Thanks, as expected I am jealous.

Looking for some help and advice on what to order for 6 people at Sun Wah. It is my birthday on Saturday (yeah me!) and I have requested the peking duck/Sun Wah as where I want to go for dinner. The first, and only other time I went we were a party of 4 and ordered the duck, garlic ribs and bok choy and had more than enough for the 4 of us. However this time, I will be with a party of 6 and concerned that one duck will not be enough as there wasn't that much left over, really just a few pcs and a leg. I can order 2 ducks, but really want to try some other items on the menu.

What would you recommend for dinner with 6 people at Sun Wah, along with peking duck? We are not a group of picky eaters and would be willing to try just about anything.

Steamed Dover Sole Fillet would be at the top of the list. Get their recommendation on whatever greens are freshest. Beef Chow Fun or whatever protein you want to add. Start with one of their incredible soups- I had the hot and sour yesterday.

I'd perhaps order a bit differently than Octarine. I'd definitely add a medium or large BBQ platter to the mix. That will give you a chance to enjoy a variety of what Sun Wah does best, their BBQ meats. I'd also recommend wide crispy noodles with pork and duck (ask for the noodles extra crispy) and, if available, the kurobata squash stuffed with pork belly. Add an order of ong choi or some other kind of greens and you should be all set, with food left over. Soup comes as one of the duck courses, so there is no need to double up.

Also, if you're really a poultry fan, you could also order one of their Citrus Fried Chickens. Usually I don't order that when I'm having Peking duck, but you might be a true lover of the bird.

I'd have them fish one of those Dungeness Crabs out of the tank, and stir fry it up. Add to that some bbq duck, or pork, and you should be set.

Ooh I forgot about the citrus fried chicken, definitely go with that! The garlic green onion sauce they serve with it is delicious.

Stevez, I was under the impression that they were planning on the BBQ as a base and wanted other suggestions. I agree that it would be nigh unto impossible to go there and not have some of their roast pig or duck.

do they still serve the garlic ribs?

edit: sorry, i see the guy asking the question already knows about the good stuff . i second the wide noodles with pork ordered crisp.

It doesn't hurt to remind folks:
Order the garlic fried ribs 24 hours in advance!!!

They are not on the regular menu and have to be specially purchased and marinated!

We were able order them at the table when we went a few weeks ago. I have to say, it was our first time and they weren't as garlicky as I thought they would be (from the glowing reviews in this thread!) so maybe the extra day's notice = more marination = more garlicky deliciousness.

since i want credit where it's due, let me insert a correction here. the chicken EVERYONE keeps referring to as citrus fried chicken is called mike's fried chicken on our menu. mike learned the secrets, tweaked it, and cooks it. so, credit due my dear brother. why it got the name citrus fried, thank you steve for mentioning lemons or limes the first time we served it to you and the other lthers. the name seems to have stuck with you guys...but there's no citrus anything in the chicken..i swear! heheh!! see you all soon!

quack quack!
kelly

Dinner was fantastic last night, thanks to Kelly and everyone's recommendations here. We ordered the steamed oysters with black beans, a medium plate of combo BBQ (loved the pork!) a special shrimp with bacon dish as recommended by Kelly, the lotus root/bacon/veggie stir fry and bok choy along with the Peking Duck along with 4 or 5 large beers. We had 7 in our party and could have easily fed 2 to 3 more people. I remember reading here (I think it was Gary) that its great taking new people to Sun Wah and cluing them into the bill--all of this and the bill was $150.

A great birthday dinner and thanks again for the advice.

We were also there Saturday night. We took my in-laws for their first Sun Wah outing. They loved it, but their 85 year-old ears had a tough time hearing anything. I hope the acoustics improve with the build out. We noticed the birthday party folks; looked like you were having fun! Kelly also recommended the bacon & shrimp special dish to us. We thought it was really yummy. I hope they keep it on the menu permanently. A guy at the next table (an LTHer?) told us that one of the table sauces had been featured in the food section of the Tribune (or was it the Sun-Times?). I made a point to spoon some of the ballyhooed sauce on some fried rice, but it honestly didn't seem all that special to me. The Peking Duck was, of course, superb and Kelly's service was first-rate. We always end up ordering more bao. Maybe we're not putting enough meat into each bun?

faygelah wrote:I hope the acoustics improve with the build out.

It will be another building, though I hope they will address sound issues, too.

The Peking Duck was, of course, superb and Kelly's service was first-rate. We always end up ordering more bao. Maybe we're not putting enough meat into each bun?

You may want to ask Kelly on how a Chinese person would arrange their buns to get a gauge whether it is too little filling. I consider the overall cost and quality good enough, I don't mind ordering more buns.

Regards,

We were 1 of 2 birthday party folks. My table was the 2nd from the wall filled with 30 and 40 somethings. The table closer to the wall was the other celebration in their 60s (they had the balloon). We did have a ton of fun and I had 3 people with us that had never been to Sun Wah--and one of them returned on Sunday with 2 other friends who had never been there.

The one that mentioned the sauce...if it was from my table it might have been my husband or brother. They used it on just about everything at the table for a little extra kick and were looking forward to using it per the Trib article referred to it as one of the best condiments in Chicago.

Looks like everyone was there Saturday night!
My best friend and I were there and when we came in I laughed that I thought I was the only asian person in the place dining there that night. But more people trickled in as the night wore on.
We didn't get duck that night, we got a bbq combo, some pan fried egg noodles with pork and bean sprouts, and my favorite soft shell crab. But I don't think Kelly stopped carving ducks the entire time we were there!

As for the sauces, there is a spicy soy and a chili oil. Both are marvelous. I especially like to eat my shrimp wontons in soup with the spicy soy. Put wonton on soup spoon, drizzle some soy, and eat away.

Sharona

Sharona wrote:As for the sauces, there is a spicy soy and a chili oil. Both are marvelous. I especially like to eat my shrimp wontons in soup with the spicy soy. Put wonton on soup spoon, drizzle some soy, and eat away.

I'm with you, Sharona. I'm a fan of the spicy soy as well. I was there for lunch today and had a soft shell crab drizzled with the spicy soy with the little hot peppers. That, along with a bowl of BBQ pork won ton soup made for a delicious lunch!

I was the three top on the wall at the same time as everyone else on Saturday night!

We had the Peking duck wih Bao, Fried rice, and soup. Bao was outstanding, Fried Rice maybe the best dish of the evening. Soup was very solid but most supriseing was the sorbet. Not sure if it is made in house but texture suggest so.

Then went to Garlic fried ribs which my two guest prefered but I thought were very good.

Baby book choy tips were my favorite dish of the night. It is a dish like this were you can actually taste the breath of the wok that make you realize how great chinesse food can be.

Finally an order of crispy egg noodles with beef and chinese broccoli Stellar.

Overall without repeating too much of the same already said here this has to be one of the top 5 value restaurants in Chicago. All this food with plenty left and a few too many beers set the three of us back a total of $75.

You may want to ask Kelly on how a Chinese person would arrange their buns to get a gauge whether it is too little filling. I consider the overall cost and quality good enough, I don't mind ordering more buns.

I don't at all mind paying for extra bao. Believe me, I would gladly pay twice as much for the Peking duck. I was just wondering that if the bao served with duck were supposed to suffice, I'm probably not stuffing them with as much duck as I'm "supposed" to. I want to be sure I'm getting the authentic experience.

It felt like a party Saturday night, the place was so full. Kelly was kept hopping from table to table carving up duck. It's just a shame we didn't all meet each other!

I was just wondering that if the bao served with duck were supposed to suffice, I'm probably not stuffing them with as much duck as I'm "supposed" to.

Having watched Kelly demonstrate an assembly, it suggests they put less meat then I might be otherwise inclined. There may not be enough bao presented, so ordering more seems to be a good idea from the get-go. For others it may not matter.

Sun Wah's phone number is one of the very few I keep on my cellphone, to allow me to make a last minute request for their duck. One of the others is Burt's for reserving dough on the fly. Everyone else I can just show up or wait for another time.

Regards,

I had an absolute blast at Sun Wah on Saturday night. I had called ahead for the roast duck and garlic-fried ribs. The 5 of us added an order of butterflied shrimp with Chinese bacon (a special that night) as well as pea pod tips. We probably could have done without the ribs (see below) as we were unable to finish everything (and there wasn't quite enough food leftover to bring home). The tableside carving was a real treat, too. No wonder Gordon Ramsey likes to sell restauranteurs on that in Kitchen Nightmares!

To answer the 'how many bao?' question, the five of us used 3 bao each and that handled the amount of duck and toppings perfectly.

As far as the ribs, I really didn't know what to expect -- I suppose I was thinking of fried rib tips, which sounded awesome. While the flavor was really nice and strong, I didn't find much meat in each piece just gristle and cartilage. It was good enough, but I would have enjoyed them more if they were meatier. Maybe we got a bad batch but meaty rib tips they were not.

Another hiccup was at the end with the sorbet (and I use the term hiccup mildly). Like I said, there were 5 of us but we only got two servings of sorbet (the flavors on Saturday were raspberry and mango, two scoops each between two bowls). We weren't entirely clear if more was coming or... Plus, one friend of mine was allergic to mango and we asked for one more serving that hadn't been in contact with the offending flavor. We were told that we would be charged extra for that serving, at which point we declined. That being said, the sorbet was amazing, clearly homemade and better for it. We were just a little confused as we didn't know what to expect, servings wise.

Really, these two things hardly took away from the otherwise wonderful meal, like I said. Steps from the red line and dirt cheap (our total, with tip and a modest number of drinks per person, was $120), I have to offer my thanks, again, to LTH for pointing me to such a great find.

danimalarkey wrote: Like I said, there were 5 of us but we only got two servings of sorbet (the flavors on Saturday were raspberry and mango, two scoops each between two bowls).

Did you only order one duck dinner? It's a dinner for two, so you got the appropriate amount of servings--in all fairness, they did accommodate you sharing among five, right? Would have been nice, I'm sure, but it was fair.

danimalarkey wrote: As far as the ribs, I really didn't know what to expect -- I suppose I was thinking of fried rib tips, which sounded awesome. While the flavor was really nice and strong, I didn't find much meat in each piece just gristle and cartilage. It was good enough, but I would have enjoyed them more if they were meatier. Maybe we got a bad batch but meaty rib tips they were not.

Agreed, and I initially shared your concern when I first had them...but, man, are they amazing as cold leftovers. You should have put that gristle to good use, my friend.

Another hiccup was at the end with the sorbet (and I use the term hiccup mildly). Like I said, there were 5 of us but we only got two servings of sorbet (the flavors on Saturday were raspberry and mango, two scoops each between two bowls). We weren't entirely clear if more was coming or... Plus, one friend of mine was allergic to mango and we asked for one more serving that hadn't been in contact with the offending flavor. We were told that we would be charged extra for that serving, at which point we declined. That being said, the sorbet was amazing, clearly homemade and better for it. We were just a little confused as we didn't know what to expect, servings wise.

Really, these two things hardly took away from the otherwise wonderful meal, like I said. Steps from the red line and dirt cheap (our total, with tip and a modest number of drinks per person, was $120), I have to offer my thanks, again, to LTH for pointing me to such a great find.[/quote]

danimalarkey wrote:Another hiccup was at the end with the sorbet (and I use the term hiccup mildly). Like I said, there were 5 of us but we only got two servings of sorbet (the flavors on Saturday were raspberry and mango, two scoops each between two bowls). We weren't entirely clear if more was coming or... Plus, one friend of mine was allergic to mango and we asked for one more serving that hadn't been in contact with the offending flavor. We were told that we would be charged extra for that serving, at which point we declined. That being said, the sorbet was amazing, clearly homemade and better for it. We were just a little confused as we didn't know what to expect, servings wise.

The duck special is meant for 2 people, and that is why 2 servings of sorbet are included. When I went with a group, we added on extra sorbet so more people could try it. I think it was only $2 per serving.

Glutunous lunch today at Sun Wah for two. Peking duck, Bbq Ribs, Pork and Crispy noodles. Easily enough food for 5 people with more left over then consumed. Total--$54. Sun Wah is a treasure.

I was there today for lunch, too, with the wife and baby. Beijing duck and Dungenesss crab for the adults, soy sauce chicken and beef chow fun for the baby (and adults). Sun Wah has been on fire as of late, which has kept it rooted at the top of our rotation (today's visit was the third in two weeks).

I taught all day and then had a gig at Navy Pier from 6 to 8. Driving home I was starving. The light bulb went on-stop by Sun Wah for some takeout. $14.70 and ten minutes later, I'm heading home with barbecue pork, Won ton with egg noodles and mai fun. The Mrs. was very happy, and so is my stomach. I am struggling to stay awake to post this. What a terrific neighborhood resource.

Quick question...

I might be taking an out of town guest to Sun Wah for dinner on Saturday night. How crazy does it get there on Saturdays and what kind of wait time might I expect (eating around 8pm)?

jesteinf wrote:Quick question...

I might be taking an out of town guest to Sun Wah for dinner on Saturday night. How crazy does it get there on Saturdays and what kind of wait time might I expect (eating around 8pm)?

Probably no wait time. If any, I'll bet it's short.

stevez wrote:

jesteinf wrote:Quick question...

I might be taking an out of town guest to Sun Wah for dinner on Saturday night. How crazy does it get there on Saturdays and what kind of wait time might I expect (eating around 8pm)?

Probably no wait time. If any, I'll bet it's short.

On weekends it is harder to get a table at any of the great Argyle places during lunch than it is for dinner. There are a lot of people who come in from the suburbs on the weekends for their grocery shopping and a good meal; by the time 8:00pm rolls around most people are gone. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the more popular things at Sun Wah are sold out by then so I would reccomend calling ahead and reserving anything that you know you want.

Enjoy!

I have spent the last hour or so reading the Sun Wah posts and looking at the photos and now I'm ready to go. So, I'm heading there Friday night and have a question....do you only have to call in your orders 24 hrs ahead of time, if you are getting the Peking Duck and Garlic fried pork ribs?

Shaggywillis wrote:I have spent the last hour or so reading the Sun Wah posts and looking at the photos and now I'm ready to go. So, I'm heading there Friday night and have a question....do you only have to call in your orders 24 hrs ahead of time, if you are getting the Peking Duck and Garlic fried pork ribs?

They've got the duck pretty much all the time (unless they have a big unanticipated run), but you'll need to call ahead for the ribs.