Kelly, if you ever decide to run for mayor of Argyle I'll move there just to vote for you! Thanks for helping our party enjoy the finest meal we've ever tasted in a Chinese restaurant.
We arrived about 8:00 Monday, a little too late for Peking Duck, so we started with the wonton soup with roast duck and chicken skins to nibble on: soup was tremendous, chix skins so-so. Then it got serious: stir-fried lobster, combination barbque platter, combination fried rice, pan fried wide noodles with beef and bean sprouts, and since there was none of Jim's fried chicken left, fried garlic rib tips. Even the condiments were outrageous !
I'll be back soon for Peking Duck and about ten or thirty other dishes I can't wait to try as well as your wonderful hospitality.
Anyone out there with any semblance of a palate who has not tried Sun Wah, you owe it to yourself to experience this gem.

I had an excellent lunch friday at Sun Wah. Lately i have been ordering the same things so kelly suggested some new (to me) dishes to try. The stuffed eggplant was out of this world as were the lo mein noodles (beef). One of the things I like most about Sun Wah is the restraint they show with the sauce. Dishes that would be swimming in sauce elsewhere are much more manageable saucewise at Sun Wah. In addition to our usual peking duck and barbeque items we also tried a shrimp in lobster sauce. Found this particulare dish a little bland so I probable wont try it again. Great to find new and delcious things at a favorite.

LTH forum is like grad school for eating, hence, I want to post an interesting study note on an ordering experience at Sun Wah.

I think the beef chow fun at Sun Wah is one of the best asian noodle dishes money can buy. I discovered it is even better with chicken. So lately I have been going there and ordering: beef chow fun, but with chicken.

Last time, though, I asked for chicken chow fun. Completely different dish! Gone were my dark, dry, sticky stir fried rice noodles. Instead, very light, nearly white noodles were swimming in a kind of mild gravy with white, un-stir-fried, seemingly boiled, bland chicken. And *shudder*---vegetables.

When I asked the sever if there had been a communication problem, I was informed that what I had was "chicken chow fun". After much discussion, I eventually realized that the beef chow fun is a completely different preparation, with soy sauce stir fried. And that the shibboleth for getting it with chicken substituted is two-fold:

1. Order beef chow fun "with chicken instead of beef". DON'T order chicken chow fun.

2. Ask for "beef chow fun with chicken"--- "dry"---this is the indicator that you do not want the gravy, but the soy sauce preparation.

For the morbidly curious, I did eat the chicken dish, and it was fine---bland and more American tasting. I am sure with the veggies it was more healthy than my beloved, sensuously sticky wiggly noodles.

Hello Sun Wah fans...I have visited this restaurant on and off for the past 5 years, but have only gone there with my husband in the past. I am thinking of bringing a group of 15 people to the restaurant in town for a reunion. I am looking for Saturday night options on the North side/Northern suburbs.

Has anyone ever eaten at Sun Wah with this large a party? I know it may be a little tight given the small size of the restaurant. I haven't eaten there in awhile and seem to only remember 2 large round tables for large parties. Just wanted to check with the Sun Wah fans here. Or is there another good Hong Kong cuisine restaurant in the Argyle neighborhood that could be a better choice? Sadly I have become a bit of a creature of habit and just tend to rotate betw a few of the Vietnamese restaurants, Sun Wah, and Tha restaurants.

This is a group of my Cantonese family members, and clear preference is for Hong Kong/Cantonese food. (Saving Chinatown for the next day). Ambiance doesn't matter, but preferably would like to sit together and comfortably. I have always loved Sun Wah's authenticity but am worried about seating logistics with 15 people (incl 4 little kids).Thanks for any feedback.

My girlfriend and I choose Sun Wah as our choice for a weekly BYOB dinner group last Friday and in fact had a group of 15 people. Not only was Sun Wah able to accommodate our group, but they did so on the fly when 4 additional people showed up that we weren't expecting. The two large tables pushed together allowed for more than enough room and the lazy susans were perfect for sharing food and wine.

In terms of food, Kelly gave us the option of ordering individually or having her just bring out waves of food besides the 2 ducks we had reserved ahead of time. We took her up on her offer and the food was wonderful (she even brought out two plates of the delicious garlic fried ribs). Not only was everybody extremely happy with the restaurant, in fact, I am pretty sure at least 5 of our friends said this was hands down their new favorite place. Even better, it was only 20 dollars a person and it could have been less but we wanted to leave a generous tip.

So to make a long story short, Sun Wah should be more than capable of handling your group, especially with advanced notice of when and how many people are coming. Hope that helps.

For HK cuisine, ignore the thread title and check out Silver Seafood, just a few blocks south of Argyle on Broadway. It's a bit larger than Sun Wah's dining room. Then go to the Green Mill, almost across the street, for jazz your Cantonese friends can't get at home.

spectra21 wrote:This is a group of my Cantonese family members, and clear preference is for Hong Kong/Cantonese food. (Saving Chinatown for the next day). Ambiance doesn't matter, but preferably would like to sit together and comfortably. I have always loved Sun Wah's authenticity but am worried about seating logistics with 15 people (incl 4 little kids).Thanks for any feedback.

Sun Wah can accommodate a group of that size with one hand tied behind their collective backs.

You guys are all the best! I will post what happens in a few weeks. I will be bringing this pack to several Asian restaurants during their week stay, and will share feedback (it's about time I stop being a lurker!).

hello everyone!

i'm sorry i've not even been able to be a lurker lately, let alone post something. but as someone bluntly put it, juggling the current sun wah with all the construction of our new home has been driving us all nuts! but that's ok. it will be worth it to see your friendly faces and happy stomachs...hehehe! i want to let you all know. i officially announced our last day to a bunch of lthers who came in to eat. i must now officially retract my announcement because we're mired in paperwork and that has wreaked havoc on our timeline. it looks like we'll probably be open through the summer and open in the new place late summer. please feel free to stop by and question us. i will try to be good and remember to post here and on facebook new updates. in the meantime, hope to see some of you all soon!

quack quack!
kelly

Kelly,

Thanks for the update. When you are involved in construction, bureacracy and plenty of other snags, timelines shift further than planned into the future.

All the best,

I searched under "alcohol" and "drinks" but I can't figure out if Sun Wah has any other booze besides beer. Do they have those wacky mixed drinks in even wackier glasses too?

Pie Lady wrote:I searched under "alcohol" and "drinks" but I can't figure out if Sun Wah has any other booze besides beer. Do they have those wacky mixed drinks in even wackier glasses too?

No.

I am tempted to say they are too dignified for that.

Regards,

Pie Lady wrote:I searched under "alcohol" and "drinks" but I can't figure out if Sun Wah has any other booze besides beer. Do they have those wacky mixed drinks in even wackier glasses too?

Dignified, schmignified

I think you're thinking of House of Wah Sun.

I have been going to Sun Wah since the first day I could walk. I have been a believer day one and I am glad Kelly is doing such a good job. Keep it up Kelly and Mike! I love your food!

aawww....*sniff sniff* *tear trickle* !! you guys are so sweet! btw, cathy, we're not too dignified to do that. we just don't have the space yet...hehehe!! but to clarify, we currently only carry beer. we hope to be able to expand to more different drinks in the new place. speaking of which, late summer is still the current move date. no, no fixed date. i'm being vague in the hopes that it will counteract the jinx of announcing a specific date. =) and if any of you guys are on facebook and haven't joined the sun wah page, please do so. it's listed as vivah sun wah. the reason i ask is, i've posted a topic for suggestions from you guys about what to put on our new website and the types of things you might want to see. i'm trying to keep things in one place so please post on the facebook site for now. i don't check certain sites on a regular basis. trying not to miss anyone. if you haven't had duck egg foo young, i've heard it's good.. =P and laura's got new sorbets floating around. anyone who wants to do another baby pig feast, now might be a good time. see you all soon!

quack quack!
kelly

With wife recovering with 5 day old child at home, I made the trek to Sun Wah for some duck, wide rice noodle with pork and duck (extra crispy), bao, and mixed vegetable noodle takeout. Spectacular as always and as usual, we had enough for left overs for today and tomorrow.

Using the duck on day two for a little breakfast hash is particularly good.

msmre wrote:With wife recovering with 5 day old child at home,

congratulations on your new baby. i hope you're wife's recovery will be speeded up by all that good sun wah food..... justjoan

congratulations msmre! and thanks, you just gave me an inspiration! hahaha!!! after chinese women give birth, the women in the family make a huge vat of vinegar "soup" with eggs, ginger, and pork feet. (don't let the mrs. get grossed out yet, i'm not done) this "soup" is VERY good for a woman who's just had a baby because in chinese medicine, each of the ingredients help to replenish whatever was lost during birth and help to rebuild the new mother's health in a quick manner. it would be cool to be able to offer this to any pregnant woman in the future as her delivery date gets closer. this dish helps to get rid of migraines, cramps, "wind" in the system from giving birth, all the bad things that women put up with for birth, in other words. it really is a food is medicine concept. i hope to be able to put it into action one day!

quack quack!
kelly

Thanks Justjoan and Kelly. I can tell you that she would not be grossed out by that. Maybe next time. We certainly enjoyed our non-postpartum specific selections.

We are hoping that our child will be a good third wheel in dining.

hi everyone!

i hope this summer has been going well for all of you. i would like to let EVERYONE know. our LAST day in the old Sun Wah will be ... dun dun dun...!! september 15, 2009. that is our last day. we will be closed september 16 and hope to reopen in the new place at the end of september. keep your fingers crossed for us! see you all soon!

quack quack!
kelly

Kelly, I'm sure it is posted but could you let me know where the new location will be?

Best Duck dish of my life!

jdymeats wrote:Kelly, I'm sure it is posted but could you let me know where the new location will be?

Not Kelly, nor do I play her on TV, but Sun Wah's new address is 5041 N Broadway. Please note, as Kelly mentioned above, they will not be operational at the new address until end of September.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

jdymeats wrote:Kelly, I'm sure it is posted but could you let me know where the new location will be?

Not Kelly, nor do I play her on TV...

Ah, but just as cute!

Incredible Peking duck last night. As amazing as ever.

mattshafferHP wrote:Incredible Peking duck last night. As amazing as ever.

Maybe we could get some clarification on this issue. My understanding is that the duck dish that Sun Wah orders is no longer really Peking duck, although similar in style. And although I cannot recall exactly what the issue was (perhaps legal issues with the duck supplier?), I thought it was not the same. That being said, I also thought the multi-course presentation was excellent. Kelly, perhaps you could clarify?

Incredible Peking duck last night. As amazing as ever.

last week the waiter referred to it as 'beijing duck'. jj

My understanding is the table side presentation of a laquered duck with thin crisp skin accompanied by long thin scallion, hoison sauce, and white pancake/buns is called Peking Duck, though it may have originated in Beijing. You guys can work out the technicalities, while I just say that Sun Wah's is as good as any i had while living in sanfrancisco. Moist meat, crispy skin, and perfect light yet substantial buns.

mattshafferHP wrote:My understanding is the table side presentation of a laquered duck with thin crisp skin accompanied by long thin scallion, hoison sauce, and white pancake/buns is called Peking Duck, though it may have originated in Beijing. You guys can work out the technicalities, while I just say that Sun Wah's is as good as any i had while living in sanfrancisco. Moist meat, crispy skin, and perfect light yet substantial buns.

justjoan wrote:

Incredible Peking duck last night. As amazing as ever.

last week the waiter referred to it as 'beijing duck'. jj

I think I'll let Kelly chime in because it's not so much what they call it, but the preparation that I thought now differs from what we traditionally refer to as Peking duck. I'm not talking about the accompaniments, but rather either the type of duck or the particular method of preparing and/or cooking the duck. But yes, I agree it is excellent. Kelly?

Beijing is the modern spelling/pronunciation of Peking. Perhaps the question had more to do with the breed of duck being used at SW? Whatever the breed, it tastes sublime! We took a friend from Denver there 2 weeks ago and we were all blown away by our entire dinner, which included Beijing duck. Thanks, Kelly and family, and good luck with the move!

Evy

EvA wrote:Beijing is the modern spelling/pronunciation of Peking. Perhaps the question had more to do with the breed of duck being used at SW?

You can learn a lot about the duck and the whole process here:

http://skyfullofbacon.com/blog/?p=34