Hey G.B.,

Have you tried Szechuan North in the strip mall on the northeast corner of Dundee & Pfingsten? They do a pretty respectable job of what I would call fancy suburban Chinese. Stuff like pot stickers and orange beef with more of a suburban Szechuan bent really shine. I've never tried any of the Cantonese stuff and wouldn't recommend it.

The place is owned by the same guy who used to have Szechuan House on Michigan & Ontario (R.I.P.) and the food is quite similar, if you remember that place. Szechuan North used to be located in Old Orchard and was a lunchtime destination once in a while back when my office was in Skokie.

Szechuan North
2857 Pfingsten Rd
Glenview, IL 60026
847-272-0007
www.szechwannorth.com

stevez wrote:Have you tried Szechuan North in the strip mall on the northeast corner of Dundee & Pfingsten?

Very decent American-style Chinese lunch buffet here. My expereinces with dinner haven't been quite as enjoyable.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

stevez wrote:Have you tried Szechuan North in the strip mall on the northeast corner of Dundee & Pfingsten?

Very decent American-style Chinese lunch buffet here. My expereinces with dinner haven't been quite as enjoyable.

=R=

It's been quite some time since I've been so things might have changed, but I always thought their orange beef was quite good. I can't speak to much else excpet for the Szechuan string beans that we usually got as a side dish, which were not bad, either. I haven't really tried much else on the menu, though. I still think it's a place that Grandpa Bob might enjoy. It's very much in the school of Little Szechuan, which is the place he was trying to replace.

stevez wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

stevez wrote:Have you tried Szechuan North in the strip mall on the northeast corner of Dundee & Pfingsten?

Very decent American-style Chinese lunch buffet here. My expereinces with dinner haven't been quite as enjoyable.

=R=

It's been quite some time since I've been so things might have changed, but I always thought their orange beef was quite good. I can't speak to much else excpet for the Szechuan string beans that we usually got as a side dish, which were not bad, either. I haven't really tried much else on the menu, though. I still think it's a place that Grandpa Bob might enjoy. It's very much in the school of Little Szechuan, which is the place he was trying to replace.

Agreed and it's been a while since I was there, as well. This place had slipped off my memory radar.

Good call, Steve.

=R=

Hi,

The strengths of Won Ton Express on Milwaukee, just north of Deerfield Road, are the 1) dumpling noodle soups, 2) Chow Fun Beef or other noodle dishes. If you divert from these, then it is not as satisfactory experience. This is similar to my experience with Seven Treasures in Chinatown, which is owned by the Father-in-law of Won Ton Express.

If the expressway is clear, then head south to Dempster. Go west on Dempster to Austin, then head south to Lincoln Ave. Turn east and prepare to turn into the parking lot of China Chef for some pretty good Jewish-American Chinese. If you select carefully, you can emulate the experience of going to Little Three Happiness in Chinatown.

Upthread there is a Japanese-Thai restaurant on Lake Bluff just off of 176, which is not very far from Highland Park. I went once for a lukewarm experience, though you may want to give it a try.

Generally, I have long been turned off by the Chinese food offered in Highland Park. You sort of skirted the issue of which places have gone down hill, though I would like to know what turned you off recently.

Regards,

Cathy asked me to post some comments on problems experienced with Chinese restaurants in Highland Park. My Mom always said that if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say it.
But here goes without mentioning any names -

My favorite Chinese and Thai restaurant on the east side of Highland Park has really gone downhill IMHO. They used to serve fried rice with their luncheons and I asked the owner why she stopped. Her comment was that the fried rice doesn't keep well overnight. So much for fresh ingredients. Since then the food and service has declined dramatically and I haven't seen the owner on the premises in the last several time I visited. Our last lunch was way below their normal meals.

I've also heard about an older restaurant in the HP northwest Central Business District that went "up-scale" a while back. (It's the one with the Tasting Room.) I had tried it a few times before they change and found their lunchtime buffet to be mediocre. I haven't been there since they redid the place, but a friend told me about them recently. The couple went one evening and it took five minutes to get a glass of water and another 10 minutes to get a menu. (Note that my friend tends to exaggerate.) When their food came, her order was wrong. They had brought her a fried dish and she can't eat fried foods. So to expedite things, she said she'd share her husband's dish. A while later the waiter came over with a bag and said that she should take it. It was the fried dish, but she figured that her husband would eat the food the next day. Supposedly the waiter implied that the dish was complementary. When they got the bill, the restaurant had charged them for the dish that was incorrectly cooked. According to my friend, the entrees average $15 and the food is so-so.

Another disappointment is the take-out place run by the former owner of Panda Panda. The food is quite unimaginative, but I'm not surprised. Panda Panda's food was bland and the owners never realized that Americans tastes for Chinese food had improved dramatically over the years.

I had no complaints about Little Schezwan other than than they are now closed for lunch. I really enjoyed their chicken with eggplant dish. The last few times I was there, they had very few customers and one or two takeout orders. We'll be back for dinner.

Did I miss any other dine-in Chinese restaurants in HP?

I'll give Schezwan North a try and get back to everyone.

Best regards,
GP Bob

In the early 1990s, there was a fabulous Chinese restaurant in downtown Highland Park, called Chhi-Lin Court. They had some dishes I still remember - Hong Kong Chicken, Orange Scallops, and Ginger Shrimp - as some of the very best Chinese food I've ever had in my life. When it closed (in 1996, I think), it was a real loss for the entire North Shore.

GB

I have frequented Highwood for many years and have even never heard of House of Peking. Why don't you take one for the team and check it out. I would be interested to hear if you like it considering the dismal quality of the Chinese food in these parts. Keep us posted.

HoP is located in the strip mall across from Ft. Sheridan and south of the McDonalds. One of our friends has good things to say about it, but I'll let everyone know whenever I have the change to eat there.

If anyone else want to weigh in before then, please do.
Best,
GP Bob

I neglected to post their address and phone number.
GP Bob

House of Peking
846 Sheridan Rd.
Highwood, IL 60040
847-432-8117

I grew up on China Chef never really knowing the true name since we called it "Art's" because my parents knew the owner and the daughter was in choir with me in HS. It's definitely comfort food.

Had a quick bite at Thai Thai last night on Lake Cook (next to Cooker's) and thought it was nothing special. My son wasn't feeling great so he had a chicken noodle soup that was pretty flavorless to me, and the Tom Kha was just strange. It didn't have any of the tang I expect, didn't compare to I Am Siam on Dundee Rd. My husband loves pah thai (i know i know) so I took an order home for him, he didn't love it either. We'll give it one more try though.

nsxtasy wrote:In the early 1990s, there was a fabulous Chinese restaurant in downtown Highland Park, called Chhi-Lin Court. They had some dishes I still remember - Hong Kong Chicken, Orange Scallops, and Ginger Shrimp - as some of the very best Chinese food I've ever had in my life. When it closed (in 1996, I think), it was a real loss for the entire North Shore.

If I'm not mistaken, I think there is a connection between Chhi-Lin and Yummy Bowl, which opened a bit to the north on Sheridan. But I haven't been there in about eight years.

I grew up on Chhi-Lin and share your nostalgia, Nsxtasy.

An aside: I'm convinced an HP outpost of Sun Wah would go over like gangbusters. For me, anyway.

Admittedly, it's been a while since I've been there, but I enjoyed King Maa in Lake Forest. MSG-free, if nothing else. Can't comment on authenticity.

950 N Western Ave
Lake Forest, IL 60045
(847) 604-9660

My husband picks up from House of Peking every once and a while for lunch. The best he can say about it is that it's fast, cheap and they are very nice. He's had pretty much all of their lunch specials. He says he's pretty indifferent to HoP and Felix. I like Felix for a quick fix in the area. They are always very friendly and open to custom orders.

I work in HP too and lately at work we've been getting take away from Hunan Pearl in Ravinia. I think the quality is pretty good and the lunch portions are huge. I am not an egg roll fan but for some reason I love the one they give with the lunch specials.


Hunan Pearl
586 Roger Williams Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 432-5410

debsdiningdigs wrote:I work in HP too and lately at work we've been getting take away from Hunan Pearl in Ravinia. I think the quality is pretty good and the lunch portions are huge. I am not an egg roll fan but for some reason I love the one they give with the lunch specials.

Does Hunan Pearl have dine-in service or are they strictly carry out?
GP Bob

Strictly carry out and delivery.

Hunan Pearl does not have dine in. They are carry out only. It is also the very worst Chinese food that I have ever had. Worse then Chins in Glencoe, and that is truly horrible stuff. The only nice thing I can say about Hunan Pealr is that it is very cheap.

I have not eaten at HoP for many years, but the two times I tried it, probably 5 years ago, it was very oily with mediocre flavor. Seemed like a lot of frozen/canned ingredients, and the egg rolls did not seem to have been made in house. I have not been back, though I would be curious to see a more recent report.

-Will

Grandma Bobbi and I visited the HoP for lunch.

The food was mediocre at best and rather uninspired. GMBobbi ordered the Mongolian beef with hot and sour soup and I had the Hunan shrimp and the egg drop soup. Both luncheons came with egg rolls and fried rice.

The soups were watery, the main dishes were so-so, the fried rice was bland and had nothing in it and needed more soy sauce and the egg rolls were unexciting.

The total cost was 15 bucks including tax and tip. Was it worthwhile? Inexpensive, yes, but not worth another visit. So I'm crossing HoP off my list.

I'll try more of the suggestions on the "North Shore Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese" thread. Please add your suggestions there. I need my weekly Asian fix.

Thanx.

Grandpa Bob

Cathy2 wrote:I have always eaten-in at Wonton Express, so I don't know how well their food travels. I do wish they were more generous with the interior heat. It was so cold inside, I may as well have been eating off the car's hood on a much warmer day than yesterday.

After watching Tampopo last night, I strongly desired soup noodles for lunch today. I had the pleasant surprise I could eat at Wonton Express without my coat on, which was an issue last winter. I made of a point of advising the manager how much I appreciated the warmth. She looked puzzled for a moment, then flashed a smile explaining they finally fixed the heat.

Regards,

debsdiningdigs wrote:My husband picks up from House of Peking every once and a while for lunch. The best he can say about it is that it's fast, cheap and they are very nice. He's had pretty much all of their lunch specials. He says he's pretty indifferent to HoP and Felix. I like Felix for a quick fix in the area. They are always very friendly and open to custom orders.

I work in HP too and lately at work we've been getting take away from Hunan Pearl in Ravinia. I think the quality is pretty good and the lunch portions are huge. I am not an egg roll fan but for some reason I love the one they give with the lunch specials.


Hunan Pearl
586 Roger Williams Ave
Highland Park, IL 60035
(847) 432-5410

Under new management and very much improved. That said still only if you can't get to Highwood.

optionyout wrote:Under new management and very much improved. That said still only if you can't get to Highwood.

What do you recommend in Highwood? Your other post in this thread was related to Pacific Rim that is definitely not in Highwood.

Regards,

Can we revisit this thread and include other Asian food, ie Korean? Thanks. Anyone been to a thai buffet in Vernon hillls on 60? Is it any good?