Hong's Chop Suey - Chicago Heights

Many, many years ago, before I was married and when I lived by myself, I used to go to a small carry-out chinese place in Park Forest Plaza called Hong's. They moved to a larger carry-out place on Western Avenue near 26th Street and then moved again to a carry-out only place on Western closer to Rte. 30. Back in the day, Hong's had the best eggrolls ever. They were so good and so large, they used to sell them at the Park Forest Art Fair to hungry art enthusiasts. For a few bucks I would get two eggrolls and a small order of pork fried rice on my way home from the train station and that would be a fabulous dinner for me. I was thrilled to find that my husband used to place the exact same order when he was single and living in Park Forest. We doubled up on the order and continued to frequent Hong's until we moved to Homewood. I liked Hong's -- it was a Park Forest institution. But it always bothered me that one of the shortcuts Hong's used was to put frozen peas and carrots as vegetables in a lot of their other dishes and after they moved the first time, the food started to go downhill. I had no qualms about ditching Hong's for better carryout closer to home.

A few months ago I was picking up my daughter after Sunday School and she asked what we were having for lunch. She wanted something different. In desperation, I thought of Hong's eggrolls. True, they weren't that good the last time we got them, and I didn't even feel bad for not frequenting the place. I brought her with me and we studied the menu. Eggrolls, for sure. Pork fried rice. And then I saw something on the menu that I almost never, ever see on a menu near my house -- chow fun noodles.

Now, I've been disappointed before. When I think of chow fun noodles, I think of the ones at LTH -- ordered extra crispy so you get that fabulous mouthful of tender noodle and crunch. Twice before we found them on a carry-out menu by the house. Twice before we were horribly disappointed and never ordered them again. We decided to take one for the team and order up. The result? We now have a place near the house that has very passable chow fun noodles. We've been ordering from Hong's now for a few months, long enough for me to talk to the girl behind the counter (who recognizes me now) and find out that while Mr. Hong still owns the carryout, he got a new chef. The food is good -- real vegetables instead of frozen, generous portions, and tasty. The eggrolls, I must admit, are not the same as the ones I remembered and loved from 30 years ago, but they are crispy and good. And the prices are reasonable.

It's not Chinatown quality fare, but for chop suey house-type food, it's the best I've found in the southern suburbs since House of Wong in Hazelcrest closed several years ago. I highly recommend Hong's Chop Suey if you are living in the southern suburbs.

Suzy

Hong's Chop Suey
1519 Western Ave
Chicago Heights, IL 60411
(708) 748-3325
http://www.hongschopsuey.com