Wonton Gourmet in Des Plaines

I am going to be upfront and say that I'm related to the person who owns this restaurant. However, I'd like those that have gone to provide any opinions or reviews.

Even though you can discount the credibility of my words, I would have to say that Wonton Gourmet has some of the best bowls of wonton noodle soup I have had in the States. The broth is complex and light and their noodles are not soggy. Plus, their wontons are balanced with bits pork of pork and without too much shrimp.

Wonton Gourmet
1405 S. Elmhurst Road
Des Plains, IL 60018
TEL: 847-427-1183

http://www.wontongourmet.com/

Was just looking at the menu. Are the braised noodles at Wonton Gourmet similar to the braised noodles at Seven Treasures in Chinatown? This may warrant a visit when I return.

gmonkey wrote:Was just looking at the menu. Are the braised noodles at Wonton Gourmet similar to the braised noodles at Seven Treasures in Chinatown? This may warrant a visit when I return.

To be honest I don't know what the braised noodles are. I order everything in Chinese. BUT, this should help you out: The owner is married to the daughter of the man who opened and owns Seven Treasures. I think Wonton Gourmet is better though since Seven Treasure's quality has declined since I was little.

sinos wrote:

gmonkey wrote:Was just looking at the menu. Are the braised noodles at Wonton Gourmet similar to the braised noodles at Seven Treasures in Chinatown? This may warrant a visit when I return.

To be honest I don't know what the braised noodles are. I order everything in Chinese. BUT, this should help you out: The owner is married to the daughter of the man who opened and owns Seven Treasures. I think Wonton Gourmet is better though since Seven Treasure's quality has declined since I was little.

Hmm... that only sweetens the deal.

Braised noodles are wonton noodles that are blanched quickly and served dry-ish (as opposed to noodles in soup). My Seven Treasures standby has always been the Braised Noodles with Wonton & BBQ Pork.

Oh, you mean lo mein. Yea, it's pretty good there.

Hmmm. Not really.

Lo mein is a thicker, round noodle, usually pan fried (it''s been awhile since I've ventured into Lo Mein-land, usually in some podunk town's sole "Oriental" restaurant).

Wonton noodles are made very thin, kind of egg-y noodles?

in my experience braised noodle is just like the soup (wonton) noodles, only the soup and noodles are served separate (the noodles are served on a plate, with some oyster sauce maybe). i found this very weird, since i grew up with the noodles actually in the soup.

wonton gourmet, it's a nice suburban alternative to 7 treasures and we've been going since before they moved to their newer building.

my only complaints are that the portions are a bit small; if i order enough such that i get full, my bill comes out pretty high. gotta pay the suburban rent i guess.

also, there seems to be a lot of oil in the soup, i sometimes feel a bit sick/woozy after eating there.

that said, if you're in the northern burbs and don't want to drive to the city, wonton gourmet is a decent alternative.

gmonkey wrote:Wonton noodles are made very thin, kind of egg-y noodles?

G,

You mean sometthing like this?

Fabulous Noodles (Lisle, IL)


Enjoy,
Gary

Fabulous Noodles
4663 Old Tavern Road
Lisle, IL 60532
630-305-8868

Oh man, this place is awesome!

I worked in Rosemont for a number of years and this was a regular lunch place. I've even been back a few times since I changed jobs.

The giant bowls of noodle soup is terrific, as are the other noodle dishes ... my favorite being the Beef With Black Bean Chowfun. Mmmm

Cameron.

G Wiv wrote:

gmonkey wrote:Wonton noodles are made very thin, kind of egg-y noodles?

G,

You mean sometthing like this?

Fabulous Noodles (Lisle, IL)

Why, yes, that's exactly it! And yes, it is the same noodles that are in the soup, just served dry with some oyster sauce and choice of delectable dumplings/wontons/barbecued meats.

Yummmm.... can't wait to come home!

Has anyone tried Katy's Dumpling House and Won Ton Gourmet?
How do they compare? Aside from Won Ton Gourmet having the nicer decor since it's a newly built restaurant.
I have eaten at Won Ton Gourmet before it moved across the street to its present location. Got to agree with dudefella. It's an okay alternative to going into the city. I visit the Argyle area often so I tend to favor Hong Kee and Sun Wah for lunch or won ton soup instead.

To Sinos & Gmonkey:

I frequent both Won Ton Gourmet as well as Seven Treasures for one thing only - shrimp wonton noodle soup with bbq pork.

It's no wonder the families that own them are related, since the soups taste very similar (and that is a good, good thing).

Everything about the two soups is nearly identical, except that the broth @ Seven Treasures tastes a bit saltier. That said, I am a big fan of both. Highly reccomended!

Other dishes @ Won Ton Gourmet are good as well. I enjoy the braised chicken over rice and a simple order of plain pan fried chow mein noodles.

Other dishes @ Seven Treasures... not so good. I haven't found anything special there at all besides the noodle soups.

bontemps wrote:Has anyone tried Katy's Dumpling House and Won Ton Gourmet?
How do they compare? Aside from Won Ton Gourmet having the nicer decor since it's a newly built restaurant.
I have eaten at Won Ton Gourmet before it moved across the street to its present location. Got to agree with dudefella. It's an okay alternative to going into the city. I visit the Argyle area often so I tend to favor Hong Kee and Sun Wah for lunch or won ton soup instead.

Katy's Dumpling House serves more "mandarin/mainland" food, such as the beef noodle soup.

Won Ton Gourmet and Seven Treasures are based on cantonese cuisine.

You will note that the noodles between the restaurants are quite different; k's has thicker, gummier noodles and the other two have the thinner egg based noodles (as well as the flat rice noodles, if you ask).

gmonkey wrote:Hmmm. Not really.

Lo mein is a thicker, round noodle, usually pan fried (it''s been awhile since I've ventured into Lo Mein-land, usually in some podunk town's sole "Oriental" restaurant).

Wonton noodles are made very thin, kind of egg-y noodles?

Lo mein in Cantonese cuisine can be made from any type of noodle. In fact the dish you're talking about would be called "ho yau lo mein" - meaning oyster sauce mixed noodle (roughly translated). Lo mein in Westernized restaurants is the classic round noodle. "See yau lo mein" would be soy sauce mixed noodle. These two types typically have a little julienned scallion and ginger when "mixed" or stir-fried together. Additionally, in many Cantonese-style restaurants, your lo mein would indeed be egg noodles - the same type often found in Cantonese style noodle soups (be it beef, wonton, duck, etc...)

I think this place should be on more people's radar in this neck of the woods.

A bowl of shrimp dumpling soup with rice noodles last night was stellar. Excellent mushrooms elevated the dumplings a notch, and the broth was full of flavor. Paying extra for vegetables (I prefer Napa cabbage for the textural enhancement) still does not push the dish past $10. Very satisfying as soup weather starts to settle in. And as a plus, the place has a friendly vibe.

Its a good alternative to 7 treasures if I'm in the area, but as others have mentioned, the prices here are higher than what you would find downtown.

If you're even further up north, they have a sister restaurant called Wonton Express in Buffalo Grove that also serves a very good bowl of wonton noodle soup (the same as Wonton Gourmet as far as I can tell), but the portions are even smaller and I believe the price is slightly more expensive than Wonton Gourmet.

pacent wrote:Its a good alternative to 7 treasures if I'm in the area, but as others have mentioned, the prices here are higher than what you would find downtown.

If you're even further up north, they have a sister restaurant called Wonton Express in Buffalo Grove that also serves a very good bowl of wonton noodle soup (the same as Wonton Gourmet as far as I can tell), but the portions are even smaller and I believe the price is slightly more expensive than Wonton Gourmet.

Actually, the Wonton Express in the N. Suburbs is in Riverwoods, though when Googling it comes up with both Buffalo Grove and Deerfield as it's location.

Wonton Express
2055 N. Milwaukee
Riverwoods, IL
847-215-8850

My husband and I go up there a couple of times a month for a bowl of their Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup, which is a large enough portion for the two of us. We supplement that with an order of BBQ pork (char sui) and an order of potstickers. This is one of our favorite lunch spots. You have to dunk some of the BBQ pork into the soup....that takes it to a whole new level of a mind-blowing shrimp wonton/bbq pork/noodle soup. The broth is outstanding.....I'm trying to figure out how to make it at home. I'm pretty sure it's anise star in there but can't get the right amount.

Judy wrote:My husband and I go up there a couple of times a month for a bowl of their Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup, which is a large enough portion for the two of us. We supplement that with an order of BBQ pork (char sui) and an order of potstickers. This is one of our favorite lunch spots. You have to dunk some of the BBQ pork into the soup....that takes it to a whole new level of a mind-blowing shrimp wonton/bbq pork/noodle soup. The broth is outstanding.....I'm trying to figure out how to make it at home. I'm pretty sure it's anise star in there but can't get the right amount.

Judy, Don't they offer the option of the soup with barbecued pork, without having to supplement with a separate order of BBQ pork? Just throwing it out as a cheaper way to go but of course, there is really no such thing as too much barbecue pork.

Wonton Gourmet in Des Plaines is the best of its type in this area and part of my regular rotation.

T Comp wrote:

Judy wrote:My husband and I go up there a couple of times a month for a bowl of their Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup, which is a large enough portion for the two of us. We supplement that with an order of BBQ pork (char sui) and an order of potstickers. This is one of our favorite lunch spots. You have to dunk some of the BBQ pork into the soup....that takes it to a whole new level of a mind-blowing shrimp wonton/bbq pork/noodle soup. The broth is outstanding.....I'm trying to figure out how to make it at home. I'm pretty sure it's anise star in there but can't get the right amount.

Judy, Don't they offer the option of the soup with barbecued pork, without having to supplement with a separate order of BBQ pork? Just throwing it out as a cheaper way to go but of course, there is really no such thing as too much barbecue pork.

Wonton Gourmet in Des Plaines is the best of its type in this area and part of my regular rotation.

Just had the Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup myself at Wonton Express -- outstanding: lots of sesame oil in the wontons (a little in the broth wouldn't have hurt), chewy noodles.

All their noodle soups are $5.75 and offer several choices including the shrimp wontons, BBQ Pork or shredded pork "Peking Style" and a vegetable version.

What am I missing here? Everytime I eat at this place, I end up disappointed. Not because the food is bad, but because it falls short of great. Perhaps I'm holding it to too high of a standard. It's good. That's all I can say about it. And I've had the shrimp wonton noodle soup on a few occasions. Good but not great, which is a shame since I live so close. I want to love this place but they fall short every time I order from them.