Egg Rolls!!

I have been lamenting my favorite spot for egg rolls, Lin's Garden, for the last year or so that they've been closed. They were plump, crispy and oily, and jammed with not just cabbage but pork, wee shrimp, and spinach. Does anybody out there have a place where I can find egg rolls this tasty and satisfying? Most places just fill theirs with cabbage and sometimes carrot, and I've never had any that come close to Lin's. Please help!

Thanks!

Have you tried Kow Kow?

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=10032

Set aside the humor in that post, the eggroll really was very good and seems right up the alley of what you're talking about.

Probably not close enough to you, but Orange Garden on Irving serves up a pretty mean egg roll.

Hi,

China Chef in Morton Grove has great egg rolls with a very nice fruity sweet sauce, which may be made on the premises or at least seems like it.

Friday night I was at Sun Wah BBQ on Argyle. I ordered an eggroll there to find it was pretty good.

Regards,

Dee's on Armitage had the best, but i have not been there for a while.

Fong's at Dundee & Shermer in Northbrook has all the plumpness & grease you could ever want

I am so grateful. No place is too far to complete my quest. All I got on my craigslist post was one or two answers and one snippy bastard. I should've come here first. Thanks much and keep 'em comin'!

PS When I finally get to these places, I'll le you know which comes closest.

Yen Yen Restaurant in Buffalo Grove, on the corner of route 22 and Buffalo Grove Rd. (there's another location in Arlington Heights right on Arlington Heights and Lake Cook) has excellent eggrolls!!!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE FONGS IS STILL IN NORTHBROOK!!! I used to go several times a week for their egg rolls, and that little hole in the wall still is the best egg roll in my memory. And I haven't been there in over 30 years!!!!

this from metromix on Dee's:


January 22, 2006
Daniel
Chicago, IL
Some of the best egg roles I have had. The food is great and you can't beat the price or the area. The place is always packed, so that says something about the food.

tem wrote:Fong's at Dundee & Shermer in Northbrook has all the plumpness & grease you could ever want

You'd have better luck catching a raccoon here than a meal. This intersection is a grove of trees.

Never been here, so I can't vouch for quality.

Fong's Chop Suey
1016 Waukegan Rd
Northbrook, IL 60062
(847) 272-6794

Cathy2 wrote:China Chef in Morton Grove has great egg rolls with a very nice fruity sweet sauce, which may be made on the premises or at least seems like it.

That was enough to sell me -- I was in MG for my monthly fix of serial illustrated fiction, and had the egg roll lunch special: $3.95 for soup, 2 egg rolls, pork fried rice (pretty skimpy on the pork but otherwise tasty), tea, and fortune and almond cookies. Other lunch specials run to $5.95.

Plump indeed, very crisp without char-the-roof-of-the-mouth heat, with flavorful filling. My eyes were on the serial illustrated fiction so I didn't check for meat/seafood. Sauce was indeed above normal for the genre (I can't stand the bright pink varieties).

BTW -- Pequod's is moving, according to the sign on the former greenhouses on Dempster just east of Waukegan.

The best egg roll i've had in recent memory has been at the golden wok in jefferson park. worth the trip alone. it had almost a tempura like batter on the wrapper, and huge with plenty of peppery pork inside. too bad i have to go to work or i'd be on my way now.

Golden Wok

5731 N. Central Ave.
773-631-8884

JoelF wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:China Chef in Morton Grove has great egg rolls with a very nice fruity sweet sauce, which may be made on the premises or at least seems like it.

That was enough to sell me -- I was in MG for my monthly fix of serial illustrated fiction, and had the egg roll lunch special: $3.95 for soup, 2 egg rolls, pork fried rice (pretty skimpy on the pork but otherwise tasty), tea, and fortune and almond cookies. Other lunch specials run to $5.95.

Plump indeed, very crisp without char-the-roof-of-the-mouth heat, with flavorful filling. My eyes were on the serial illustrated fiction so I didn't check for meat/seafood. Sauce was indeed above normal for the genre (I can't stand the bright pink varieties).

Sorry, I lied, I haven't written back. I went here recently too, and it was a nice place, and the egg rolls were quite good. That fruity sauce was good, and the egg roll was close to Lin's but not quite the same. The pork bits were nice 'n' big, but there was no spinach or shrimp. The best part were the descriptions of their mixed drinks:
Planters Punch - this will knock you off fast. (for the suicidal!)
Zombie - the rum will turn you into one.

Pie Lady wrote:The pork bits were nice 'n' big, but there was no spinach or shrimp.

The spinach component might be a deal breaker. You don't encounter that very often. The standard vegital stuffing is usually cabbage, in my experience.

stevez wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:The pork bits were nice 'n' big, but there was no spinach or shrimp.

The spinach component might be a deal breaker. You don't encounter that very often. The standard vegital stuffing is usually cabbage, in my experience.

Mine too. That's why this is such a tragedy.

Get that frikkin spinach out of my eggroll!!!

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

China Chef in Morton Grove has great egg rolls with a very nice fruity sweet sauce, which may be made on the premises or at least seems like it.

Agreed, Cathy- I've been going to China Chef since I was a little kid and they are some of the best egg rolls ever, and the sauce is amazing.

We still go to Fong's for egg rolls. I also like their fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. They have added a few new things to their menu too.

They are big egg rolls. I get the vegetable egg rolls.

Thai Linda Cafe on Roscoe in Roscoe Village. Really yummee with an excellent homemade sweet and sour.

Not Kow Kow level, but excellent egg rolls to be had in the northwest suburbs at Wing Wah, with bright-tasting sweet-and-sour sauce. And every time we've ordered them with a dinner for carry out, they've thrown in a couple of extras for free. Yesterday, we also got free soup. The shrimp toast and beef chow fun were quite good, too.

Wing Wah
337 E. Rand Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60004
(847) 259-8882

I don't know about Lin's, but my favorite egg rolls in town are at Sun Wah. Sun Wah has so many great items that I think the egg rolls often get unfairly ignored.

BR wrote:I don't know about Lin's, but my favorite egg rolls in town are at Sun Wah. Sun Wah has so many great items that I think the egg rolls often get unfairly ignored.

I agree, they're exemplary.

I went to Evergreen today and the egg rolls were the closest so far. A little less greasy, a little more spicy, and a little less spinach - but wow!

The ginger beef was nice too. That, plus fried rice, white rice, egg roll, soup and tea was only about $7.25 (lunch).

I had the egg rolls at Sun Wah...I got a cold one! I prefer a more delicate wrapper

I have had a bad experience with cold-REALLY cold-egg rolls from Sun Wah very recently. I used to love them (see not too far above) but since then I really have to hesitate to order them. Kelly, what's going on?

I should add that when I said the egg roll was cold inside...it was cold. Not just not hot or lukewarm...cold.

razbry wrote:I should add that when I said the egg roll was cold inside...it was cold. Not just not hot or lukewarm...cold.

I know, as if they had been stored in the refrigerator for an hour or two.

I had a visitor from out of town ask me about Pekin House, and I found out, of course, they are closed.
Has anyone ever found egg rolls that come close to the size and taste of Pekin House. They were producing them as always up until, what, a couple of years ago.

Kow Kow in Lincolnwood, a former neighbor and competitor to Pekin House on Devon, has huge, old-school egg rolls. They're delicious.

Kow Kow Restaurant
6755 N. Cicero
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
(847) 677-7717
http://www.kowkowrestaurant.com/