Cathy2 wrote:Sarcasm is a really poor form of communication.

Thank goodness that Shakespeare and Mark Twain didn't see it your way. The world would be a much less interesting place.

G Wiv wrote: I very well be the biggest booster of 'Little' Three Happiness

You might be, but clearly you are not alone in having warm feelings for this restaurant. With regards to "LTH", I just dont't understand the fascination with what appears to be, at least to me, bland, uninspired and carelessly prepared food. Clearly there are other people here who feel the same way. I used to think that I just didnt like Cantonese food as much as other varieties of Chinese cuisine. I no longer believe this to be the case as I have now tried this restaurant enough times to feel confident in saying that, for the most part, the food at "LTH" is, objectively, not very good. Maybe the food improves when ordered by a regular or when the "A" team is cooking. Maybe I order the wrong dishes every time. Who knows, but at this point I have pretty much given up on trying to figure out what makes this place tick.

Kennyz wrote:FWIW, the discussion that ensued from beng's sarcasm led me to his blog, which is chock full of outstanding stuff.

I see what you did there.

But come on, now we're commenting on things that Mr. Eng didn't even intentionally share. Everything links to everything on the internet. I can connect G Wiv to disparaging comments about the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc. and know he serves on a board with someone who served a board with Sandra Lee's first cousin. I know we're all, like, 'linky linky, clicky clicky' in this hypertextual sandbox, but let's address the dish served by the poster for the LTH audience.

And please don't Google my handle and "rhinoceros." That was a long time ago.

Dear beng:

Thanks for your post -- I hope you will continue to participate on LTH and let us know what you like at Happy Chef and other places. I look forward to reading more things by you, since well-written, knowledgeable, passionate posts are the best thing about this site.

Being the "value" person on this forum, there are few places in Chicago where you can feed 5-6 people for $50 and get the same quality of food.

I've never been a great fan of the food itself ( I once took grief for saying that there were at least five better restaurants in the Chinatown mall alone), but is is open all the time, it's unpretentious, it's not LH, and it's ours. Changing the forum's name shouldn't be considered unless you want to change it every couple years.

On returning from Milwaukee after the Springsteen concert last Sunday (actually 2AM Monday), LTH was the only choice. Almost all tables were taken, totally Chinese save for me. Food was good, the usual salt and pepper head on shrimp-even though I doubt onions and jalapenos are authentic Chinese cuisine, but it tastes good.

The total experience at LTH is what is iconic. The previous time I was in LTH after midnight, two black guys covered their plates with Sriracha sauce, crisscrossing every inch of the plate. Turns out that they were Africans with amazing tolerance for heat. Late night is always interesting at LTH.

LTH-not always great food, but still a good namesake.

I am a fan of LTH: Salt and Pepper preparations, Shrimp Toast and especially the Crispy Chow fun w/ BBQ Pork. Its simply the best crispy chown fun in the city... LTH has been the only chinese place I've ordered from that makes the noodles crispy in that they have an actual crunch as well as chewiness. Everytime I ask for crispy elsewhere I get the same typical chow fun noodle, no crisp at all. For me, that makes LTH a special place, though there has been a time or two that when asked for crispy, the noodles were their standard texture. Is there a specific ordering practice that can ensure LTH's noodles are that great crispy texture everytime?

The Friar who has morphed into a Terrier returned home today, and #1 on her list of hometown favorites was LTH. We came straight from O'Hare, with a side trip to Delightful Pastries, and a fast stop at home to say hello to the canine sibling.

I am happy to say that LTH is back to normal. Everything was great, the crispy noodles were perfect as were the salt & pepper scallops.

We all left happy, full and glad that all was still well both at LTH and in our own little world. And a Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Since I moved to the northwest side and moved my office out of the West Loop nearly 5 years ago, my visits to Little Three Happiness have become much less frequent than they used to be. The siren song of Peking Duck at Sun Wah has also contributed to my long absences. That's a shame, because LTH remains one of the best places in town for truly great Cantonese food.

Last Monday, four of us made an impromptu stop at LTH for lunch and I was blown away by how good the food was. We started off with a few items from the limited dim sum menu to get the juices flowing. Shrimp toast remains a guilty pleasure and the lotus leaf wrapped rice and turnip cake rivaled those at Shui Wah. It's been said many times that LTH isn't exactly a place to go for dim sum, but these few items ware excellent on that day. We followed that up with crispy chow fun noodles with pork and duck, a must have dish for me on any visit. The noodles were done to crackly crispness and were complimented by a not too saucy mix of meat, sprouts and veggies. This hit the spot and matched my memories of LTH at it's best. Also on the agenda was crispy skin chicken with szechuan dipping salt. Another master stroke from the kitchen.

I understand that there have been some reports of less than great meals coming out of LTH's kitchen. I don't know if those were a case of mis-ordering or if LTH was experiencing some turnover in the kitchen or simply having a bad day, but I'm here to tell you that the lunch we had last Monday was stellar. Sometime you take the places you love for granted. It won't be nearly as long before I return to LTH next time.

...What he said.

stevez wrote:We followed that up with crispy chow fun noodles with pork and duck

Very early this morning, I broke fast from a vacation and grant proposal deadline at the mothership with this signature dish, and was not disappointed. While there is usually some negotiating to be done to get it the right way, I had barely launched into the sign language (indicating flat and crispy via straight hands and then hand wringing) when I was understood with a smile.

Even better than the noodles was the $2.50 bowl of hot and sour soup. I've been on the HSS prowl recently, and with the lighter non-meat preparations at LSC, LSH, and Saint's Alp (where they serve both versions), it's nice to enjoy a thick bowl redolent of animal blood. Or, I may just be becoming a vampire.

Speaking of guilty pleasures at LTH:

I was there yesterday with a friend (actually a friend whose son is about to graduate from Rose-Hulman thanks to a conversation she had with GAF at an LTH dinner there four years and some ago) who admitted that when she's alone at LTH she always orders the sweet and sour shrimp. I was fine with that, as long as I could have my salt and pepper smelt. Turns out that LTH makes superb sweet and sour shrimp. I don't even think of myself as liking sweet and sour shrimp, but these really hit the spot. Not too gloppy, not too sloppy. Definitely sweet, but in a very good way.

Santander wrote:

Kennyz wrote:
And please don't Google my handle and "rhinoceros." That was a long time ago.

I did google it, wow, 1,860,000 responses. And you're right, it was a LONG time ago.

I haven't been to LTH lately, it's gotten crowded out by Spring World and Lao Sze Schuan's reopening. But I'll have to get back soon. Last time I was there was at 2:00 a.m. after a gig Memorial Day weekend. I've had mediocre meals there from time to time but overall I think it's terrific.

Santander wrote:

stevez wrote:We followed that up with crispy chow fun noodles with pork and duck

Very early this morning, I broke fast from a vacation and grant proposal deadline at the mothership with this signature dish, and was not disappointed. While there is usually some negotiating to be done to get it the right way, I had barely launched into the sign language (indicating flat and crispy via straight hands and then hand wringing) when I was understood with a smile.

Even better than the noodles was the $2.50 bowl of hot and sour soup. I've been on the HSS prowl recently, and with the lighter non-meat preparations at LSC, LSH, and Saint's Alp (where they serve both versions), it's nice to enjoy a thick bowl redolent of animal blood. Or, I may just be becoming a vampire.

man... i negotiate with them everytime i request that dish... crispy noodles, crispy noodles, crispy noodles... light gravey! i can still only get crispy noodles 50% of time time the other 50% i get soft chow fun noodles with some black char on them (eh, not worth the trip), not the crispy, golden brown noodles that i drive out there for. it kind of keeps me from going back to LTH more often.

alright dudes i am going to take my gurl here for her birthday dinner this saturday night. i feel i must, considering the namesake but i am *hoping* it is a good night for the kitchen. wish me/them luck

It's been a while since I last visited little Three Happiness. Shame on me. I've spent entirely too much time at places like Lee Wing Wah in the Chinatown Square where the service sometimes can be down right rude. I finally made it back to little Three Happiness where the service has ALWAYS been good and the food is always excellent.

Their Honey Walnut Shrimp is still the best in Chinatown, and their simple yet exceptional Chicken Fried Rice is also tops in my book.

Went to lunch with a comrade yesterday, solid lunch (chicken with garlic and black bean sauce). Total bill with tax before tip, $13. tasty, cheap. Solid as ever.

Hi,

For those who wonder how to tell Big from Little Three Happiness, there is a new clue: Big Three Happiness had a car drive into its facade this afternoon. Louisa Chu passed it a little while ago as tow trucks were pulling a car away.

Of course, such news is fleeting!

Regards,

trpt2345 wrote:Went to lunch with a comrade yesterday, solid lunch (chicken with garlic and black bean sauce). Total bill with tax before tip, $13. tasty, cheap. Solid as ever.

From where I am now, I'd kill or travel many hundreds of miles to find something like LTH.

Had an unexpectedly excellent meal @ LTH the other evening. By unexpected, I mean we tried 2 other restaurants that were closed first (10:30 pm) and in walking to another destination called an audible and tried our luck, which this particular evening was quite good. Shrimp toast; hot and sour soup that was not gloppy in the least but both spicy and sour, and filled with crisp vegs; clams Evil Ronnie; shell on salt and pepper shrimp w/jalapenos and onion; and the chow fun (crispy) w/duck and pork. Even the egg rolls were better than remembered.

My dinner partner was disappointed the place I'd been teasing him with all night (Lao Hunan) wasn't open, but he/we ended up really happy with this. He lives in Phoenix and has very little good ethnic food there, so when he comes here that's all he wants.

Just received some sad news in an email from Ray over at Little Three Happiness . . .

in an email, Raymond Lin wrote:Hi,

I didn't know what the appropriate forum to post this to would be, but wanted to reach out to the mods to share this sad bit of news. Calvin Yee, the long-time night manager for Little Three Happiness passed away suddenly this past Saturday from complications from a surgery. I felt that this would be something important to pass on to you guys, due to your site's namesake.

Visitation and funeral will take place this Saturday, 5/24. Visitation will be at 9 am immediately followed by the funeral mass at 10 am.

Both services will be held at:
St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church
218 W. Alexander Street
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 842-6777

In lieu of flowers, we are asking for donations to be made to help out his family, through the church.

Thanks.

-Ray

=R=

Fearful that my post may seem like a mutiny to this site's beloved namesake, I feel I must post. This morning we were at LTH for a quick meal. My favorite dish is the squid and Chinese vegetables and my husband had beef with Chinese broccoli with thick noodles. The squid was tough and fishy. There was more tiny corn and less straw mushrooms and water chestnuts and the amount of sauce was scant. I have been ordering this dish for years-it was not the same. Husband's dish was tasty but some of the noodles were burned and crispy while others were stuck together as if they had been cooked last night and stored in a plastic bag in the fridge. He had eaten at LTH this week for lunch and again the food was not up to par. Most interestingly, there were always other diners and a take out trade. On both visits there was only another table that was occupied and a few of their choices could not be filled as they did not have the ingredients. The jars of the chili garlic sauce were empty on two tables and she replaced our empty one with another that was not full. The same folks were serving. When the older woman cleared the plates she asked if I wanted to take the squid home and I said no-I think she knew it was not tasty. I did not say anything. I know having two off meals does not mean there is a problem but we have never had a miss here. Has anyone been here lately?

Hi- After I picked up my sister at Midway, who stopped at LTH for dinner in November. It was not the best Chineese meal I have ever had, but it was more than adequate, and it was very reasonable. We ordered some pot stickers, and we loved those. We went on a Saturday evening, and the place had maybe three other tables occupied. I thought on Saturday evening they would do more business. I think our whole meal including $2 for parking cost us $30, and I had enough food for two more days. Hope this helps, Nancy

... I had no idea LTH was a restaurant.

Dragged a friend into the city for Xmas shopping, some of which was done in Chinatown. We stopped in LTH 5:00 pm Saturday. Friend is not too adventurous, ordered Won Ton Soup and Szechuan Chicken, I had Salt & Pepper Scallops. Friend really enjoyed his and the scallops were great.

The meal was highlighted by 15-20 minutes of a screaming, yelling argument in kitchen. Had to bicker a bit over the bill. We were charged for a pop that we never ordered and were charged for an imported beer though a Miller Lite was ordered. Never did determine if there is a domestic beer price or if all beers are "imported". Luckily, friend took everything in stride. It almost was "Chinese Dinner Theatre". They really should consider new menus, I remember these menus from college in the 80's and they have not aged well. Was not brave enough to ask but is Gary still stocking his Chili Oil at LTH?

motu wrote:Was not brave enough to ask but is Gary still stocking his Chili Oil at LTH?

Have not stocked Chili Oil at Little Three Happiness for a while, but I was there on Monday and it was spot-on. Chicago's Best, and the incredibly nice, both personality and appearance, Brittney Payton were filming for a Chicago's Best Chinese Take Out episode.

Brittney Payton with LTH Shrimp Toast

G Wiv wrote:Have not stocked Chili Oil at Little Three Happiness for a while

There is currently 1 full quart of G Wiv chili oil at "Little" Three Happiness, all one has to do is ask and they will bring it to your table. If there is any miscommunication its in the back cooler in front of the beer.



Lots of ordering suggestions in this thread, I suggest starting with crisp delicious shrimp toast.



No telling how long the chili oil will last, but its a darn good batch which I truly hope a number of people enjoy. Oh, and please make sure it gets put back in the cooler when you are finished.

"Little" Three Happiness, Count me a FAN!!

"Little" Three Happiness
209 W Cermak

Keep it in the fridge?

Jazzfood wrote:Keep it in the fridge?

Yes, I'm an American I refrigerate pretty much every thing but fruit and bread.
YMMV.

Heading over to LTH now - anyone know if there's Gary's chili oil in house? I'd PM Gary but I'm sure he's busy.

zoid wrote:Heading over to LTH now - anyone know if there's Gary's chili oil in house? I'd PM Gary but I'm sure he's busy.

Guess you'll find out when you get there!

=R=