borborigmy wrote:Incidentally, next door was a sign for the “Grand Opening” of a possibly Czech or Polish restaurant. It looks ripe for an LTHforum taste trial from someone – perhaps me.

That place has actually been open for close to a year now. I believe it's Lithuanian, but I've not tried it yet. Too hard to pass up the Japanese tofu.

Be sure to also try the (sort of) nearby Balkan Bakery (I wrote about it briefly in the Chinese Kitchen discussion in the "Best Thing You've Eaten" thread).

JeffB wrote:Jazz-

Great to hear Chinese Kitchen is holding up. The reason great Chinese places exist out there is similar to the reason great Chinese places are in the suburbs of LA, NY and DC -- that's where the Chinese people live. Or so I'm told. To have exemplary Hong Kong (CK), Taiwanese (Fabulous (I think it is, could be wrong)), Szechuan (LSC) and Beijing (K's) style places out there is pretty cool. I used to really enjoy the trial and error method of finding decent food near the in-laws. My non-Chicago focus has shifted to Michigan lately as I spend less time out west, but with the holidays I'll be back and hope to see if anything new grabs my attention.

JeffB

FN is really Cantonese, but the owner, and probably the cooks are from Taiwan, so you are mostly correct. And isn't Hong Kong cuisine effectively Cantonese as well? Seemed that way to me in HK and when I have gone to places identified as HK in the US.

The N'ville Katy's location seems more and more to be a direct copy of LSC to me, btw, with the exception of Tony's various inspirations at LSC and the (much) higher quality noodle and dumpling offerings at both Katy's outposts.

Will need to add CK to my circuit. Have been in a real Chinese rut lately - just cannot get enough.

As to the question of the Chinese community out here, yes there is a large one. I know of Chinese social clubs, schools (they take over some schools for weekend programs) and a variety of cultural groups for both the young and multi-generational. I have no data on the total numbers, but if one heads to the food court at International Plaza most days at noon, and particularly on the weekends, the large crowd is heavily Chinese in its composition.

So the old trick of sticking your head in the door and seeing what percentage of the clientele is Chinese is effective out here - if the food is good and interesting, there will be a decent sized group.

for my tastes I put Chinese Kitchen near the top of my west suburban favorites:

1) Fabulous Noodles
2) Chinese Kitchen ***
3) Katy's Naperville
4) Lao Szechaun
5) Katy's Westmont

this is the order I would go to these restaurants based on my tastes, size & items on the menu relating to what I like to eat, proximity to my work, etc. I like all of them, and all are winners, this is just my preference(I really dont like the eating area @ the Westmont Katy's, thats why I choose them last).

I have a couple of the "chinese" carryout menus from Chinese Kitchen, I will post them next time I am downloading some pics since they do not have a website..

***edit: Chinese Kitchen has dropped out of my go to places alltogether, way too inconsistant with a couple items falling into the downright nasty category.

Had to get over to Chinese Kitchen today for some Ameri-Chinese food to cure a hangover. Did the trick.

I needed some fried rice, szechuan beef, an eggroll, and some hot and sour soup to set me right, I glanced @ the Chinese menu, but wasnt feeling ambitious today, and was really craving some fried rice. The szechaun beef was made xx spicy as ordered, lean beef, nice heat level. Egg roll was good as always, and the bbq pork fried rice did the trick .

3 visits in abut a weeks time, I'd say I am becoming a fan. Next visit back to the exploration of the Chinese menu for sure.

jimswside wrote:for my tastes I put Chinese Kitchen near the top of my west suburban favorites:

1) Fabulous Noodles
2) Chinese Kitchen
3) Katy's Naperville
4) Lao Szechaun
5) Katy's Westmont

I think all of these are good to great, but based on my increasingly frequent visits, I'd have to put Asian Bistro at the top of the list by a mile. Not sure if Arlington Heights counts as western suburbs, though.

jimswside wrote:3 visits in abut a weeks time, I'd say I am becoming a fan. Next visit back to the exploration of the Chinese menu for sure.

And you haven't tried the Japanese Tofu with Salt & Spice yet?

Seriously, Japanese Tofu with Salt & Spice is up there with Chicken Boti at Khan BBQ and Cemitas at Cemitas Puebla*

*Maybe a bit of hyperbole, but Japanese Tofu with Salt & Spice is a must have at Chinese Kitchen.

G Wiv wrote:And you haven't tried the Japanese Tofu with Salt & Spice yet?

not yet, I'm typically not a big tofu muncher, once I get back with a larger group I will try it for sure, Id hate to get it as my only dish and not like it.

cilantro wrote:I think all of these are good to great, but based on my increasingly frequent visits, I'd have to put Asian Bistro at the top of the list by a mile. Not sure if Arlington Heights counts as western suburbs, though.

All those listed are places within a few minutes of my work. Arlington Heights is too far away for me to get to @ lunch.

Made a return trip to Chinese Kitchen for lunch today, and ordered the spicy and salt tofu dish along with the Mongolian Beef lunch special.

Hot & Sour soup really hit the spot, and the eggroll today had more of a pronounced peanutbutter taste.

As for the tofu dish, I am guessing I just dont like tofu. Prepared as pictured, and mentioned previously, a nice, seared crisp outer edge that had a really nice flavor. The inside was creamy and custard like, but it just didnt do it for me(mostly a texture issue). THe few bites I had with the sliced jalapenos were just ok. My wife will be happy that most of this dish is coming home.

The Mongolian Beef was good,(I prefer their version of the szechuan beef), and the bbq pork fried rice was as good as ever.

I took some pictures, and will post them when I get some time.

This Salt & Pepper Tofu is calling my name. Ever since moving from Minneapolis, and missing the Spicy Golden Homemade Tofu at Penninsula, I've been looking for a fix.

Perhaps I missed it but how late are they open during the week? I'll be trekking from Logan Square to put this in my face.s Any other suggestions for someone driving in? Other vegetarian stuffs to make sure I don't miss?

heres the pics from my meal earlier this week:

hot and sour soup:



mongolian Beef lunch special w/ bbq pork fried rice:





salt & pepper tofu:

another solid lunch @ Chinese Kitchen today, this is my 3rd time back since my last post, and each meal was really good. Chinese Kithchen is an almost weekely stop for me, loving that it is 5 minutes +/- from my work.

Today I went with 1 item off the Ameri-Chinese Menu and 1 item off the chinese menu

I got a combination lunch that included an egg roll, a fried shrimp, roasted pork, a crab rangoon, beef teryaki skewer, and a really good sized portion of combo fried rice. The roasted pork was nice, with the edges tinted by char siu. Tender, juciy, and cut in thin slices. I like their egg rolls, todays didnt have much peanut butter kick unfortunatel, but still good. crab rangood was ok, as was the beef teryaki skewer. I like their fried rice. This and a cup of hot and sour soup which I really like here was $5.95.

From the Chinese menu I got a noodle dish in broth with shrimp wontons, and beef stew. Really fork tender pot roast like beef, with noodles, and the shrimp wontons in a nice broth. Some green veggies in the mix, but I was focused on the broth, beef, and wontons. A real nice dish for $5.55.

Cheap lunch, good food, and plenty of leftovers to take home to my wife and daughter.

made 2 visits to Chinese Kitchen this past week, a weekday meal that was good, and a visit today which was good as well.

The place was packed witha a wait for tables around 12:30. We got the last table. Once again I was one of the only non-asian customers eating.

Went with a couple lunch specials off the gringo menu(szechan beef & the fried rice, teryyaki beef, crab rangoon, egg roll, chinese sliced pork, fried shrimp combo). Hot and Sour soup is quickly becoming one of my favorite items, just a great version. We also ordered the chicken and wonton casserole, and shrimp and eggs off the Chinese menu. Casserole was as good as before, many shrimp dumplings, sliced chicken, and chinese veg in a rich broth. shrimp and egg was interesting, tender shrimp in egg sauce Ill call it. Not bad.

Total tab $28, good service, good lunch. Passed by katy's, Fabulous Noodles, and lao Sze Chuan to go here.

I am working my way through the menu at this place, typically one or two new dishes every visit(about once a week).

Had one of my favorite dishes out of any of my previouse visits today:


vermacelli noodle shrimp satay casserole - really nice, lots of flavor, shrimp, curry, etc.

Headed into the burbs today to do some shopping, Chinese Kitchen was the easy choice for lunch. Really wanted to compare the salt and spice shrimp here to the one I had Thursday @ LTH(based on previous visits the Chinese Kitchen one is superior to my tastes, and I came away with the smae opinion after today. Love the light crust... Crisp, salty, lick your fingers good. Head on, and perfectly cooked. $7 and change for the serving we had.) Also on the todays menu was baby clams in black bean sauce(nice flavor, ginger, pork, clams, etc..), flat rice noodles Shanghai Style(shrimp, pork, curry), mongolian beef with bbq fried rice, hot and sour soup. Flat rice noodle dish was good, and the Mongolian beef was ok(needed more heat). Their chili oil is good(not as good as GWiv's). Theire hot and sour soup is one of my favorites anywhere.

(2) new menu items tried today, another great visit

chili oil:



hot and sour soup:



flat rice noodles Shanghai Style:



mongolian beeef & bbq pork fried rice:



baby clams in black bean sauce:



salt and spicey head on, shell on shrimp (Chinese kitchen version on top):





(lth version on bottom)

another strong performance by Chinese Kitchen, my go to place for Chinese food in the Western suburbs.

My sister, teenage daugther and I went to Chinese Kitchen on Monday night for dinner. I have found a new favorite Chinese restaurant. We had the Salty and Spicy Japanese Tofu, Szechuan Green Beans, Six Happiness, Sweet & Sour Chicken and pan fried noodles (the last two items ordered by the teenager.) The Tofu was incredible, even the teenager liked it. We asked for it on the milder side, as I didn't want to aggrevate my reflux. Lightly fried with a smattering of salt on the tops accompanied by various peppers. The S&S Chicken was so tender and the sauce was not your typical cloyingly sweet stuff drenching the meat. It was light and lay in the bottom of the dish. I really enjoyed the green beans and it was a nice addition as there weren't that many vegetables in our dishes. The Six Happiness included BBQ pork, chicken and scallops. The portions were huge and the price is right.

Thanks LTH'ers for the recommendation.

Ms. Ingie

I made my first visit to Chinese Kitchen and had a somewhat disappointing lunch. Maybe the kitchen had an off day or maybe our expectations were too high. Nothing was awful but of our six dishes only one or two would I order again.

Egg Rolls


The filling had an unpleasant pasty texture, as if bound by barely-cooked flour.

West Lake Beef Soup


This would have been an excellent soup if not for the chef's heavy hand with cornstarch. I realize it should be a thickened soup but this was overdone.

Salt and Pepper Tofu


A winner, and the only dish that was finished at our table.

Singapore Noodles and Beef Tenderloin with Walnuts


Nothing glaringly wrong with the noodles but not very exciting either. The sauce for the beef had a good hit of black pepper but, like the soup, it was grossly overthickened making it an unappealing, gloppy mess.

Smelt


I wish the fish had been fresher and not fried to toughness.

I hope to give Chinese Kitchen another try but if I'm in the area it will be tough to pass up Katy's.

In 2006 dodger wrote:Anyone have comments on the restaurant next door: ‘something’ Café Rutu?

cilantro wrote:

borborigmy wrote:Incidentally, next door was a sign for the “Grand Opening” of a possibly Czech or Polish restaurant. It looks ripe for an LTHforum taste trial from someone – perhaps me.

That place has actually been open for close to a year now. I believe it's Lithuanian, but I've not tried it yet.

February 2010


Ruta is indeed Lithuanian. I'm almost certain the woman inside said they had been around several years (consistent with dodger's 2006 query). I can't explain the Grand Opening sign though.

Café Ruta
6551-L S Cass Av
Westmont IL
630-353-0244
http://caferuta.com/

Rene G wrote:I made my first visit to Chinese Kitchen and had a somewhat disappointing lunch. Maybe the kitchen had an off day or maybe our expectations were too high. Nothing was awful but of our six dishes only one or two would I order again.

[quote=
Ruta is indeed Lithuanian. I'm almost certain the woman inside said they had been around several years (consistent with dodger's 2006 query). I can't explain the Grand Opening sign though.

Café Ruta
6551-L S Cass Av
Westmont IL
630-353-0244
http://caferuta.com/

Um no, I tried it a few months ago(Chinese Kitchen) and did not really care for it. I ordered the beef with bittermelon and found it inedible. I had to throw it out. When I've had it elsewhere, the cooking preparation removes most of the bitter taste. That was not the case here. I did like the salt and pepper tofu but actually prefer the version at Mapo Naperthrill better. I would not go back here when there are a lot of other Chinese places around.

Fortunately, on my way out I did notice the signs for Cafe Ruta and I peeked through the window and made a mental note to come back. Thank goodness there are a lot of good ethnic choices in this area!

Rene G wrote:I made my first visit to Chinese Kitchen and had a somewhat disappointing lunch. Maybe the kitchen had an off day

thats too bad, and likely the case(it happens).

a huge fan of this place obviously, either heading here or Lao Szechaun in Downers tomorrow(wednesday) for a quick lunch(i only have an hour with travel time), any takers?(I doubt it, but Id figure Id throw it out there).

a huge fan of this place obviously, either heading here or Lao Szechaun in Downers tomorrow(wednesday) for a quick lunch(i only have an hour with travel time), any takers?(I doubt it, but Id figure Id throw it out there)

I would normally be able to meet you, but Wednesday's are my day off. Maybe next time

borborigmy wrote:

a huge fan of this place obviously, either heading here or Lao Szechaun in Downers tomorrow(wednesday) for a quick lunch(i only have an hour with travel time), any takers?(I doubt it, but Id figure Id throw it out there)

I would normally be able to meet you, but Wednesday's are my day off. Maybe next time

perhaps next time,

I am up in the air as to where I am going, I havent been to Lao Sze Chuan in a while, might need some spicy szechaun food today.

Chinese Kitchen was on the mark again today for most items, really good hot and sour soup, really nice eggroll(lots of peanutbutter flavor), and the pork chow fun was really good. chewy, & just great.

Kung Pao chicken was ok, asked them to make it xxx spicy, came out mildly spicy, chickne fried rice was supposed to be bbq pork fried rice.

All in all a nice feast for $13.

they have a website now:

http://www.chinesekitchenwestmont.com

For workday Chinese lunches I typically rotate between Chinese Kitchen and Fabulous Noodles(rarely carry cash so Katy's is just an occasional stop, and I am not a big fan of LSC in Downers Grove). With that said Chinese Kitchen had been on a dissapointing turn the last few times I had been in, I am guessing mostly because I carried out the food vs eating there. Rice noodle dishes and chow fun had come up shockingly short in regards to flavor and quality.

I really enjoyed my lunch visit today.

I ordered a lunch combo that comes with sliced pork, terryaki beef, egg roll, crab rangoon, pork fried rice, and a cup of sweet and sour soup. A basic/unexciting lunch special but I had to have an egg roll, some fried rice and sweet and sour soup today. Sweet and sour soup is in my non-expert opinion one of the best around, tangy, sweet, hot, great for today when I have a bit of a sore throat. Egg roll was off today, decent, just not great. Fried rice was ok as were the other items.

The stars of this meal were the Chinese spinach with garlic sauce, I am not a big fan of spinach, but ordered this any way, really nice, I really like Chinese spinach vs western spinach, more spinach shoot than green leaf. Simple, straight forward, excellent.

I have come around on the Japanese tofu with spicy salt, I am one who has zero use or interest in tofu typically, but my wife likes this dish alot so I got it. Ordered with extra jalapenos, I actually appreciated it today. Perfectly lightly browned coins of tofu with a custard like interior.

Im glad I made a visit back after a few disappointing ones, and stuck with their strengths that are widely reported on this thread.

Total tab with tip $23. Plus a ton of leftovers to take home for Shay and for Vangie.

Im not sure if any type of food is affected more by the "A" team vs the "B" team in the kitchen as Chinese food. I have had great meals @ Double Li, and crappy ones, same goes for LSC & Spring World. Same dishes ordered, lack of execution dooming them on bad visits vs being well prepared other times.

Chinese Kitchen is a place I go to probably once a week, and really notice the above mentioned perceived trend trend here. I had run into a rough patch recently, poorly flavored food, odd tasting egg rolls, etc. With hesitation I went today, and had a great lunch: Ameri-Chinese lunch special of hot & sour soup, pork fried rice, egg roll, crab rangoon, fried shrimp, sliced bbq pork, & beef teryaki. Also ordered the Japanese tofu with spicy and salt(xtra jalapenos, as well as an order of the fried chicken wings with spicy salt.

-Hot and sour soup is the constant here, always good, great hangover and sore throat cure. Sweet, hot, and sour, plenty of shrooms, and veg. Todays was good as ever.

-Ameri-Chinese lunch special was what it was, I am asucker for bbq pork fried rice, and they do a solid version. SLiced bbq fork was fresh, and good.

-The Japanese tofu with spicy & salt & extra jalapenos, this dish has taken some time for me to truly appreciate, todays vesion was killer, disks as well as smaller pieces of the pan fried tofu served atop and intermingled with jalapenos, greeen & red pepper. The first and last bite I had made me wonder how I ever avoided this dish.

-Fried chicken wings with spicy salt, I dont think I have ordered this before, crispy coated chicken wings with sicy salt, also served with jalapenos, & red & green peppers. 12 wings for about $6. Loved it.

All fo the above for $19 before tip.

I gotta get a copy of their kitchen staffing schedule.

jimswside wrote:-The Japanese tofu with spicy & salt & extra jalapenos, this dish has taken some time for me to truly appreciate, todays vesion was killer, disks as well as smaller pieces of the pan fried tofu served atop and intermingled with jalapenos, greeen & red pepper. The first and last bite I had made me wonder how I ever avoided this dish.

Ah Grasshopper, I see you have discovered the light.

I had to make a trip out to Hinsdale over the weekend and took the opportunity to finally stop in for a meal at nearby Chinese Kitchen. I'm very glad I did. We had a great lunch and I'm already thinking about my plan of attack for my next trip out there. LTH again comes through as a great resource, in that I ended up really enjoying a place that I wouldn't have even known about if not for having read about it here first.

We arrived at about 2:30 on Sunday to a half-full restaurant. There were several tables occupied by bigger groups (Chinese-American I'm assuming) and our 2-top. We were seated promptly and given the American Cantonese-style menu. Having cribbed a bit here, I knew to ask for the other 2 menus, which were brought without hesitation or delay.

Even though we were only 2, we ordered several dishes, correctly figuring that our 14-year-old eating machine would happily dispatch our leftovers when we got home . . .


Chinese Kitchen - 6551 S Cass Ave, Westmont



Flat Rice Noodles Singapore-Style with Beef
This was just a great dish. It had a smoky note to it, the source of which I couldn't really identify. The beef was tender and flavorful. The carrots and broccoli really tasted like carrots and broccoli and they were both cooked until just tender, without being mushy at all. The noodles were crispy, chewy, pleasantly dense and wonderful. The sauce was delicious but didn't overwhelm the rest of the components. This was an immensely satisfying dish.



Flat Rice Noodles Singapore-Style with Beef
A close-up of one of the crispier sections of noodles.



Japanese Tofu with Spicy & Salt
The dish that has probably been mentioned here more than any other. We really enjoyed this. The pucks of soft, creamy tofu had an almost cheese-like aroma to them. I loved this but wished that I'd remembered to order it with extra jalapenos. Many of the green peppers on this plate were of the bell variety. Still, a great dish. This is the lunch special (smaller) portion.



Chinese Spinach with Garlic Sauce
This was from the Chinese "specials" menu and it was terrific. I loved the subtle hit of garlic, which was present but not acrid or overbearing at all. The greens themselves were tasty and cooked extremely well.



Pork Chop Peking Style
With the advice of our server, we chose this dish instead of the Pork Ribs with Sour Cabbage and were a bit sorry that we did. This was pretty darned sweet, with a typical 'sweet and sour' quality to it. Still, the high-quality rib pieces, many of which contained actual bones and cartilage, were fried very well and had a nice flavor.



Baby Clams in Black Bean Sauce
There were so many other things we wanted to try but in the end, I was really hankering for some black bean sauce and even with our leftover-eating machine waiting at home, we only had room for one more dish. We scanned the room and this dish seemed to be on just about every other table. It was terrific, with tasty, tender clams and a zippy, intense black bean sauce.

I'm glad I finally made it out here and hope to get back very soon. It used to be that Westmont and Katy's were synonymous for me. But now that I've experienced Chinese Kitchen and gotten glimpses of their extensive menus, I know that I'll be splitting time between it and Katy's when I make the trek out to the Westmont area.

=R=

Hi,

I see there hasn't been another update to this thread since 2011. Are people still going and enjoying, though have nothing new to share?

Mom2 moved last year to Carol Stream. A few spontaneous stops at very local Chinese were very dismal. I am reading threads like these now to figure where to reliably obtain Chinese.

Is it still thumbs up for Chinese Kitchen?

Regards,

I get delivery from them from time to time and just ordered from there the other night. We had the steamed chicken with the ginger/scallion sauce-- a dish we order often. The chicken could basically be burnt to a crisp and I'd still like it because that sauce is really great. In all seriousness, I did think the chicken was a little overcooked (and boy do you have to watch out for bones in this dish), but overall, it's a really good dish that you can't find just anywhere. We also ordered a chicken fried rice for my kids, and we ended up eating a lot of it-- it was really tasty. I haven't tried a whole range of things here so I can't comment in that regard, but yes, I'm still digging this place.

Oh! I just remembered-- we also ordered from there a couple months ago and had a sauteed (?) fish dish that also was served with ginger and scallions. I don't recall that it had the dipping sauce that the chicken does... but in any event, we really liked it, too.

Chinese Kitchen is the go-to place for my family in the western suburbs and we are Taiwanese. The other places we like are Yu's Mandarin in Westmont and Mapo in Naperville.