marothisu wrote:

Eat With Gusto wrote:

marothisu wrote:Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling. Best Dongbei style jiaozi in the US..

You and your wife win. But I feel like I’m about to win also. See? I’m moldable

Oh ok, these are basically Russian pelemeni but with much better filling options. Having mentioned they to the manager he brought over 2 Russians for me to converse with lol. Lovely place, thank you

LOL great. Glad you enjoy it. The owners are husband and wife and they started as just the 2 of them in the basement food court of the same building (great food there too....). They got a lot of press for these dumplings and were able to take the space they are in now from a Thai restaurant. No remodeling but the press continued and they got enough money to remodel the entire place. Everything in there is imported from China.

My wife, her parents, and I have made small friendship with the owners. Although I dont live in Chicago anymore, they still recognize us when we pass through a few times per year. My wife and her parents grew up where the owners are from.

Great thing is that they just opened up a fast concept for the same dumplings in downtown. They have investors lined up from China ready to pull the trigger on taking it to LA, SF, DC, etc if all goes well.

My wife and I live in NYC which has great chinese food (Flushing, Brooklyn, etc). My wife has never lived in Chicago but maintains these are the best dumplings she's had anywhere in the US whether in LA, SF, NYC, or beyond. Weve suggested to a few CA friends who will say "no thanks. We have good Chinese food in CA." A little arm twisting and they're shocked such good dumplings exist in Chicago. They are what my wife grew up on and if she thinks they are legit then I pass on the good word LOL

I'm typing this to you from a flight to China LOL. Going to be in the region where this restaurant is from for a week. Only been there for a day once before. Cant wait to see how QXYD compares for myself!

Eat With Gusto wrote:

marothisu wrote:

Eat With Gusto wrote:

marothisu wrote:Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling. Best Dongbei style jiaozi in the US..

You and your wife win. But I feel like I’m about to win also. See? I’m moldable

Oh ok, these are basically Russian pelemeni but with much better filling options. Having mentioned they to the manager he brought over 2 Russians for me to converse with lol. Lovely place, thank you

LOL great. Glad you enjoy it. The owners are husband and wife and they started as just the 2 of them in the basement food court of the same building (great food there too....). They got a lot of press for these dumplings and were able to take the space they are in now from a Thai restaurant. No remodeling but the press continued and they got enough money to remodel the entire place. Everything in there is imported from China.

My wife, her parents, and I have made small friendship with the owners. Although I dont live in Chicago anymore, they still recognize us when we pass through a few times per year. My wife and her parents grew up where the owners are from.

Great thing is that they just opened up a fast concept for the same dumplings in downtown. They have investors lined up from China ready to pull the trigger on taking it to LA, SF, DC, etc if all goes well.

My wife and I live in NYC which has great chinese food (Flushing, Brooklyn, etc). My wife has never lived in Chicago but maintains these are the best dumplings she's had anywhere in the US whether in LA, SF, NYC, or beyond. Weve suggested to a few CA friends who will say "no thanks. We have good Chinese food in CA." A little arm twisting and they're shocked such good dumplings exist in Chicago. They are what my wife grew up on and if she thinks they are legit then I pass on the good word LOL

I'm typing this to you from a flight to China LOL. Going to be in the region where this restaurant is from for a week. Only been there for a day once before. Cant wait to see how QXYD compares for myself!

Very cool. Have a great time. Looks like dongbei is not far from Taiwan, I was figuring this was a very northern almost Russia northern style.

It’s a big effort to get to really good Chinese in LA. SGV is a hike but we do it a lot. Luckily we now have a legit dim sum spot by us in the center.

The line for the museum was so big I didn’t go in. “Sad”

marothisu wrote:

Eat With Gusto wrote:

marothisu wrote:

Eat With Gusto wrote:

marothisu wrote:Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling. Best Dongbei style jiaozi in the US..

You and your wife win. But I feel like I’m about to win also. See? I’m moldable

Oh ok, these are basically Russian pelemeni but with much better filling options. Having mentioned they to the manager he brought over 2 Russians for me to converse with lol. Lovely place, thank you

LOL great. Glad you enjoy it. The owners are husband and wife and they started as just the 2 of them in the basement food court of the same building (great food there too....). They got a lot of press for these dumplings and were able to take the space they are in now from a Thai restaurant. No remodeling but the press continued and they got enough money to remodel the entire place. Everything in there is imported from China.

My wife, her parents, and I have made small friendship with the owners. Although I dont live in Chicago anymore, they still recognize us when we pass through a few times per year. My wife and her parents grew up where the owners are from.

Great thing is that they just opened up a fast concept for the same dumplings in downtown. They have investors lined up from China ready to pull the trigger on taking it to LA, SF, DC, etc if all goes well.

My wife and I live in NYC which has great chinese food (Flushing, Brooklyn, etc). My wife has never lived in Chicago but maintains these are the best dumplings she's had anywhere in the US whether in LA, SF, NYC, or beyond. Weve suggested to a few CA friends who will say "no thanks. We have good Chinese food in CA." A little arm twisting and they're shocked such good dumplings exist in Chicago. They are what my wife grew up on and if she thinks they are legit then I pass on the good word LOL

I'm typing this to you from a flight to China LOL. Going to be in the region where this restaurant is from for a week. Only been there for a day once before. Cant wait to see how QXYD compares for myself!

Very cool. Have a great time. Looks like dongbei is not far from Taiwan, I was figuring this was a very northern almost Russia northern style.

It’s a big effort to get to really good Chinese in LA. SGV is a hike but we do it a lot. Luckily we now have a legit dim sum spot by us in the center.

The line for the museum was so big I didn’t go in. “Sad”

Nah it's not that close to Taiwan. I'll be a few hours drive from North Korea - will be in the city of Shenyang mostly. Taiwan is 1250 miles south of that. About the same distance between LA and the middle of Nebraska.

Eat With Gusto wrote:oh ok my intuition was right, it’s very northern. Dongbei is what I googled since you said dongbei style

Santander wrote:shot of Malort.

Eat With Gusto wrote:

Santander wrote:shot of Malort.

what an experience this was! I drink a lot of amaros and generally enjoy bitterness. Boy this was a shocker. Should have shot it but decided to savor the shot in 3 sips lol. MALORTFACE

marothisu wrote:

Eat With Gusto wrote:

Santander wrote:shot of Malort.

what an experience this was! I drink a lot of amaros and generally enjoy bitterness. Boy this was a shocker. Should have shot it but decided to savor the shot in 3 sips lol. MALORTFACE

Malort is soooo bad

Eat With Gusto wrote:

marothisu wrote:

Eat With Gusto wrote:

Santander wrote:shot of Malort.

what an experience this was! I drink a lot of amaros and generally enjoy bitterness. Boy this was a shocker. Should have shot it but decided to savor the shot in 3 sips lol. MALORTFACE

Malort is soooo bad

2 cute, young girls just grabbed 2 malorts and 2 old styles right here and I’m..... I’m processing my emotions

nsxtasy wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:

nsxtasy wrote:I've never heard of it either. Maybe it's good, maybe it's not, but I can assure you that a place that people here never heard of doesn't belong in the "don't miss" category.

This forum is amazing and informative but this statement is absolutely insane.

The merits of this place aside, to assume that a restaurant that hasn't been discussed here cannot be fantastic is so myopic.

What's absolutely insane is what you're doing - claiming I said something I never said, and then arguing against it. Shame on you for that.

I'm sure there are places that nobody here knows about that are very good, and yes, maybe even "fantastic". But that doesn't at all mean they are "do not miss" on a first-time visit to Chicago. Not at all. If someone thinks a place is very good, others here can try it out and see if it's a one-time one-person opinion, or better than that - and, with others chiming in, maybe even become a board favorite, at least by a few people here. A place doesn't become a "do not miss" destination until it is vetted in this way. And, as it turns out, one poster here has actually been there and says it is "so so", supporting my original contention.

Eat With Gusto wrote:I’m sure there is better here but I direct your attention to their Portuguese Curry Pork Chop Rice.

If you're interested in a mash-up of Portuguese and Chinese food, I suggest going to Fat Rice, a Macanese restaurant (cuisine from Macao) that was already recommended above and legitimately belongs in the "do not miss" discussion.

Eat With Gusto wrote:

Santander wrote:shot of Malort.

what an experience this was! I drink a lot of amaros and generally enjoy bitterness. Boy this was a shocker. Should have shot it but decided to savor the shot in 3 sips lol. MALORTFACE

WhyBeeSea wrote:It sounds like you've had a good first visit to Chicago. Anything in particular stand out?