Sun Wah closed on Thursdays...?

LTH,

I was hankering for wonton noodle soup and roast duck last night. Although we live near Chinatown, we drove up to Argyle St. to give Sun Wah a try since we've wanted to compare the noodles and wonton to Seven Treasures for some time. We were excited to find a parking place right in front, only to find the restaurant empty with nothing hanging in the window and no lights on.

From the car, we didn't observe any "closed for vacation" or other signs indicating being closed for some ominous reason.

Anybody know what's going on?

(We ended up at LTH)

Evil Ronnie wrote:Anybody know what's going on?

Evil,

Sun Wah is closed on Thursdays.

Enjoy,
Gary

Sun Wah
1134 W Argyle St
Chicago, IL 60640
773-769-1254
Closed Thursdays

Thanks, Gary.

Had a hankering for some char siu last night but remembered that yesterday (Thursday) was a Sun Wah-less night and I had yet to go to Hon Kee. So I ordered what I normally order at Sun Wah: roast duck and char siu over rice and egg roll. Breaking it down:

EGG ROLL
Sun Wah's is a thick roll that when bitten into, overflows with a mustard-tinged cabbage and pork. The wrapper is crispy, but generally never cripsy. They bring over the squeeze-bottle of duck/sweet-n-sour sauce and hot mustard.

Hon Kee's roll was thinner and under-fried...the inside wrapper was overly soft. Beef, shrimp, and cabbage filled it, but it wasn't nearly as tasty.

WINNER: Sun Wah

BBQ PORK (char siu)
Sun Wah's is very sweet--perhaps overly so--and has a heavy pork flavor. The outside is often not crispy, but has a nice reddish tint. It's somewhat hit-or-miss on moistness...i've often had it somewhat dry.

Hon Kee was crisp on the outside, but had a lot of fat and gristle woven into the meat. Too often I had to spit out bits that I couldn't chew.

WINNER: Sun Wah

ROAST DUCK
Sun Wah's duck is often a bit greasy, but in generally quite meaty. The skin, though, can be a bit limp.

Hon Kee's duck was extra crispy and had a wonderful flavor with lots of meat on the bone.

WINNER: Hon Kee (by miles)

INTANGIBLES

Veggies: Sun Wah (which gives you steamed Chinese cabbage; Hon Kee gave me steamed lettuce which was awful)

Rice: Sun Wah (it's moister)

Chili Sauces: Sun Wah (2 choices--one sweeter, one hotter--and both tastier than Hon Kee's)

Staff: Sun Wah (refills water more frequently, better tea service, friendlier)

Cleaniness: Sun Wah (but that might not be saying much)

VERDICT
Sun Wah wins over Hon Kee. I disagreed with most postings about Hon Kee serving better char siu, but I only went once and I'd be willing to try it once more (I might have had a sub-par batch). But the duck was immeasurably better and would consider going back just for a plate of that. However, Sun Wah has it beat on overall flavor.

cjk

cjkrautk wrote:The wrapper is crispy, but generally never cripsy.

WTH is cripsy? As in an eggroll wrapper which represents?



Or this kind of represent?



Cause I wouldn't be caught dead eatin' an eggroll which rolls like that last picture...

Cause I wouldn't be caught dead eatin' an eggroll which rolls like that last picture...

Upon second read, I have no idea what I meant by that.

Just take it as a good egg roll. Not the best in Chicago, but I'd say up there.

But definitely crispy...

cjk

Just an FYI - the BF and I tried for a tasty Sun Wah dinner last night but they're closed with a sign on the door that says they're on vacation until July 12.