Mike G wrote:Delectably crispy skin, a slight porky funk over tender and juicy meat...

I had the luxury of sharing in that meal and I echo all sentiments -- the pig was delectable. I'd like to add that there was a very thin layer of fat between the skin (but also permeated some of the meat). It did not taste overly fatty. It simply served as a buttery flavor enhancer to the wonderful porky taste. I was shocked when Kelly said that the rendition we tried would be given a "C" grade, since they are still practicing. Those going to the pig roast are in for a real treat. I can't wait to try the "A+" version.

LTH,

Ten of us enjoyed dinner at Sun Wah some of who had never been. I ordered Peking duck and marinated fried chicken in advance, delicious, and we rounded out our meal, and belly's, with rounds of Sun Wah usual suspects. Sun Wah had been closed for vacation and Mr. Cheng kindly graced our table with an order of shark, caught in the Gulf of Mexico by son Michael, with pickled mustard greens.

Shark with Pickled Mustard Greens



It's always fun to be the one tallying the bill at Sun Wah, especially when there are first timers present. When you tell them the per person total for the meal they always think you are kidding.

Enjoy,
Gary

I was at the Gym today midday and saw, but did not hear, a 5 minute piece on Sun Wah on channel 7.

I took a party of 12 friends and relations to Sun Wah Sunday for Beijing Duck, and it was terrific. We also had the marinated chicken -- so good -- and a couple of dishes they are experimenting with. Kelly suggested a shrimp appetizer they're working on with a very light breading. My sister-in-law cannot eat meat, so she ate all of this dish, which she endorsed highly. We also had a stir-fried eggplant and shrimp dish that was excellent, although maybe it could be a bit spicier. I believe they pulled it together for one customer, so we tried it too, and it went fast.

After the latest TV report on ABC 7 (but MikeG's "Duck School" is way better), Sun Wah was doing big business all weekend apparently. Sunday early evening we saw a steady stream of ducks wheeled out. Kelly said that they don't need as much lead time anymore, and in fact can do Beijing Duck almost any time without advance notice at all. I would still check with the restaurant, however, if you especially want the dish.

As others have reported, it was fun to tell everyone what they owed because they were all surprised at how reasonable it was. Another great meal at Sun Wah.

EvA wrote:Kelly said that they don't need as much lead time anymore, and in fact can do Beijing Duck almost any time without advance notice at all.

Yep, walked in there tonight and was able to get the duck dinner; a couple of other tables ordered it off the cuff as well. I hope they'll eventually offer the duck a la carte, as I'd prefer to pair it with some of my own personal menu favorites--I found the soup and rice rather perfunctory.

Having said that, the duck was pure bliss: when lodged into a bao, sauced and garnished with a few carrots, it was without question the best "taco" I've had all year; I'll be thinking about it for days. Brought back fond memories of those pork belly sammies at KS...

chezbrad wrote:I hope they'll eventually offer the duck a la carte, as I'd prefer to pair it with some of my own personal menu favorites--I found the soup and rice rather perfunctory.

In case you didn't realize it, Peking Duck by definition is a multi-course dish. The soup and rice are just as much a part of your order as the bao with skin and duck meat. If by ala carte you mean forget about the included sorbet, well, I can understand that request.

One thing Kelly said during the shoot for "Duck School" was that Chinese chefs regard you as a master when you can get seven dishes out of the same duck. I think Kelly said she's at five.

Mike G wrote:One thing Kelly said during the shoot for "Duck School" was that Chinese chefs regard you as a master when you can get seven dishes out of the same duck. I think Kelly said she's at five.

Good night, I experienced this horror of a dining experience in Hong Kong when I was a child - the aforementioned seven dishes all out of the same poor duck... Variety's the spice of life... and a seven course meal all out of the same duck is simply horrible. Had to have been THE worst meal our family ever ate in Hong Kong. Like a bad Asian version of Bubba's shrimp rendition...

"You gots your duck skin bao, your duck meat fried rice, your duck meat stir-fried vegetable, your duck carcass soup... your duck..."

Mike G wrote:One thing Kelly said during the shoot for "Duck School" was that Chinese chefs regard you as a master when you can get seven dishes out of the same duck. I think Kelly said she's at five.

Typically, you'll fine a minimum of three, but more often 5 courses in a Peking Duck dinner. I'll agree with Jay K that in a dinner featuring a high number of courses, that duck is getting pretty stretched out by the last course (usually the soup). I'm pretty happy with the three course presentation at Sun Wah. I think it hits the sweet spot.

Ate lunch today at Sun Wah for the first time, I had the Seafood combination over rice, really great, just 6.00, I was plenty full, I'm not sure what everything was, but it was excellent, good combination, lots of veggies too, great portion size!

I took a pic of the lunch, and would post a pic of the lunch, but can't seem to figure out how to do that, if someone can e-mail me, or write within this how to post the pic, I will do so.

Eric V.
Chicago

ejvd wrote:I took a pic of the lunch, and would post a pic of the lunch, but can't seem to figure out how to do that, if someone can e-mail me, or write within this how to post the pic, I will do so.

You need to post the photo on a website somewhere else (Flickr or some other photo hosting site or your personal website). Then you put the link to location of that photo here, using the img tag.

This explains how to do it with Flickr, but it's similar wherever you put it.
More photo help

A friend and I tried to have lunch today at Sun Wah based on the reviews I've read here. They were closed and locked up with a note in the window, however I don't read Chinese.


Anyone know what's up?

Closed Thursday.

Party of two Wednesday night for dinner at Sun Wah.

We had
- Special soft shell crab
- Shrimp fried Rice
- Pea Pod Shoots
- Mixed vegetable fried noodles.

Everything was superb with the $4.00 soft shell crabs especially good. I have been eating these all season and Sun Wah not only made some of the best they are certainly made the best priced.

Additionally, since we had a healthy amount of leftovers, I asked if we could get some of their homemade chili oil and found out they sell it. 5 bucks for a pint. I understand they make it in 5 gallon batches each week.

On a side note there were obviously a couple parties there after seeing check please and two groups eating the peking duck special for $28.00.

Thanks for your quick response.
Seems that may have been something I could/should have read on their sign. Just never occurred to me they'd be closed on Thursday. Now I know.
Thanks again.

Birthday Week meal #2 was Beijing duck dinner (BDD) on Friday night.

I've had Beijing (why not Peking?) duck countless times in my life, since it was a childhood favorite and often my meal of choice when "report card day" came around - I worked hard for that duck! I've never had it carved tableside, though, so that was a nice new experience. Kelly obviously knows her stuff, and was happy to answer our questions. She admitted that the ducks they use for the dinner are not the true Beijing duck but their normal roast duck. Prep is a lot faster this way, which means it's easier to get the dinner as opposed to having to order it ahead of time. We noted that the skin was a little less crisp than we've had it before, which may be a consequence. It was still good though!

I also always used to get pancakes with my BDD until I moved to the US (from Canada), where it seems that buns are the norm. The buns are usually too thick and sweet, but Sun Wah's were quite good. Kelly said she did a ton of research before choosing this particular brand, and I would have to say that it paid off. Also different for me was the inclusion of carrots rather than cucumbers with the green onions - I prefer the latter, but the carrots didn't really add or subtract from anything.

I don't think the 5 courses have been spelled out in this thread, so just FYI, for $28 you get 1) a plate of pickled daikon and carrots, 2) the Beijing duck, 3) duck soup, 4) duck fried rice, and 5) sorbet (we had a scoop each of raspberry and plum - really tasty!) It's well worth it, especially since you can get it as a walk-in. Kelly said they move 1000 ducks a week!

Last meal of the birthday week recap will be tonight's L2O visit...

mtyf wrote:I also always used to get pancakes with my BDD until I moved to the US (from Canada), where it seems that buns are the norm.

Hi,

Interesting observation. Until Sun Wah used buns with the BDD, I always had pancakes. Sometimes these pancakes would actually be flour tortillas, which are much thicker than the Chinese doilies served with BDD. I have made Chinese doilies. I have also improvised with tortillas except I pull one tortilla apart to make 2 pancakes from one tortilla, then steam them for warmth and the steam adding some suppleness.

Regards,

I've never tried to make the doilies myself, but at home we improvise with the frozen roti that you can get in asian supermarkets and dry fry in a pan. It's not nearly the same, but very good in its own way. I tear off a wedge-shaped piece and peel it open so it's like a pocket, and stuff it with the duck, scallions, hoisin, etc. A highly recommended substitute!

I should specify that I have only had BDDs in California and now at Sun Wah, so perhaps other places in the US use doilies. I don't think I've ever had tortillas in a restaurant, that would just be wrong...

Interestingly, I too had never had anything but pancakes with my Beijing or Peking duck, until I dined at SunWah.
I loved the buns - they added a new dimension to the meal and nicely absorbed the accompanying sauce. I've become a fan!

Jyoti

Two things:

1) Last Saturday I was going to have a few friends meet me for dinner at SW so I ordered two plates of the garlic fried ribs. Long story short they couldnt make it so I ate one order and carried the second one home on my motorcycle. That ride home was also the first time I've ever been chased by a dog while riding. Coincidence? I think not;)

2) Had lunch there today, pig and duck on rice. For $5 it is in my opinion the best bang for the buck in the city in terms of flavor and quality.j

Met some friends for lunch today at Sun Wah and it was as delicious as ever. We pre-ordered the garlic-fried ribs, the citrus fried chicken and the Beijing Duck service, and also ordered a few other items, once we arrived. Without repeating too many previously-posted images, here are a few pictures of and comments about our lunch . . .


Kelly carves our Beijing Duck
FWIW, we were told that the restaurant now only needs a few hours of leadtime for this item, as the turnover is very high. This certainly seemed the case during our visit. I'd estimate that well more than half the tables in the restaurant had ordered the Beijing Duck service. Today's accompanying duck fried rice was fantastic and the duck soup, with pieces of wintermelon, was simple and delicate.


A few kids in the group wanted noodles, so we ordered some . . .


Beef Chow Fun
I don't think I'd ever ordered this before at Sun Wah but like everything we ordered, it was exemplary. The beef was tender and the noodles not only had great density but also a crispiness and char that made damn near perfect.

Peapod greens were 86'd, so Kelly recommended the baby bok choy, which was outstanding. It was cooked to the point at which it was tender with a mild crunch but not mushy in the least.


Baby Bok Choy

Today's rendition of the citrus fried chicken was also sensational . . .


Citrus Fried Chicken

This chicken has a complex, deep flavor that makes it truly memorable but even beyond that, the juiciness of the bird is noteworthy, even in the white meat.

I'd never had the garlic fried ribs but they were as great as everyone here has already posted. They were so flavorful, hot and juicy, I was beside myself. I totally appreciated this dish because the bones were still in. It's not that I wouldn't expect that from Sun Wah but in the hands of the wrong people, this dish could easily become a ribnugget. Here, though, it's serious eats.


Garlic Fried Ribs

Sun Wah never fails to satisfy me. Everytime I go there, regardless of what I order, it's always wonderful. Today's lunch was no exception. Even a dish like chow fun, which I would have never thought to order on my own, was as good a version as I've had anywhere. As often as I eat at Sun Wah, it really isn't often enough.

=R=

Beautiful photos, Ronnie.

It fills me with pride that this thread that I started, nearing it's 4th anniversary, has grown with Sun Wah. A true mark of this forum's success.

It was a favorite of mine when I first tried it and it remains a big favorite today.

Best,
Michael

[quote="Octarine"]

"1) Last Saturday I was going to have a few friends meet me for dinner at SW so I ordered two plates of the garlic fried ribs. Long story short they couldnt make it so I ate one order and carried the second one home on my motorcycle. That ride home was also the first time I've ever been chased by a dog while riding. Coincidence? I think not;)"

That's one of the funniest things I've ever heard.

eatchicago wrote:Beautiful photos, Ronnie.

It fills me with pride that this thread that I started, nearing it's 4th anniversary, has grown with Sun Wah. A true mark of this forum's success.

It was a favorite of mine when I first tried it and it remains a big favorite today.

Best,
Michael

Thanks, Michael. Not only has Sun Wah endured but with Kelly and Laura having recently come into the family business, the place seems to have found a gear that was previously not there. They are definitely burning some new ground, which is not only exciting but also delicious.

trpt2345 wrote:

Octarine wrote:
"1) Last Saturday I was going to have a few friends meet me for dinner at SW so I ordered two plates of the garlic fried ribs. Long story short they couldnt make it so I ate one order and carried the second one home on my motorcycle. That ride home was also the first time I've ever been chased by a dog while riding. Coincidence? I think not;)"

That's one of the funniest things I've ever heard.

This story was being referred to while we were in the restaurant today.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Beef Chow Fun
I don't think I'd ever ordered this before at Sun Wah but like everything we ordered, it was exemplary. The beef was tender and the noodles not only had great density but also a crispiness and char that made damn near perfect.

Wow, that looks killer. I'm a sucker for chow fun with the right char...

Was it reported in the "events calendar" section that the fried garlic ribs had to be ordered in advance? That wasn't the case tonight.

Maybe it's just me, but I found them disappointing at the table....but an absolute revelation several hours later when I pulled them from the fridge. just awesome.

Yeah, just me.

October 10th I will be in Chicago and will be having dinner at Sun Wah with some friends. There will be four of us, now the hard part is deciding what I want to order. I'm thinking of splitting the Peeking duck with my friend, our wives our not into duck.

There are just so many things I want to try. I am very excited about the meal though.

I like duck but the Beijing Duck meal is indeed too ducky for many people. Luckily there are many other delicious options you can choose to accompany that.

Though keep in mind that you will be bringing home leftovers, especially if your non-duck eaters each orders a full meal.

And I bet they'll change their minds when they see the duck skin sandwiches...Sparky did.

Leftovers? Are you implying that I can't eat my half of a duck?

Are the Bejing Duck and Peking duck both done table side? Do both of them have to be ordered with advanced notice? What are the prices on these meals? Any help would be appreciated.