The Happy Chef Dim Sum House
2164 S. Archer Avenue
(between 21st St & Cermak Rd)
Chicago, IL 60616 (312) 808-3689
- Nearest Transit:
Cermak-Chinatown (Red)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Breakfast, Lunch
- Alcohol: None
78 Reviews for The Happy Chef Dim Sum House
Authentic Dim Sum house. We went on a Friday during lunch time and had a 35 minute wait. If you're in a small group (2 or 3) then you'll share a large table with others - especially if it's crowded. Everyone is friendly and service is quick. Everything we had was awesome and I wish we lived in Chicago so we could go every week.
I came here on a weekday morning right before lunch so it was pretty quiet with quick service which is what we were looking for. The dim sum is so-so but I liked how you just mark what you want and how much you wanted on the list they give you. It was just the two of us, we ordered a ton and the tab was still CHEAP.
Okay dim sum, cheap ass tab.
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This is only for dim sum now 'cause I don't come past lunch time but this place is just AWESOME!
Located in Chinatown Square almost across from Joy Yee's, this place will always have a line that goes for about 30 minutes unless you want to share a table. I prefer to wait longer 'cause sharing a table makes it confusing when they're delivering your food.
No carts. Everything is on trays and you can pick what you want from their list while people walk around offering their dishes and tempt you with eye fodder.
My staples here are the Rice Noodles Rolls with Shrimp, BBQ Pork Buns, the Pan Fried Chive Cake (2x), and Shrimp with Chives. All that will add up to $11.80-$13.40 for two people which is just insane and unheard of anywhere else. The hot tea flows freely and quickly when you're here and they're good about bringing you extra chili or hoisin if you need it.
This place is kind of ghetto if you want to really get down to it-garbage bag tablecloths, chipped chinaware and handwritten signs all over the place. The hostess doesn't speak English so don't even try to get complicated with her and the servers will speak Chinese to you if you look anything close to Asian.
The food though? The food is what has been bringing me back for the past 5 years. Every time I bring a friend along with me, they're sneaking back without me, the bitches! Next time, I want a friggin' egg custard at least.
Try to take the Red Line down though 'cause parking is next to impossible here. With the renovations in the area, all the available parking has been taken up so haul ass and save some gas too.
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What an unbelievable value and experience. The food we got wasn't too off the wall, but it was damn tasty and filling. $13 each for 10 people, awesome.
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Really good food. The atmosphere is certainly not fancy, but the place is packed so that makes it a fun adventure. You leave stuffed without emptying your wallet.
Maybe I just had bad luck on my first trip to Happy Chef Dim Sum House. The prices are right, for sure, and the food got mixed reviews from the people in my party. I guess it was more like a series of unfortunate events. First off, I found it difficult to get past what felt like a diaper instead of a table cloth, they put fifty sheets of plastic on the table so they can turn it faster by just removing the top sheet. Well, I would feel much better about wiping the table down instead of throwing all that plastic away everyday. On top of that, it makes for a very squishy surface to balance anything but a plate or a tea cup on. Which brings me to the tea... We were served tea from a pot that obviously had the spout broken, then repaired with some sort of clear plastic sleeve, then never cleaned again.... It looked nasty, and the tea was sort of bubbly, not sure why. We were all so put off that we ordered soda's that were stored on the floor by the waiters station. I quickly discovered my glass was loaded with lipstick, at about the same time my wife found a hair in her sticky rice. I guess all of these things could happen anywhere... but all at the same table, I have to think the odds of that happening are pretty slim. Like I said, the prices were right on, but the food was not that great (mealy turnip cake, cold dumplings, etc) and the service, and cleanliness were way below par.
Good dim-sum and so cheap! Hidden jewel in Chinatown. Skip the more expensive places and come here.
Since I'm not Chinese, I typically like to go to dim sum restaurants that have the rolling carts so that I can just point at what I want. But I'll make an exception for Happy Chef as the dim sum is quite good here and reasonable priced. Don't be turned off by the garbage bag table covers...the food is worth it!
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so, a couple of weeks ago (omg almost a month now...i am being REALLY bad with yelp reivews) vidya b. decided that she was going to take me to dim sum for my birthday! w00t!
we get in the car and head to happy chef. it was a raining miserable day...probably like 45 degrees out (remember those days?). anyway, the place was crowded and there was quite a wait. and since we are not asian speakers, it was hard to get to the front of the line...but eventhough we were starving, we knew it would be worth it.
i can't remember what we ate (we eneded up sharing a table with 3 students from UIC) but it was all awesome. i was not a HUGE fan of the black bean spare ribs (that i can remember) but everything else was spot on.
we ate until we were stuffed and when the bill came, it was only like $30. (we got congee...that put us over the top spendy wise).
all in all, a great time, great food and since i think vidya is awesome, great company!
i shall return.
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it doesnt even deserve this much.
i dont know about you chicago yelpers. the dimsum here is not even CLOSE to boston/ny dimsum. it was just.. awful. i couldnt even eat most of it. i just.. it sucked. it was gross.
edit because someone asked me to talk more about why i hated it:
1) the pork buns were sucky. the bread was not fresh and the pork ball was much smaller than normal. usually, the bread is soft and chewey, the bread here was more like wonderbread.
2) the turnip cake- what a disaster. most turnip cakes have other things like chinese sausage in it. this tasted slightly powdery.. and, well i cant describe it but it tasted exactly like my mom's turnip cake when she admits she screwed up.
3) the sticky rice cake had this really weird oil taste to it. it tasted like peanut oil and thats it. you couldnt taste any of the delicious ingredients in it.
4) fried crab/shrimp rolls - i guess these werent awful but these are pretty easy to make and considering that, they werent good. too much fried batter, not enough shrimp/crab inside. not much flavor either
5) shrimp dumplings - they were ok.
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Happy Chef serves up solid Chinese food for Chicago's standard. Of course if you want amazing Chinese food in North America you have to go to places with large Chinese communities such as Toronto, LA, Vancouver, NY, but Happy Chef does a good job of coming somewhat close.
The Dim Sum here is the best I've had in Chicago. Most of them come close to Asian standards with a variety to choose from. There are also rice and noodle dishes for lunch that used to cost $3.88 but now around $4.5 which are also a great deal.
The dinner here is also solid with deals that include a free lobster/crab or free appetizers. They basically serve home-cooked type dishes (which makes me miss home) but if you know how to order you can also order a variety of seafood dishes which are not on the menu but also delicious.
it's best if you can come here with a bunch of friends/family, since you can order more different things and it's extremely affordable considering I've never paid more than $20 to fill my stomach! I'm a regular here for dim sum and I'm sure I'll continue to be as long as I'm in Chicago.
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This has become our favorite dim sum spot, and thanks to all the Yelp reviewers who helped us to decide to go here. The big advantage is being able to walk in and be seated immediately, unlike the Phoenix where there is always a long wait.
Being able to select from a menu, as they do at Happy Chef, rather than select randomly from carts is either an advantage or disadvantage, but overall being seated quickly wins our hearts and minds.
My friend from Hong Kong has taken me a couple times. I don't care that they don't have a cart so you can see the food(like at some dim sum places) I always just rely on Jasmine ordering everything for me(you check off what you want on a lil note card). Now that she's back in HK, I'm going to have to take more of a chance. I've also heard that happy chef is decent, but nowhere near as good as HK dim sum. That's to be expected, I guess.
My favorite is the huge turnip dumpling. Don't know what it's called in Cantonese. If you eat meat go for the chicken feet. It's good, I swear. I like the culture behind dim sum & the manners you're supposed to have when you eat it. My stomach is growling now....& chinese new year is in a few days, so you can bet I'll be there soon
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Updated: The $3.88 special is not the $4.38 special. Also their dimsum menu comes with a menu that has pictures of what each item looks like. That's pretty good considering "Savory Fried Triangles" really doesn't give me any idea about what I'm about to eat.
For dim sum in Chinatown, I go to either Happy Chef or Shui Wah. I'm not a huge fan of the popular Phoenix Restaurant.
The prices are good and the dim sum comes while it's still hot. The space is pretty large and it's clean. Beware, it does get pretty packed on the weekends though, so come early. If you have a small table, don't hesitate to share a table with others. It's really not a big deal. Everyone's too busy shoving face. Happy Chef is pretty good for dinner too. They offer this special menu where lobster or crab comes with. It's an awesome deal. We had a delicious dinner with 6 people and the bill came out to be about $80 including tax and tip. Great deal!
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Ah yes. I was visiting Chicago with a friend and had a craving for some dim sum. We found Happy Chef Dim Sum House on Yelp and decided to try it. Luckily, we love dim sum and although we didn't know everything on the menu, we ordered our favorites. Everything was good except for the walnut prawns. Yuck. Waaaay too much mayo. But otherwise a fine meal and dirt cheap.
Why are there are so many Phoenix haters/Happy Chef lovers? Almost the same person, just wearing different hats.
Be prepared to seriously wait here. Much smaller place, find the lady with the name pad and # per party, that should be your first objective when coming here. Also, if you tell her you're willing to squat (share) tables ghetto Chinese style, then your chances of eating sooner rise dramatically.
So this place does not push carts, you get a piece of paper to order all your dishes, so bring a friend along who knows what everything is - otherwise you may end up like the poor couple across from us who had someone allergic to shrimp (EVERYTHING in dumsum has shrimp).
Unlike Phoenix, the food comes fairly quickly since they want to push the next group onto your table, but nothing really stuck out as "great". It's just dim sum. Although the pork riblets, while disgusting-looking, were probably the best thing HC had to offer.
I'm not gonna lie.. the service here sucks, but the dim sum is the best in Chinatown (at least in Chicago Chinatown).
Some advice:
- look for the lady taking down names to put your name down asap. even if it means pushing and shoving. on the weekends, unless you're in a group of 10+, you'll likely be seated with different groups of ppl @ the round table.
- have some sort of idea on what you're going to order. don't expect much help from the servers. unlike typical dim sum places, you check what you want from a sheet of paper. once done, wave your paper in the air to get someone's attention, and at the same time, ask for iced water, soy sauce, hot sauce (whatever else you want), so you don't encounter what most ppl do here.. which is waiting forever.
- my fav dishes are the chive cake, chicken feet, shrimp roll.
I can usually try about 8 dim sum dishes, and pay about $12 including tip/tax. Can't beat that price.
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Before I take anyone here, I always ask, "Have you had dim sum before?" Unless someone has had dim sum before or are generally adventurous/open minded, I think The Happy Chef will scare the crap out of them. The restaurant is constantly packed, which should be your first cue that this place is worth a try, but I've definitely received some raised eyebrows with initial visits.
The restaurant is minimally decorated with sparse laminated signs and statues of unicorns, buddahs and bamboo shoots along the reservationist's desk. It's a really good place to bring large parties because the basis of dim sum is on sharing and sampling different items--which also happens to be A LOT less expensive than getting tapas. The reasons why are beyond me.
The menu contains all sorts of crazy dim sum items at ridiculously reasonable prices, which, I'm a fan of, but your intimidated guest might not be. If they aren't, just direct them to the generic entrees like Kung Pao or General Tso's while you happily thumb over steamed pork buns (personal favorite).
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Service sucks, but a dish of noodles or rice for only $3.88, can ya really complain?
I really like the dim sum and the late night specials here. Food is pretty consistent.
Although it looks like there is a random line of people at the door on the weekend mornings, be aware that their is a lady that is taking down names for seatings. Be generous with the elbow throwing until you can reach her.
This is where my bf and I go for dim sum when we are alone. Good dim sum, cheaper than Phoenix, easier to get a table and we don't need to hunt down those carts! Never had a bad dim sum experience.
We also come here for dinner, especially since they give you a free lobster when you order 3 dishes off the pink menu! We usually end up with so much food that we have enough leftovers for days!
Does NOT make me happy.
I've been here twice now, for dim sum, and I've never really enjoyed myself. The biggest upset for me was when I had to wait for 15+ minutes just to get soy sauce. All the while, my group began eating so that their dishes didn't get cold. However, that meant I got to sit and star as my stomach growled while I waited for the soy sauce. Also, must I mention I had to ask a minimum of 5 employees to bring it, since, not a single of actually ever attempted to get the item.
I also dislike the inability to look at carts and see what you might want. I understand that everything is made to order, but, sometimes I don't know what I'm in the mood for and I'd like to look at my options. Lastly, I feel as though they have less choices than other places. I generally only eat 5 different dishes here, whereas at other places I feel like I have more options.
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Don't tell the people waiting in line at the Phoenix for an hour - but across the street, you can get BETTER FOOD for CHEAPER PRICES that is COOKED FRESH for you - no more waiting 45 minutes for the BBQ pork buns you were craving, only to see the table in front of you take the last off the cart.
Happy Chef kicks out some great food that amazes not only for its freshness and quality, but for the logistical work that goes into delivering it to your table. Don't ask me how they do it, but you make checkmarks on the paper, a lady looks at it ONCE, and then 5 different people come out throughout the rest of your meal delivering exactly what you ordered. The organizational freak in me was impressed.
Their specials board looks interesting as well; I appreciate, as Sharlene noted, that it's (mostly) in English, so round-eyed me can enjoy the secret good stuff that everyone else is chowing.
Go, go now! Forget the Phoenix; for dim sum in Chinatown, I am now officially a Happy Chef man.
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Happy Chef is an excellent option for dim sum, if you know what you'd like to order. There are no carts going around here, so there is no chance to see and smell...just a check list to fill out with what you want. Recently, they've added a nice color photo sheet with pictures of many of the dishes, so ask if you need one.
The food comes out fairly quickly and you don't find yourself sitting around half an hour after you've finished, just waiting to see that one elusive dish come out of the kitchen, only to be snapped up before it gets to your table. This is a simpler atmosphere than something like Phoenix, but the wait is far shorter, there is no attitude by the host, and the prices are quite a bit cheaper for similar quality. If you're serious about your dim sum as a delicous meal, not a big social outing with ambiance and view...go here.
Just remember...they only serve sesame balls (filled with red bean paste) on weekends so, on a week day, if you love these as much as me...either substitute a custard bun, or just pick them up at one of the bakeries (or, I'll admit...sometimes I pop into Phoenix just to order these from the bartender).
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Between Kevin A. and Amaliya you get the perfect impression of this restaurant.
If it wasn't that we were seated with another couple who spoke Cantonese, we might as well have been wallpaper. And trying to figure out if you wait in line or be put on a list (the latter) in a teeny tiny waiting area with a crowd is causing my brain cells to just popl
They don't have a huge selection, but what they do have is delicious, cheap, and huge portions so you don't have to double order.
We had the Chinese Broccoli, Pork Dumplings, Siu Mai, and they had my favorite Chinese dessert (unknown name) but it looks like a doughnut with a thin layer of salt on top and custard filling.
The three stars are just b/c of the service, and the tiny crowded place. Otherwise, the food in itself is great.
I don't know about the dim sum, but I can tell you this is some really good Cantonese food. The seafood here is absolutely phenomenal compared to most seafood I've had in Chicago.
When I see pseudo-culturalists and tourists alike ordering fried rice, a little part of me always dies because it's kind of like getting a hot dog at a really good steakhouse (I'm sure it's good, but that's not really the best or recommended choice).
If you can't read Chinese, that's usually a shame, but this place has English on their daily specials up on the wall. Market fresh, the items change frequently. They have something called Geoduck (pronounced: gooey duck) that my friend says is rarely available anywhere outside of the Pacific Northwest or Asia. Largest edible clam, and it sounds really amazing.
We ordered blue crabs steamed with garlic (off menu). A heaping plate of 20 crabs for about $10.00 I think. They were fresh and delicious cooked perfectly.
I really recommend trying to order off the menu and get the freshest seafood they have by asking the waiter or at the very least, watching what entire families are getting whether it's giant prawns or lobster. And if it's fresh, for god's sake, get it steamed so you can really appreciate how the actual food tastes.
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In the last month I've gone skydiving and eaten a habanero. So why the hell not eat some frog? Another check on the list of things to do/consume before I die. The tasty bubbly looking morsels of meat clinging to tiny bones stuffed in my mouth and then tiny bones plucked out like a cartoon character eating a drumstick. Ordering 4 entrees for our group got us a free order of fried lobster and the family style included soup, tea and a black rice desert soup like item which was simply delicioso. Granted the half dead seafood in the tank near us did not do much for the ambience. Call ahead for a $128 Shark Fin special; I doubt any presidential candidate hopefuls will be eating this politically incorrect menu item.
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I know I can rely on Happy Chef to deliver a good meal. I enter starving and leave satiated.
I haven't been here for dim sum in over a year, but from what I can remember, it is solid. Rather than having carts roll through the dining area, you mark down what you want on an order form and they'll bring out the dishes from the kitchen. Yeah, the wait can be long at times, but that's pretty much the case at any place for dim sum on the weekends.
I've most recently been here for dinner, which was really good as well. We ordered the special combination offer, order three entrees, get one free, all for around $36. Not bad at all. For starters, you get a small bowl of broth soup. The beef and Chinese broccoli has really tender meat. I absolutely loved the flavor in the vegetable stir fry. If you're feeling adventurous, try one with the bittermelon. Ma-po tofu was only ok - the tofu they use is really soft, so it's hard to grasp with chopsticks. My favorite dish that we ordered, however, was the yu-shiang fish with eggplant. And for dessert, a red bean and tapioca soup, slightly sweetened.
Portions are very generous, so I walked away with plenty of leftovers. I won't complain, that way I don't have to cook.
In light of all of the great reviews of this place, I have to say that I was really disappointed. Granted, the waitstaff was attentive, the tea was hot, and the garbage bags did have a certain charm, but the dim sum was crappy.
The shrimp in the har gow wasn't deveined, and the texture suffered (I won't even get into the yuck factor of eating shrimp waste). The char siu bao bounced around in my mouth like one of those balls you played jacks with as a kid. I am indifferent to the whole cart/order sheet thing, but some people dig it. And yes, it was cheap.
The frozen dim sum they sell at Trader Joe's is better than this.
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I think that their dim sum is pretty good; however, the wait for the dim sum can get very long, especially if it's crowded! But I don't know, I haven't been there since last year...things might have changed. I prefer the carts since you get your food right there on the spot. My favorite items here are the pan-fried pork buns and the pork sui mai (sp?).
Also, their regular menu is pretty big. I like the combinations they offer for large groups of people...you end up saving a lot of money!
The atmosphere: Shady
The wait staff: Mean and unattentive
The price: Cheap
The food: Delicious
This is my kind of place, sometimes when you dont want to go those fancy restaurants where you act all proper in front of clients and co-workers, its nice to go to a place just like this. Good food, (both dim sum and dinners) and the have specials where you order 3 dishes, and get a lobster or dungeness crab for free.
I just love it when I ask for water the 3rd time around and get attitude from the wait staff. But the food always comes out piping hot and full of flavor.
Of course, dont order dishes like fried rice or lo-mein... you can go to panda express in that case
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Another dim sum review... what a shocker!
Let me just add to the general praise for Happy Chef. The wait for the dim sum on Saturday and Sunday mornings should be any indication of the goodness of the food, but yes, it is good. It's also of the fresher variety, where the dim sum is made to order rather than carted around. Personally I don't mind the carts, and in some ways it adds a little bit of a "window shopping" aspect to the whole experience, but all the same, I suppose freshest is bestest.
The service can be pretty horrendous, with requests for water, silverware, and other various items taking a very long time to materialize, but I will admit that eventually they do bring you what you ask for. So in other words, they don't forget about what you asked for, they just are testing you to see if you will snap and make a damn fool of yourself getting all snappy in a cheap and completely informal Chinese restaurant where they're used to not giving a crap about tourists' nitpicky demands.
Some suggestions for people who don't know dim sum:
shrimp and pork dumplings
bbq pork buns
anything from the fried section
and order a side dish as well, like a fried rice, or as we did last time, spicy black bean beef with noodles... it was delicious
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I'm from SoCal and have also often visited my relatives in Hong Kong, so I can't possibly give any dim sum restaurant in Chicago a 5 star rating :oP. Happy Chef, however, comes close in terms of price and quality. Delicious food at reasonable prices!
Warning, though, Happy Chef gets pretty busy during lunchtime on the weekends. If you're willing to wait and deal with the less than friendly staff, it means you're really in it for the food. The dim sum is a bit on the greasy side, but that's the authentic tasty way to make it :oP. I'd suggest, as with any other Chinese restaurant, coming here with someone who is Cantonese. We know how to be rude and demanding back at the wait staff so we get what we want!
Enjoy!
Went here last night for dinner, not for dim sum. We took advantage of one of their family dinner specials (buy 3 entrees get one free). They also have other variations of this special, such as "buy 2 entrees get a free lobster". For some reason, we didn't feel like lobster last night.
The decor and ambiance in this place is pretty typical for a china town family or dim sum restaurant: lots of big tables with white plastic over them, kind of crowded, loud, lots of big families. It's not romantic or anything, but hell, this is the place to go for large portions of really good and cheap Chinese food, not for a date.
The menu has a large selection and you can get everything from your standard Americanized Chinese food to more traditional items. Overall, I think the food tastes really great, but everything is pretty greasy.
We had the baked oysters (awesome!), wok seared pork ribs (this was basically sweet and sour pork and it sucked), clams (yum!), and
crispy ma pa tofu (also awesome). With the dinner you also get soup and a desert made from red bean.
For standard family style Chinese food, you can't go wrong with the Happy Chef. It's really great value if you go with at least 3 or 4 people.
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YUMMY!! Best dim sum in Chicago!
I went here last Thursday with my bf, his parents and nephew. I have been here before but don't remember what I ate.
Even though dim sum is eaten in the morning/day, Happy Chef serves it all night. Prices are really cheap, we got 5 dishes for ~$10/person. What a great deal! Huge portions!
I do not know the names of the dishes we ate, sorry. But we got everything from the double-sided dim sum menu, not the regular one. We ordered sweet and sour pork, seafood medley, tofu with seafood, baked chicken and soup.
My favorite was the pork. SO GOOD!!! The pork was fried and was a little crunchy. The sauce was really good with the rice. The seafood is fresh and seemed healthy ; )
It's super fast service and food came out in 10-15 minutes. The place was pretty packed for a Thursday night! The restaurant isn't fancy and plastic covers all the tables. But who cares! You aren't there for the ambiance! = )
Anyways, try it out!
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My Chinese-American partner highly recommends this place for dim sum, but we often end up here at 10 pm on Fridays. That's because of their secret 10 pm menu! They have a smaller selection, with slightly smaller portions, but at much cheaper prices. Yum! The (pardon my killing of this spelling) tong sing chai (that's how it sounds) in a garlic sauce is soooo yummy! And of course they offer the combination of 3 regular meals plus parts of a lobster (no, not a whole one) for $40. Not bad!
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THE BEST DIM SUM I'VE EVER EATEN... OFF A HEFTY CINCH SACK
If Happy Chef had been around when Adam Smith wrote 'The Wealth of Nations' (seriously, how many people just stopped reading?), we'd have the hefty cinch sack instead of the invisible hand as the metaphor for the driving force of capitalism.
Forget customer service, forget privacy, and forget comfort even...this place's objective is to serve excellent dim sum and serve as many customers as possible and it succeeds on both accounts. The method: optional table-sharing during the weekend rush and a huge stack of cut-open trash bags as table cloths...allow me to explain.
It's actually quite a sight to behold... Once a table is done eating a busser will grab the corners of the trash bag and lift the contents, dishes and all, and whisk it away to the kitchen leaving a pristine polyethylene dining surface for the next group of patrons. I've never seen anything like it. Southwest turning around a plane in 20 minutes? I'm no longer impressed.
On to the food....
The dim sum is the best that I've had in Chicago.
Favorites include:
-Har gao (plump steamed dumplings with generous portions of fresh shrimp)
-Lo bak gao (mouth-watering turnip cake with a velvety interior and a crisp, pan-fried exterior)
-Lo mai gai (yummy sticky rice with chicken, sausage, and egg all wrapped up and steamed in bamboo leaves...soooo good!)
Also, don't forget to save room for a boba at Joy Yee's a few doors down.
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Update 12/9/07: Food is amazing but service is horrible. I waited for an hour for a table when they said it would be twenty minutes. I understand that it was packed, but they shouldn't have given the twenty minute wait. And they were really rude about it. It sucks that I can't go there anymore, but my family has boycotted the restaurant. And overall their service lacks. They're rude and it takes forever to get any water, extra tea, or sauces. BOO TO HAPPY CHEF
I think this is my very first five star comment. Great value for such fresh dimsum. I've even been here twice in one day!!!!! Love it. One of my fav restaurants. Took a out of town friend who is very picky and loved it as well. And you can't go wrong with the prices. 10 bucks a person, how can you go wrong!! Try the dimsum, stay for dinner. Just as good.
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I wasn't impressed with the garbage bags on the table; it was like eating off a diaper.
We didn't have dim sum here, rather a selection of entrees from the regular menu: deluxe vegetables, wok-seared tofu, twice-cooked pork, and pea sprouts in garlic. Everything was quite tasty, although the vegetables didn't have as much variety as I would have liked and the pork was extremely fatty (about 75% fat / 25% actual meat).
Vegetarians - be careful! Several items on the vegetarian page have meat in them, and the descriptions don't always mention the meat. We were glad that we asked, because the wok-seared tofu normally comes with pork.
Service was fine, but nothing exceptional.
Quality / Taste (40%): 4.5
Atmosphere (20%): 2
Service (20%): 3
Value (20%): 3.5
Overall: 3.5
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Great places make for short reviews.
If you want sum dim sum in Chicago this place is worth the trip.
I threw down on a bunch of dishes and loved the shimp-based action.
Best dim sum I've had stateside!
Bonus points for being located across from that awesome bubble tea/smoothie place...not sure of the name?
Double bonus points for hearing a mandarin version of Billy Ray Cyrus' Achy Breaky Heart blaring from a record store just before going in!!
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I am pretty happy because I don't see cashew or general tso's chicken on their menu. Those are not authentic Chinese food FYI. Happy Chef's menu is different and there's lots to choose from. Their set dinner is a good bargain because it's only $33.88 for 3 dishes. The set also comes with soup and dessert. The only drawback is that you can only choose from a list of items. Fear not because that list is 2 pages long and they selection is wonderful. My family and I chose the set with 2 dishes and free lobster (or crab). If you do the math, the whole lobster is about $12 and I don't think you can get a lobster at that price at Red Lobster. Think about it ...=)
I took away one star because of their rubbish bag-like table cloth and slow/bad service but this is typically what I will expect of a Chinese restaurant.
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