Chinese for young family at odds

We are going out for Chinese food tonight. We've discussed this for days, and are at an impasse as to where we will be dining, because everyone has a different craving. I need help, before we get in the car tonight.

My husband is all over the map: he'd like the dover sole at Sun Wah (on Argyle St.) OR the lamb with cumin at Double Li (on Cermak), OR anything Szechuan and too spicy or tendon-y for the rest of us. He's all for good potstickers, though.

Our 5-year old son wants sliced bbq pork and egg noodles from Sun Wah. And fortune cookies. He also requested "long green beans."

Our almost-3 year old son wants "potsticks" from Ed's Potsticker House (what is what we all call those now, since Ed's are between a potsticker and an egg roll, in my book!). He can eat 3 or 4 of these without stopping for a breath. The little guy will happily eat anything else I give him as long as it's not spicy.

I am craving soup dumplings and pork and scallion pancakes (both of which I have enjoyed immensely at Ed's). I would also love some really good noodles, any type, as long as there is some type of pork included, and maybe some salt & pepper shrimp, some twice-cooked pork, and definitely some vegetables to make me feel better about eating so much pork.

So as you can see, we are stuck between Sun Wah, Ed's, and a "new" place we've yet to discover. I just don't know if there is a happy medium! Our family favorite is Shui Wah on weekends for dim sum. On weeknights, we don't usually venture out, and as a result we've been forced to consider Papajin "it" for Chinese because they deliver or we can walk there.

I'm willing to drive a bit (20 minutes?). I'd like to try Katy's but Westmont is just too far for us to drive on a school night. We're OK to go north or south. The only requirements are that the food is great and they are not irritated by preschoolers.

Where should we go tonight where at least 3 of us will be happy? (I can deal with one unhappy person at a time...)

Susan

p.s. As I am about to click "submit" I am realizing this will feel like a post better suited to ChowHound. Sorry if that is irritating to anyone. I just need help from the ones who seem to know best.

-Forget what your kids "wants" are. You are the adults and the decision makers. Once your kids start making money and providing they can have a say in the decision.

-It sounds like your family has had monumental discussions like this before over where to go out for dinner. It also sounds like your husband doesn't want to go through the entire discussion again and has given you an "out". He has said "OR anything Szechuan and too spicy or tendon-y for the rest of us. He's all for good potstickers, though. " You see he knows you want to go to Eds and has given up any hope of getting his way. It sounds like you have been married and he has comes to terms with his prediciment. Poor guy

Have fun at Ed's.

I'm laughing because we're up to 114 viewings (none of them me) and no responses yet. Perhaps my ChowHound comment made people afraid to comment? I agree with the silent masses, this one is tricky.

In any event, I am still being sleuthy and ignoring my work while trying to settle on a place for dinner tonight. I decided to see what LTHForumers' personal sites had to say on this topic, and stumbled upon this one:

http://www.hungrymag.com/2008/01/21/a-c ... /#more-369

It points me directly to Mandarin Kitchen (2143 South Archer), one of the places that was in contention for a "new" place to try tonight, based on my search and the previous LTH "Save This Restaurant" thread. I am a hot pot virgin and thus did not even know what questions to ask, but I'm feeling bolder now.

Any thoughts on Mandarin Kitchen, especially based on my OP? Will it be OK for kids? If the parents have a spicy hot pot (which we have never tried), can the kids do something milder? Will the meal take more than an hour if we go this route? And, if hot pot would be a good option for us, do you have other favorite spots to enjoy it?

Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

Tears. streaming. down. face. Seriously, this is the first time I have ever typed this acronym, but I really am LMAO.

cjchaps, You hit the nail on the head about the multiple discussions. My husband doesn't understand why I like thinking/talking/dreaming about food so much before I eat it, and he really doesn't want to have this conversation again. I'm just trying to surprise everyone...but most of all, myself!

My poor husband, indeed. We've been married 8 years, and he's clearly learned his lessons well. Either you're a marriage counselor or have been married longer than us and recognize the dance.

Thank you SO much for making my afternoon.

P.S. On our way to TRU for my birthday meal a couple of weeks ago, my husband asked me, "So how many postings did you make on that LTH forum to find out what collection to order?" And both of us were shocked when the answer was "zero." There are some things I can do on my own.

Susan wrote:It points me directly to Mandarin Kitchen (2143 South Archer), one of the places that was in contention for a "new" place to try tonight, based on my search and the previous LTH "Save This Restaurant" thread. I am a hot pot virgin and thus did not even know what questions to ask, but I'm feeling bolder now.

I'll gladly jump at any opportunity to assist a hot virgin, and I'm a fan of Mandarin Kitchen. You can get a pretty decent rendition of soup dumplings there; I can also recommend the Shanghai noodles and -- my favorite dish there -- Lion's Head. As far as veggies, they do a good job with sour cabbage dishes.

Note: There has been some speculation that MK is under new ownership. I've not been in months, but one recent post reports that the food doesn't seem to have changed.

I'll gladly jump at any opportunity to assist a hot virgin

Sadly, I don't think this one is going to make the forum tagline.

Cilantro, I certainly enjoyed your "selective reading" skills.

And back to the food part...
If I told the boys we were going to eat Lion's Head for dinner, they would pounce on that opportunity. May just have to try it.

Susan:

I suggest some type of family counseling.

"Potsticks" - love that!! What a wonderful descriptive word.


Good luck!

We went for our first counseling session last night, and held it over dinner at Ed's.

To further prove jcchaps' point made yesterday, we basically ordered what I wanted and what I knew everyone would happily eat. The meal included:

Potsticks - the adults got to split ONE, the kids ate the rest
Soup Dumplings - piping hot and full of soup this time
Pork & Scallion Cakes - perfect balance of texture and tastes (salt, sweet, fat, umami galore)... yum!!
Lamb with Cumin - more sesame seeds than I've ever encountered on this dish, but the lamb was tender and delicious
Stir-fried noodles with green beans and pork - always a hit, happy I have leftovers for lunch today
Szechuan fish - new for us, fabulous dish

After we ordered the favorites, we asked for help on something new to try. Our waitress suggested the tilapia in szechuan sauce, specially priced for the Chinese New Year at $5 off. That was one gorgeous, fresh fish and a thrill for the kids to see whole (just like daddy grills at home). We were so happy to have tried it and will order it again...although it was primarily for the adults due to the spicy-sweet sauce.

Everything was delicious, as always, and we left happy and sane. (Parents among us realize that leaving a relatively late restaurant meal with toddlers/preschoolers where everyone is smiling and calm is rare.)

I just love how welcoming they are to kids at Ed's. Our waitress, who has never served us before, was perfect...kind of like finding our long-lost Chinese grandmother. The little guys were getting restless waiting for the noodles and wanted something sweet. We asked for counseling. She brought us steamed rice and a little dish of something that was a cross between sweet & sour sauce and applesauce. The boys would have fought over it, but she brought a second dish. Crisis averted. After each course, she would come and ask the boys how they liked it. They were happy as clams. She brought fortune cookies as an intermezzo, before the fish course, and again for dessert with the bill. She carried our little guy around and he wouldn't stop hugging her! I wish I had thought to ask her name so we could write her a note of thanks, but my guess is that the many hugs were thanks enough.

We'll try Mandarin Kitchen next time, but will always go back to Ed's.

p.s. As soon as I can download my photos, I'll amend this post and put a couple here.

Hi,

Mandarin Kitchen hot pots can arrive with two half bowls allowing two different kinds of broth. I've dined where half was a spicy broth I personally wouldn't order and the other half was more suitable to my tastes. Sometimes the pots boil sufficiently the liquids begin to exchange locations. The spicy soup was so diluted in the milder, it ultimately caused no harm. You can satisfy the adult tastes as well as the kids with lots of additional ordering.

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Ed's. Another bonus is fairly reasonable parking compared to Chinatown proper.

Regards,

Susan, the next time you go back to Ed's, post it in Events or send me a PM - our family would love to join you, AND we will force you to try the garlic eggplant that Ed's is known for!

LMAO at the "hot virgin" ....

Saint Pizza, you're on. We yield to gentle pressure, so not much forcing will be required. I *almost* ordered the eggplant last night, but thought it would be a bit gluttonous. None of the Chinese families in the place had as many dishes on their tables as we did!

There's something about trying "someone else's favorite" that makes communal meals so much fun, so I'll happily defer to any of your other favorites, too. My sons always ask, "Is this my favorite?" and if it's not I can usually get away with, "You've never tried this, but I read that Dash (aka Mr. Incredible's super fast son) loves this!" Or, "I'm not sure, but I heard that Buzz Lightyear loves this one!" And they believe me.

Susan wrote:I just love how welcoming they are to kids at Ed's. Our waitress, who has never served us before, was perfect...kind of like finding our long-lost Chinese grandmother. The little guys were getting restless waiting for the noodles and wanted something sweet. We asked for counseling. She brought us steamed rice and a little dish of something that was a cross between sweet & sour sauce and applesauce. The boys would have fought over it, but she brought a second dish. Crisis averted. After each course, she would come and ask the boys how they liked it. They were happy as clams. She brought fortune cookies as an intermezzo, before the fish course, and again for dessert with the bill. She carried our little guy around and he wouldn't stop hugging her! I wish I had thought to ask her name so we could write her a note of thanks, but my guess is that the many hugs were thanks enough.

The husband and I stopped in with our two kids to Eds this afternoon eager to try it out, in part because Susan's comment that it was a child friendly restaurant. Unfortunately, we couldn't have had a more different experience. We never even got an opportunity to eat, because after we were seated the wait staff ignored us for thirty minutes until we finally walked out in disgust. At first we were hopeful that the waiter was simply busy (it was a fairly busy afternoon), but after he repeatedly raced by us with his head down refusing to make eye contact with either of us we were forced to conclude that our table was purposefully being ignored. The last straw came when two tables who were seated after us had their order taken and food brought to their table while we waited in vain to place our order.

As a side note, our children were being well behaved, albeit a bit antsy because they were hungry. Even if we had the opportunity to return sans children we will not in light of this experience, and I certainly urge parents with younger kids to steer clear of this place if you are looking for a nice place to visit as a family (that doesn't involve clowns or bad pizza.)

Hey, I have the answer. Do what the family who sat next to us at dinner did. We were at Sapore di Napoli this evening and a couple with two teenage boys walked in. Shortly after being seated, one of the boys walked out, about 5 minutes later the second son followed. 10 minutes later, they returned with a take out box from FLAT TOP GRILL! Having never been to FTG, I can't tell you what they brought in, but it was some sort of flatbread. TPA's face must have spoke volumes to the mother as she sheepishly, yet arrogantly, commented that they made a "compromise" in going to Sapore, i.e. the parents got what they wanted if the kids could bring in the outside food. (And no, this was not sanctioned nor approved by the Sapore folks). Shameful.