Black bean noodles? What the hell is black bean sauce noodles? (If you're asking, its a korean-chinese dish? So tasty--might want to even add some rice.
But, as my friend who's been going here for 20 years has said-- the star of the show is the chicken wings. Again, chicken wings at a chinese restaurant???? Trekking to Lawrence is worth these wings. Tender, slightly spicy but with huge amounts of chicken (and really not that messy).
So two big asian guys and myself devoured:
-Hot and sour soup
-Mandarin beef
-Black bean sauce noodles
-12 chicken wings
-one egg roll
-white rice
For $39 w/tip, total.
This, along with the service, makes this the best Chinese restaurant I've ever been to, and vies with Sun Wah as my favorite dining experience in Chicago.
I like authentic Chinese restaurants.
You don't get much more authentic then a waitress who barely understands your English.
Great Sea is very old school China. The menus have photos inside the front and back cover that were obviously taken with someone's digital camera. A place setting on the table has a price tag on it, in case you wanted to buy it, and the narrow dining area is somewhat noisy.
But as always, a restaurant for me comes down to the food.
Egg Rolls: a little overcooked, but very tasty.
Shrimp rolls: delicious, and well presented.
Mongolian Beef? Yum.
My biggest beef with the Mongolian Beef that I get at Chinese restaurants is that the meat isn't lean.
Not so, at the Great Sea restaurant. It was lightly seasoned, cooked to perfection, and fell apart in my mouth.
My friend loved her chow mein... but apparently 'a little hot' means something completely different to the Chinese.
The only thing that was slightly off to me were the egg rolls. But I can skip those next time and go straight to the entre. A great dinner for two was roughly $30.
Oh, and the alcoholic drinks? Extremely cheap. Not just reasonable. Cheap.
What can I say? I remember coming to this place when I was 9 years old...when it first opened. I went from the skinny 60 lbs. kid to a hefty dude with a thirst for Great Sea's food. They've been opened for over 20 years, and I am grateful that they are still around. My folks grew up eating Shang Dong style Korean-Chinese food and introduced it to my brother and I at an early age.
First, their kam pung gi (spicy chicken wings) are the best. They are frenched wings with the meat pushed to one end, double fried, and covered in a spicy, sweet, soy-saucy, garlicky goodness that makes me happy to be alive.
Second, their Cha Jiang Mein (ja jiang myun) black noodles are arguably the best in town (Great Bejing is a close 2nd). You must order the Saam Sun Gun Cha Jiang, because they make the sauce with meat and seafood, and serve it on the side. It's the BOMB!
Third, their Chaam Pohng (sp?) - spicy seafood noodle soup is a deliciousness I cannot tell you about. It is huge, so bring a date and your appetites.
The decor isn't anything to write home about, and I'm not sure much has changed in the past 20 years except for a few minor changes. But I don't go there for the decor. The food keeps me coming back. The service can be hit or miss. You just have to get good at flagging the waitstaff (which I actually like because I don't like being incessantly bothered when I'm stuffing my face full of wings) down.
This is a go-to standard of mine that I hope will stay around for the next 20+ years.
Great Seas has been a staple of mine since i was kid. It's the epitome of comfort food to me.
[Just fyi - if you are planning a first visit here, the restaurant is Chinese-Korean, which is a distinctly separate type of cuisine from straight up Chinese (even though they call themselves a chinese restaurant). So you should probably adjust your expectations.]
As all of the other reviews mention, the prize dish here is the spicy wings (ggang-poon-gi). Hands down, this is my favourite version of this dish, even compared to other Chinese-Korean places in the US and Korea. Great Seas prepares and seasons it very differently from any other place I've been to that serves it.
In addition to the wings, however, I enjoy their jjam-bong (spicy seafood noodle soup), ja-jang-myun (black bean sauce noodles), sweet and sour pork (or shrimp), as well as a seafood variety dish (i can't remember the name at the moment). Although some other restaurants might do some of these dishes better (particularly the ja-jang-myun), Great Seas definitely still holds its own.
The restaurant itself is also cozy and, by the way, has barely changed since I remember it 2 decades ago. It has a very comfortable and personal atmosphere. It's accomodating to couples, families, as well as large groups, which is nice considering it's a relatively small place.
A final secret tip: several years ago they started selling their ggang-poon-gi sauce in a jar for anyone to buy. mix this sauce in with some homemade burger patties and you're on cloud 9.
This is a two-dish restaurant, which might explain why everyone seems to do takeout--you know what you're going to get, so why stick around, right? On with it...
1) Yes, the chicken wings are pretty darn good. Transcendent? Not quite, but a good party favor, no doubt. The sauce's reputation precedes itself.
2) The ja jang myun is fine, though unmemorable; I found it bland but appreciated the toothsome noodles. Great Beijing in Lincolnwood makes a superior version, methinks.
They have a $20 minimum for credit cards, btw. The seafood noodle soup is worth ordering to put you over.
Great Sea is famous for their hot sweet chicken wings. And by-golly-gee, they are pretty darn tasty. Just look at how many reviews with 5-stars there are on this restaurant! :-) Cheap, lean, tasty sauce, slightly crispy, affordable.
Besides the wings, I had the shrimp fried rice and the sizzling rice soup. The rice... meh, I've had better and it was not anything special. BUT, the rice soup was a true treat! Served rich with mushrooms, sprouts, and chicken, they put rice puffs they sizzle on top.
Hmm.. what can I say? There is no place in Chicago that has better Ggahm Bbong ghee (spicy fried chicken?). But... that's all they have.. They make a pretty good Mah Ppoh Tofu, but stick to what they're good at. Get their Ggahm Bbong ghee Chicken and Shrimp. Their sauce is heavenly.
If you're sensitive to spicy foods, remember to ask for mild; Vice versa, if you like spicy things, ask for extra spicy. The regular version is pretty spicy as it is, and if you're prone to heart burn, get mild for sure.
Whatever you do, DO NOT order JjaJangmyun there. It taste like garbage. As I mentioned before, stick to what they're good at. The portions are pretty good, so you'll definitely get your fill. If you feel like impressing some friends at the next potluck, order a party platter of this stuff. You'll be the talk of the party.
Other than that, their service is decent and there's usually not much of a wait. The decor is average for a Chinese restaurant.
Great sea is always a wonderful experience of deliciousness. My previous rating was for dinner but lunch is very good as well.
The shrimp with snow peas is offered at lunch as a special. The shrimp were delicious and plentiful along with water chestnuts and lots of fresh pea pods. The pea pods were bright green, piping hot and still crunchy. My friend had the kung pow chicken which was delicious and immediately eaten. The mongolian beef is another scrumptious option. The soup of the day (some chicken stock with egg and seaweed and a vegetarian egg roll along with white rice accompanied the lunch specials).
The food was excellent. the service was so-so. Friendly but the two lunches came out 10 minutes apart and we were not asked how the food was. We also had tea which had gotten cold while the owner of the store brought fresh tea for herself and her friends... . Overall good Chinese/Korean food that is reasonably priced.
One of my favorite Chinese restaurants despite the fact it is Korean owned. I've been eating there… Read more »
I can't believe I've never been here before last week, but I've always heard good things about it.
We ordered Mongolian beef, spicy chicken wings, jjajangmyun (noodles in black bean sauce), and hot and sour soup.
you can usually only find the jjajangmyun in these hybrid chinese/korean restaurants so it's always a treat. the SMALL hot and sour soup was perfect for 3 people.
hmm i just realized one of the guys i went with beat me to a review. can you guess who it is? I'll give you a hint, he thinks Mongolian beef is Mandarin beef hahahahaha.
anyway, i like to keep these short, so bottom line. go here and at least try it out. you won't regret it.
Another staple of my childhood... ...
My aunt and grandmother loved the chicken wings at this restaurant and I in turn also have loved them.... Whenever we have a family party someone always brings these wings and I always look forward to family get togethers due to this.
How can I describe these wings... they are delicious, the perfect mixture of heat, sweet, juicy, and crunchy all rolled into one!
Served with white rice... I would suggest drizzling some of the chicken's sweet sauce on your rice for extra flavor and also trying some of the noodles offered here as well.
Greatly priced and the food is just mouth watering.
I don't cook, so every time someone says the word "potluck". . . I bring Great Sea's chicken wings.
There's nothing like their chicken wings and I have chicken-wing-phobia (really). If you get their spicy chicken wings (it comes in 3 styles: not hot, mild and spicy), you better be ready - they really ARE spicy and I don't care if you are immune to most spicy foods, I will give you a fair warning (i love it though!!).
I've honestly not had anything else too memorable, I've only dined in once or twice but I pick up food like once every two weeks. I have noticed that they are milking the popularity of their wings (they even have a wing eating contest) and have slowly been raising the price of it (the wings that is). Now, it is $13 for an order of wings when just a year ago it was under $10.
The wait staff doesn't speak much english. And one time they gave me someone else's togo order after i had asked twice about whether it was mine or not. Then I called back because I had ordered 3 orders of wings but only got 2 and the lady immediately said "oh yeah, your numba is 750. . . . yeah come back and we'll give you your other one, we gave you the wrong one." i was already in the suburbs at a family party and couldnt go back but they credited me order of wings they left out and i got to dine inside on complimentary spicy wings with a friend.
Neighborhood: Albany Park
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Irving Park
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Pilsen
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Albany Park
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Albany Park
Category: Chinese
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