Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling

LTH,

No longer subterranean Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling has a bright pleasant spot just north of Lao You Ju on Wentworth. Same wide selection of dumplings as when they were in Richland Center basement with a slightly expanded menu of BBQ/grilled, appetizers, terrific looking Fried & Roasted lamb chops and a $9.99 bowl of Hot and Spicy. All of the BBQ and many of the appetizer items were out due to Chinese New Year and a recent Hungry Hound spot.

I had Celery and Peanuts and an order of Lamb and Coriander dumplings. Very much enjoyed both, especially with a drizzle of vinegar and chili oil.



I was going to describe the dumplings, then realized Jefe had already summed them up perfectly in the Richland Center Food Court thread.

Jefe
"I found this plate of dumplings quite subtle– the filling not too assertive but pleasantly clean tasting."

Nice to see a vendor break out of the desolation of the Richland Center basement, its baffling the interesting inexpensive kiosks are not packed all day long.

Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling, count me a fan!

Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling
2002 S Wentworth Ave
Chicago, Il 60616
312-799-1118

This is great news as I find the basement a bit discomfiting.

Some of the best dumplings I've had in the US and my girlfriend from China agrees. They know what they're doing. Unfortunately though they need to get a hold of their service - wait times specifically. Everything is hand made which is great, but when it's super busy things can be really slow to get your food.

Don't forget to ask for the off-menu fish dumpling. The best, in my experience.

For those who've missed Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling while they were undergoing renovations, I'm pleased to report they have reopened.

I visited the updated space this past weekend and the interior has been completely transformed into a roomy, modern space with ample seating. There were still some minor issues they were resolving (the front door wasn't staying completely closed) but it's great to have them back.

And the lamb and coriander dumplings (steamed) were better than ever. They also are now offering different preparation options including fried dumplings, so they have expanded their choices.

Very enjoyable Christmas dinner at Qing Xiang Yuan Dumpling. Wanted a place that accepted reservations and wouldn't be too crazy given we both worked during the day, and this filled the bill and bellies well. Had the lamb & leek dumplings boiled and shrimp & pork steamed, along with cucumber salad (cut in spears, picked up pleasant spice from the sliced red chiles), chicken wings, and lamb skewers. Of note, since the renovation, they now offer dumplings in 12- or 18-piece servings. On our way out we asked if they allow BYOB and were told yes, at least for now and without corkage, as they plan to serve alcohol (maybe just beer? Realized later that in our wish to move along and let them proceed with their service, I might not have heard the full answer) in the future.

We have been here a few times. All around great dumplings, though I think the lamb and cilantro is overrated (but still very good). I believe our favorite is the pork and pickled cabbage. Also they have never had the Beijing mackerel dumpling even though we ask every time.

Two things annoy me though. I don't like the 18 piece order size. I also think their cold apps have been pretty terrible. So it's hard to get any vegetables and getting two flavors of dumplings makes us feel like fatties. I would eat here more often otherwise.

Had several varieties of dumplings here and thought they were all good, though a few tasted very similar to each other. Our faves were the Lamb and Leek.

Service was nice and well-intentioned but hampered mightily by the ridiculously wonky tech system in use. Servers all have wireless mini-tablets that are intended to send orders to the kitchen . . . but they didn't really work, instead creating all sorts of delays and gaffes restaurant-wide. And the servers are also wired up to a central comm system via microphones and earpieces, which led to some additional high comedy. Between the tech mishaps and the constant shuttling of paper tickets in and out of drawers in each of the dining room tables, there were moments our meal felt like it was taking place in a Monty Python skit.

Somehow, this scheme has been deemed more efficient than walking hand-written tickets back to the kitchen manually . . . and perhaps someday it will be. But for now, they're clearly still working out some fundamental issues that were so up-front, they overshadowed the food (which was good).

=R=

The FOH at this place is just a mess. I see mention of their headset-based point of service system above, so maybe that's part of the problem. But they also seem to have strict/goofy rules about seating.

Rewind to my first attempt– we were quoted 15-20 by a guy opening the door, but then up to an hour by the stressed-out seeming host. My bad for hitting up a hot new spot during the Sunday dim sum rush. "We'll come back another time."

The second visit– a half empty restaurant on a drizzly weeknight. There were two of us and two parties ahead of us, a couple and a solo diner. Before even talking to anyone, the vibe of the staff seemed borderline panicky. We stood there for 10 minutes, casually expressing confusion to our fellow queuers before we were greeted by a hostile white staffer. "Its gonna be an hour at least". I asked about several empty four tops. Responded in a confrontational tone: "We only seat two people at tables for two. And besides those tables are reserved. You could have made a reservation you know."

I replied that it would be very hard for me to find a reason to return to their establishment. And I don't think I'll be making a third attempt. We stuffed ourselves for under $40 at Xi'an Cuisine, no wait, pleasant staff, in an unhurried atmosphere.

Attitude is part of the meal. Or not. Last wk I called Fat Rice to see how long the wait was and was told "I can't predict the future." Guess who went somewhere else to eat?

Last wk I called Fat Rice to see how long the wait was and was told "I can't predict the future." Guess who went somewhere else to eat?

Funny that this appeared today. I called Fat Rice Friday afternoon and asked if they could cram me in for lunch. Whoever answered the phone was awesome, said it was wide open and they would hold two spots at the counter. Hope you got the one bad apple and I didn't get the one good apple!

Interesting the issues with service--I went about three weeks back and had a perfectly fine time. Lamb, beef, and pork dumplings were all excellent, as were the lamb kebabs and the sides of cucumber salad and peanuts with celery. These are more like textural accoutrements and fresh snacks rather than stand-alone dishes; they play a perfectly good complementary role.

Service was interesting in that, yes, a couple of white men were working there and, being non-Chinese, we were served by one of them, but without much issue. I do happen to speak Chinese reasonably well, but I didn't try it with the server. We found it mostly amusing, and an interesting change of pace for Chinatown. In any event, neither race nor language nor technology interfered with the quality or pacing of the food.

iblock9 wrote:

Jazzfood wrote:Last wk I called Fat Rice to see how long the wait was and was told "I can't predict the future." Guess who went somewhere else to eat?

Funny that this appeared today. I called Fat Rice Friday afternoon and asked if they could cram me in for lunch. Whoever answered the phone was awesome, said it was wide open and they would hold two spots at the counter. Hope you got the one bad apple and I didn't get the one good apple!

You'd think the person would have said "we can make you a reservation for 8pm" or at least "we can't predict the wait time, I am sorry". I have been told by other restaurant people that they don't like the question about wait times because it could be fine now, but you hang up and then 10 people walk in, and then you arrive 1/2 hour later and say "but you told me there was no wait".

FOH is still a mess even when the restaurant is practically empty on a late Sunday afternoon.

However, the food itself was delicious, and I look forward to returning here for many years to come.

But, I'll probably only come on Sunday afternoons because I can't imagine how the FOH operates when the place is busy.

Our Sunday dinner visit was excellent in terms of food and service. I know the competition is weak, but they may have the nicest bathrooms in Chinatown as well!

A post air and water show early dinner last night was just excellent. We ordered boiled pork and pickled cabbage, steamed beef and onion, and steamed lamb and coriander dumplings. I'd like to explore more of the menu, but the dumplings are so delicious that it's hard not to fill up on multiple orders. It's BYOB, and BYOG is a good idea. All they had last night were small disposable plastic cups.

We went on Saturday night, and I was very glad I'd read up here first to know what to expect.

First, let's dispense with the service and menu confusion.

Service continues to be pleasant but haphazard at best. It began when we arrived with a reservation, we'd even gotten the "are you still coming" call an hour before the appointed time, and yet when we arrived the person could find no record of the reservation, going back and forth between the tablet screen and little slips of paper. When asked "where did you make the reservation" and we answered "on your own website" while holding up the phone to show it only prompted another round of confusion. Service itself was slow and when we wanted another round of dumplings we'd become invisible and finally had to walk back to the kitchen area to flag someone down to place the order. But, all done pleasantly. In all, we were in there for 2.5 hours enjoying a meal that should have take an hour, tops. Perhaps this is why the line is so long?

The menu on the tablet is cute, but was plopped down on the table with no explanation. Do we just look at the menu here? How do we do that? Do we also order from it? No clue. It also didn't seem to contain the entire menu. We saw things go past, like a bowl of soup, that were nowhere to be found on the tablet.

But, the food make up for it all. Everything we ordered but one came from the items listed here and all were spot on. Cucumber salad and the celery and peanuts were great. Lamb kebobs a total hit. For dumplings we had the Lamb with coriander (twice), the pork with pickled cabbage and going off the recommendations the chicken with mushroom. The lamb was our favorite, followed by the pork/cabbage. The chicken was pronounced bland. The dumpling wrappers are amazing, sleek and soft and cooked to perfection.

All in all, go expecting haphazard service and you'll have a great meal.

With the recent Check Please appearance, expect even longer waits!

The food, as Jim described, is as delicious as ever. For those who visited back in the Richland Center era, the new, remodeled space is very attractive and pleasant. However, the insistence on gadgetry is impractical and inefficient. A proper paper menu would serve better than a slick tablet with no clear functionality. My impression is an outside firm was hired to implement their point of service operation but front of house staff was never fully trained in its application.

Several unanswered calls prior to a recent take out order led to eventually placing the order in person (by a server on a tablet) and waiting for it to be prepared. It was explained that orders no longer can be taken over the phone but instead via their web portal.

They also no longer serve the smaller 12 dumpling order for take out, just the 16 size portion. However, you can still order the portion of 12 while dining in the restaurant. When I inquired about the change in policy, I was met with a blank stare.

So to echo previous posts, be prepared for potentially inconsistent service and don't let it take away from the wonderful food here.

Lerdawg wrote:So to echo previous posts, be prepared for potentially inconsistent service and don't let it take away from the wonderful food here.

A beautiful weather Saturday resulted in the kinds of crowds one might expect in Chinatown (maybe even heavier!) but after parking in the public lot on the east side of Wentworth, we walked across the street and sat right down today at around 12:15. It filled to just over capacity briefly after that and then subsided to about 3/4 full as we departed at 1:00. Service was very much in sync and exponentially smoother than it was during my previous visits. In fact, it was so seamless and uneventful that if not for previous posts here on the matter, I wouldn't have even bothered to mention it.

I guess I buried the lead because the food was absolutely delicious. We ordered an assortment of steamed, boiled and fried dumplings, and our party of 3 managed to put away about 6 dozen of them in total. Yes, there are other dishes on the menu but the narrow focus on dumplings is such a welcome reprieve from the pervasive and misguided 'everything to everyone' philosophy that is still all too common in restaurants (and bars) these days. If there are better dumplings available in Chicago, please tell me where to find them because I'd love to know. For me, these are the best in their category. It ain't exactly Flushing but it's completely respectable.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:It ain't exactly Flushing but it's completely respectable.

I beg to differ. I'm in Flushing quite often (I live in NYC, not Chicago right now). My girlfriend is from China and actually from the same region of China as the owners of QYXD. I'm on record right now (probably have been in here before) that QXYD is definitely better than any dumplings we have ever tried in Flushing. My girlfriend herself has told me and other of her friends from China (who don't even live in Chicago - they all live in NYC) that is literally the best dumplings she's ever had from any restaurant anywhere in the US. She told me their dumplings and quality are in line with something good quality you'd get from Dongbei in China itself.

So, I don't know - maybe you had something better than me, but I've eaten at so many places in Flushing I lost track long ago. QXYD is definitely better than anything I've had there which is high praise IMO. You'll be hard pressed to find many places in Chicago that can compete with Flushing (I know of a few, but only a few), but this is definitely one of them.

marothisu wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:It ain't exactly Flushing but it's completely respectable.

I beg to differ. I'm in Flushing quite often (I live in NYC, not Chicago right now). My girlfriend is from China and actually from the same region of China as the owners of QYXD. I'm on record right now (probably have been in here before) that QXYD is definitely better than any dumplings we have ever tried in Flushing. My girlfriend herself has told me and other of her friends from China (who don't even live in Chicago - they all live in NYC) that is literally the best dumplings she's ever had from any restaurant anywhere in the US. She told me their dumplings and quality are in line with something good quality you'd get from Dongbei in China itself.

So, I don't know - maybe you had something better than me, but I've eaten at so many places in Flushing I lost track long ago. QXYD is definitely better than anything I've had there which is high praise IMO. You'll be hard pressed to find many places in Chicago that can compete with Flushing (I know of a few, but only a few), but this is definitely one of them.

Hey, I'll happily defer to you. I had some life-changing stuff at White Bear and Nan Xiang back in 2015 but that was one pass through both places, and I've only been to Qing Xiang a handful of times. Nothing would make me happier than knowing that I can consistently expect and experience top-tier product so close to home.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Hey, I'll happily defer to you. I had some life-changing stuff at White Bear and Nan Xiang back in 2015 but that was one pass through both places, and I've only been to Qing Xiang a handful of times. Nothing would make me happier than knowing that I can consistently expect and experience top-tier product so close to home.

=R=

There are good places like the ones you mention, but I find their quality sometimes up and down. Last time we were at Nan Xiang, we didn't find it very good. QXYD has literally never been bad for either of us and quite good. They have some non-authentic flavors, but with enough variety of dumpling, they have enough that is authentic. Chicago's Chinese food has legitimately gotten better in the last handful of years though so sometimes it's not right to automatically put a place down versus a place like Flushing (which IMO is the best district for Chinese food in the US). When my girlfriend's parents last visited from China, there were only 3 places in the US she wanted them to try (they live in Shanghai and getting good, authentic Dongbei food there is not the easiest to find). One was Auntie Guan's in Manhattan, but the other two were QXYD and Homestyle Taste in Chicago. Unfortunately QXYD was closed for renovations but they would have loved it. They were pretty happy with Homestyle Taste and weirdly enough not impressed with any place in Flushing. So with them it's funny as their opinion of Chicago's Chinese food is perhaps probably higher than it should be. Not complaining though.

No question, the dumplings I had in Flushing at Little Bear and Nan Xiang were superior to any I've had at Qing Xiang so far, including the ones I had yesterday but again, it's a very small sample size. I look forward to continuing my 'research.' And I'm not complaining, either!

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:No question, the dumplings I had in Flushing at Little Bear and Nan Xiang were superior to any I've had at Qing Xiang so far, including the ones I had yesterday but again, it's a very small sample size. I look forward to continuing my 'research.' And I'm not complaining, either!

=R=

We'll (you, me, and my girlfriend) agree to disagree on this one Do not agree, but to each their own.

In Flushing, my two favorite dumpling places are Tian Jin Dumpling House (in the basement of the Golden Mall) and its fancier cousin Dumpling Galaxy. The latter has many, many more varieties, albeit at a slightly higher price (still cheap, though!)

Sorry for being off-topic; Qing Xiang Yuan is great, and a very similar style.

cilantro wrote:. . . Tian Jin Dumpling House (in the basement of the Golden Mall) and its fancier cousin Dumpling Galaxy. . . .

Oh yeah. We snarfed a few down there as well. They were excellent.

To nudge this back on topic, what are some of everyone's favorites at Qing Xiang?

=R=

Having just spent a long weekend in NYC with a primary intent on comparing its Chinese food scene to that of Chicago's, I thought I would weigh in.

I think QXYD's dumplings are on par with anything I ate in NYC and I ate a number of dumplings over the course of 4 days. Dumpling Galaxy was awful and overpriced, but Tian Jin put out a tasty lamb dumpling at a good price in an underground location reminiscent of many place I have visited in China. The highlight in NYC were some red oil dumplings with a generous dollop of sesame paste from Deluxe Green Bo in Manhattan Chinatown.

In terms of other food, Fu Ran in Flushing also serves food from Dong Bei and was extremely good and showed potential for being on par with Homestyle Taste.

I do think NYC has more of the Chinese street food. Jian bings are available as are good steamed buns. They also have credible Asian bakeries, though Cermak Chinatown just got a Tous les Jours which fills a major gap in Chicago. Also milk tea is ubiquitous in Flushing. It was interesting to see that Flushing is getting a strong Taiwanese and South Korean influence.

I also thought that Xian Famous Foods was much better than Xian Cuisine.

Overall, I thought Chicago was doing really well when it came to Chinese food in comparison to NYC. This mostly rides on a few stellar establishments in Chicago: Homestyle Taste, Szechuan Cuisine, Go4Food, Sizzling Pot King, Dolo and yes Qing Xiang Yuan. That said walking in Flushing reminded me a great deal of my enjoyable travels in Asia and I appreciated the many offerings and availability of items that are almost unheard of in Chicago.

I loved QXYD when I visited last year before leaving Chicago to decamp to New York once again.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find lamb or beef dumplings of the quality and variety of QXYD here in NYC, but perhaps I am not looking hard enough. Any recs would be appreciated.

I've been to Nan Xian in Flushing, and while I enjoyed it, I don't feel the trip from North Brooklyn is necessary for me. Instead, I go to Manhattan's Chinatown for excellent Fujian style dumplings from a handful of places on Eldridge Street and around East Broadway. I eat these dumplings at least once a week and love them to death. In fact, they are one of the few NYC food things I miss when I'm in Chicago. They are definitely worth a try if you are in NYC. These aren't soup dumplings, just super-juicy steamed or pan fried handmade beauties that go for a few dollars for six or so pieces. Here are some places that do great versions:

Hong Man (formerly Sheng Wang)
27 Eldridge
New York, NY

Shu Jiao Fuzhou Cuisine
118 Eldridge
New York, NY

Really any place on Eldridge (there are at least two or three more) will do a good job.

botd wrote:In terms of other food, Fu Ran in Flushing also serves food from Dong Bei and was extremely good and showed potential for being on par with Homestyle Taste.

Since my girlfriend is originally from Dongbei, we've been to Fu Ran a handful of times. She thinks it's good and on par with Homestyle Taste's Dongbei dishes (she went there twice). There is another place in Manhattan that is on par with it called Auntie Guan's (2 locations) and we recommend that too. Her parents, who grew up in Dongbei but moved to Shanghai in the early 2000s, ate at all 3 and their favorite was Homestyle Taste. According to my girlfriend, the lamb skewer at Homestyle Taste is supreme to all 3 places, and one of the vegetables dishes impressed the hell out of her parents who said it was more authentic than any place that serves it in Shanghai.

I think as far as QXYD goes, they're very good and some of their side dishes are decent too. However, I'm a little upset that their tu dou si is not nearly as good as when they made it in the Richland Center basement.

The funny thing is that last year while visiting Chicago again, we stopped in as we always do. I have a friend from China and he and his then fiance had moved to the Bay Area kind of right before Chicago's Chinese food started getting a lot more legit (my own opinion). We told them to meet us at QXYD for some delicious dumplings. They made all sorts of excuses like they weren't hungry and whatever. They didn't want to come and I could tell they probably thought it wasn't going to be good. My girlfriend convinced them to come "I'm from China. Trust me - these are better than anything you can get in the Bay Area and on par with what you can get in China." So they obliged. Had one bite of a dumpling and before we knew it, we were ordering 2 more orders of dumplings. They magically got hungry and were really shocked at the quality.

Overall, I thought Chicago was doing really well when it came to Chinese food in comparison to NYC. This mostly rides on a few stellar establishments in Chicago: Homestyle Taste, Szechuan Cuisine, Go4Food, Sizzling Pot King, Dolo and yes Qing Xiang Yuan. That said walking in Flushing reminded me a great deal of my enjoyable travels in Asia and I appreciated the many offerings and availability of items that are almost unheard of in Chicago.

Chicago's Chinese food has definitely upped its game of late. I think it's much easier to find good Chinese food in NYC, but if you want to compare Chicago then I think it's getting way more legit in the last handful of years. Only hope it continues. QXYD is certainly one place that has propelled it to being better.

Habibi wrote:Unfortunately, I have not been able to find lamb or beef dumplings of the quality

Tian Jin Dumpling House for lamb (+ green squash) dumplings.

Habibi wrote:and variety

I'll still go to the mat for Dumpling Galaxy.

botd wrote:Overall, I thought Chicago was doing really well when it came to Chinese food in comparison to NYC. This mostly rides on a few stellar establishments in Chicago: Homestyle Taste, Szechuan Cuisine, Go4Food, Sizzling Pot King, Dolo and yes Qing Xiang Yuan.

I don't think there's any place in NYC -- Flushing or otherwise -- that comes close to Katy's, or at least I've never been there. I do agree that Fu Ran compares favorably to Homestyle Taste; I'm not allowed to go there (or indeed to NY) without getting an order of the crispy fish with cumin.