We ordered the Pancake with Pork, Fried Noodles with Beef, Dan Dan Noodles, Ma Po Tofu (veg), a veg fried rice and pot stickers. They were very accomodating of meat-free requests, thankfully. The pot stickers were great in texture, but the filling was somewhat watery. The highlights were the Pancake and Dan Dan, with the Fried Noodles a close third. A fair amount of the Ma Po came home. It was tasty and spicy, but not the best example.

I am a HUGE Katy's fan and I love the food there more than anywhere else in the region, but I'll be damned if the Ma Po Tofu wasn't the worst thing I've eaten anywhere all year. It tasted like a bottle of MSG fell into the pot when no one was looking and none of it came home with me. I had to buy a bottled water to try to cleanse my palate, and fortunately the dish came after I finished my Dan Dan Noodle Soup and Chicken Fried Noodles. I like the new menu's and the pictures of dishes on the wall, but I hope they're not over-reaching.

Wife and I made the trip from the city today for lunch. It is such a treat on a cold day to dig into the beef noodle soup. We even got some dan dan noodles to take home. We were there around 1:30 and it was packed.

The only downfall was that there were no pickles to be had.

msmre wrote:Wife and I made the trip from the city today for lunch. It is such a treat on a cold day to dig into the beef noodle soup. We even got some dan dan noodles to take home. We were there around 1:30 and it was packed.

The only downfall was that there were no pickles to be had.

We were there today at around the same time and yes, it was a bummer about the pickles. Still, we had a very nice meal. It wasn't my favorite trip to Katy's but it was very good.

=R=

We were there around 3pm. Disappointed by the lack of pickles, but we very much enjoyed our bowls of dan dan noodles and shrimp wonton noodle soup with a bag frozen handmade pork dumplings for a future meal. Also picked up a container of raw noodles (raw) for soup.

As I mentioned above, last Saturday's lunch at Katy's was certainly good but, for me, it did not transcend and take me to that rare, higher plane, as it usually does. Everything tasted fine but the food seemed to lack its typical dazzling explosiveness of flavor. Maybe it was me (probably, it was me), maybe it was them, maybe it was the fact that they were out of pickles or maybe it was due simply to unknown forces of the universe. And fwiw, at least 2 of my companions thought I was out of my mind for even thinking it. They loved it as much as they ever do.

In any event, since the pictures turned out pretty well, I'm going to pretend that they were taken at one of the many meals I've had at Katy's, which totally blew me away, and post them here. I don't think that a "caution, food appears more delicious than it actually is" disclaimer is required. Many of us know that when this place is on -- which is a great majority of the time -- it's on like very few others . . .


Meatballs with Egg
These were out of the cold case (did I mention they were out of pickles? ) and I'm guessing they're really intended to be heated up. They were just way too cold to enjoy. The egg was interesting -- not pickled -- but either roasted or preserved in some way. It tasted pretty much like a regular hard-boiled egg with a slightly intense edge and a more leathery texture. I took home and heated up the leftovers and they were pretty good.



Potstickers
Nicely cooked



Dan-Dan Noodles
Beautiful



Beef Tendon Noodle Soup
This was probably my favorite item of the meal. Really wonderful.



Shredded Pork stir-fried with Pancake
Another favorite, but this particular one didn't blow me away like other servings have.



Stir-Fried Noodle with Dry Chili

=R=

I actually agree with you. As one of your dining companions I noticed, for example, that the Shredded Pork stir-fried with Pancake had more vegital material than normal. Lots of sprouts and celery (?). It threw the balance of the dish off a bit for me. Not enough pancake umami. Of course, this is really splitting hairs. The noodles are still the best in the area by a long shot.

For the fashionistas out there, Mr. Red Shirt was sporting a white with yellow striped number that was just fabulous!

Hi all! I'm going to Katy's with a vegetarian. I've been before, but everything I had was a meat-based dish. I LOVE MEAT! Alas, my girlfriend does not. I saw one post that talked about getting some vegetarian items, but none of them blew up my skirt, so to speak.

Any recommendations?

What are the can't miss items? I want to check it out this weekend.

lilmomma wrote:What are the can't miss items? I want to check it out this weekend.

Look up a few posts. Recent pictures of most of the greatest hits were posted by Ronnie.

I just went last week and it was as good if not better than people have said. The big draw, I'd say, is the noodles. I tried the szechuan style noodles which were served cold with a sauce similar to kimchee and the fried noodles with chicken which tasted pretty similar to most chinese fried noodles (garlic, ginger, soy sauce, etc), just with excellent noodles. I also tried the dumplings, which were definitely better than most asian supermarket dumplings, but not special enough to merit a trip. Perhaps the potstickers are more of a standout?

Enjoy!

On a cold rainy day, I was craving something hot and spicy and decided to go to Katy Dumpling in Westmont for lunch.
I've just returned from and extremely satisfying meal. The dan dan noodles with the rich garlicky spicy broth and noodles with the slightly chewy texture absolutely hit the spot on a cold rainy day. The broth was reminiscent of a nice spicy laksa or korean noodle soup. We also ordered the potstickers which were 'ginormous' house-made crescent moon shaped perfectly prepared, piping hot inside and pan fried on the bottom. They were almost like a hybrid potsticker on the bottom and dumpling on the top. They reminded me of soup dumplings but better. I really wish I had taken some photos but the food was inhaled immediately. A very satisfying lunch indeed.

Went out to Katy's tonight for a late dinner with my husband, and for once, I was underwhelmed. We had the dan dan mien, the stir fried noodles with dried chilis, and the potstickers. The dan dan broth was so sweet it was cloying. It just tasted like sugar. Very strange... The only way to make it palatable was to add a ton of vinegar, and even then it wasn't good. The stir fried noodles were fine, fabulously chewy as usual, but they didn't have much heat to them. They were kind of bland. The potstickers were the bright point of the meal--they were even better than usual. Crisp on the bottom, chewy on top, and the filling was juicy and flavorful.

Does anyone know whether they make the dan dan broth in large batches, or a la minute? Seems like the previous poster didn't have the same problem we did. We didn't send it back because we assumed it was from a batch, and we'd only have the same problem with a new order.

In any event, I've been to Katy's many times and never been disappointed, so tonight was a surprise. When we arrived, they were very busy, so I wonder if the kitchen was just overwhelmed?

My broth had just the right combination of chili oil and sichuan peppers that lingered in my mouth and chest long after the meal and would have been perfect for a cold. It wasn't sweet at all. Based on the previous posters experience, I would think that they make several batches through the day(?) Also, the youngish chef was a woman instead of the man who has cooked for me in the past and I felt like I was eating what she would prepare at home. Mr. red shirt was not there but it looked like a woman who may be his wife(?) was sitting at one of the adjoining tables doing paperwork.

I love this place! Every time my travels take me to the western burbs, Katy's is on my short list. Last night I picked up the Szechuan Noodles and the Onion Pancake with Pork to go.

As I waited for the food to be prepared, I examined the refridgerator case. I had remembered from this thread that there was some sliced pig shank I should try in there, and picked out what I thought was that dish. I asked if it was pork, and was informed that I had selected smoked chicken, and that there was no pork. So, in a last ditch effort, I said pig and pointed at my calf. The lovely woman behind the counter, whose Engilsh is way better than any other language I can speak, did understand what I meant and went to slice me some fresh from the roll they had in back. I then pulled out my phone to look up this thread and found the name for the dish. . . Jiang Xiao Joe. I tried to pronounce it, and welcoming nods came from the woman and the person manning the wok, with a correction on the pronunciation, which I fear I may not ever get right. However the wok chef did piont to his elbow, which I assume meant the cut came from a pig's foreleg near the joint. Thank God for this thread, my preseverance, and LTH Forum. Those cold slices of meat were some of the best pig I had ever eaten. The slices were thin and were full of lushous rendered pig fat and gelatin. The meat was permeated with 5-spice, as was the soy dipping sauce that came in the container. I saved the rest for lunch today. I warmed the slices slightly which made the fat and gelatin soften just right, pressed them into a warm pita, and drizzled the 5-spice soy. . . a perfect, if not so healthy, meal.

Also, the Noodles and Pancake were spot on. I know I should probably get another noodle dish, rather that two stir fried dishes to better vary my meal, but I love both of these. These are the best noodle dishes in town.

Can't believe I waited so long to go to Katy's - just a fantastic place. If only it weren't so far away...

Beef Tendon Noodle Soup was one of the best things I have eaten in a long time.

Glad I finally made the trip and will have to find reasons to go out west more often.

I've got a party of 10, half adults, half children 7 and under.

I've got a chance to do takeout Chinese from the Westmont Katy's this evening but a rather short Internet window here before I cross the line of rudeness with our hosts.

Adults other than me are not particularly adventurous, but like good food quite a bit. Kids only modestly adventurous.

Not sure what are the best candidates for a takeout meal (about 15 minute travel time), but any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Sounds like dan dan noodles and cold szichuan noodles would be a good place to start. The kids love dumplings, but I'm unsure of how well they travel.

Thanks,

Aaron

I think unless you dig into the cold stuff like pickles or slices of tendon or whatever, Katy's is pretty easy to like for anybody who likes Chinese food at all. Things like the stir-fried pork with pancake or dry chili noodles aren't scary dishes at all, they're pretty comfort foody.

I guess the question is more whether certain dishes travel well and how much is lost in the take-out process. I didn't think I'd have a chance to get back and read before ordering, but even looking through a few pages, it looks like the following is the greater portion of what folks here order:

Stir-fried noodle with dried chili (no krab)
Shredded pork stir-fried with pancake
Dan dan noodles
Szechuan cold noodle

How many people (regular, not LTH) does that feed? Potstickers won't really hold up, but the kids like them enough to get them anyway. Anything else I'm missing to round out a good meal? Hmmm...just noticing time...as in, time for dinner. We'll see...

Aaron Deacon wrote:Stir-fried noodle with dried chili (no krab)
Shredded pork stir-fried with pancake
Dan dan noodles
Szechuan cold noodle

Added to that an order of wonton soup and broccoli with beef, too make sure there was enough unspicy, and a couple orders of potstickers and you have....way, way too much food. Good food though.

We probably only needed two noodle dishes, I liked the stir-fried noodle the best, but they were all good. Never thought I'd make it to Katy's, but glad to have the opportunity.

I've had my first lunch at Katy's today as I was in Hinsdale for my weekly work. I had Dan dan noodle. It was about 1:20 and only one other table was occupied. The noodle came out swiftly after I ordered it. No pickles.
The noodle was very toothsome. Very fresh and I agree it's one of the best noodles to sink one's teeth into. I wasn't so thrilled with the broth. It's mostly one dimensional with lots of minced garlic/hot pepper oil but not much else.
For $6.41 after tax, it is a very good lunch deal. I will come back if in the area.

Just to add another data point, I was at Katy's this week and found their noodles (Cold Szechuan Noodles (hot) and Noodles with Meat Sauce) as good as ever - a true GNR. I also love their meatballs with hard boiled egg. Someday Katy's will be up for a GNR renewal, and someone will wish to know that they are serving terrific noodles in November 2009.

Had lunch today at Katy's with a friend who'd never been there before and it was as good as usual (he enjoyed it, as well). Dan Dan broth was fiery. Onion pancake with pork was pleasantly dense with a perfect amount of ginger. Fried dumplings were crispy, piping hot and really flavorful. I do wish that one could get water at Katy's without having to buy a bottle (requests for a cup of tap water were refused) but other than that, this place continues to scratch the itch for me the 1-2 times a year I hit it.

=R=

Mike G wrote:I think unless you dig into the cold stuff like pickles or slices of tendon or whatever, Katy's is pretty easy to like for anybody who likes Chinese food at all. Things like the stir-fried pork with pancake or dry chili noodles aren't scary dishes at all, they're pretty comfort foody.

I agree. The beef noodle soup is so good on so many levels. I took a less than adventuous eater there and she loved it.

On the flipside, I am skeptical that the pickles exist any longer. I have been about 10 times over the past year and the only response I get when asking if they had pickles is a sharp "no" like I should not have asked.

msmre wrote:On the flipside, I am skeptical that the pickles exist any longer. I have been about 10 times over the past year and the only response I get when asking if they had pickles is a sharp "no" like I should not have asked.

No pickles today, either.

=R=

msmre wrote:

Mike G wrote:I think unless you dig into the cold stuff like pickles or slices of tendon or whatever, Katy's is pretty easy to like for anybody who likes Chinese food at all. Things like the stir-fried pork with pancake or dry chili noodles aren't scary dishes at all, they're pretty comfort foody.

I agree. The beef noodle soup is so good on so many levels. I took a less than adventuous eater there and she loved it.

On the flipside, I am skeptical that the pickles exist any longer. I have been about 10 times over the past year and the only response I get when asking if they had pickles is a sharp "no" like I should not have asked.

I can confirm a similar reaction when I asked if they had pickles at the Naperville location. They said definitively said no.

I continue to visit Katy's (Westmont, not that I have anything against the Naperville location though it is quite different, more like LSC, but it is just not on my convenient lunch circuit) at least a couple of times a month. Cold weather means spicy beef noodle soup, Dan Dan Noodles, and/or pot stickers; warm weather always means cold Szechwan noodles and sometimes pancakes with pork. I have been known to haul a packet of soy or smoked chicken home, or as a pre-soccer snack, too.

Seems to be consistently busy and the food is consistently excellent for me.

Not eating out as much these days as my schedule, and my intermittent stabs at dieting dictate otherwise, but somehow my visits to Katy's continue at the same pace - the noodles call me.

Has anyone taken out from Katy's Westmont to eat at home? I'm specifically interested in how well the beef noodle soup and pork pancake travel.
It's harder to get out without getting a sitter and we really have a taste for this stuff.

Eric wrote:Has anyone taken out from Katy's Westmont to eat at home? I'm specifically interested in how well the beef noodle soup and pork pancake travel.
It's harder to get out without getting a sitter and we really have a taste for this stuff.

I have gotten noodle soups to go and they pack the noodles and broth separately.

The noodles did cool a bit but the piping hot broth perked them right up.

I have ordered the beef noodle soup carry out, and I must say it does travel well....my brother even ordered it carryout...drove it out to LaPorte, Indiana, and reheated quite nicely. I recommend it.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Had lunch today at Katy's with a friend who'd never been there before and it was as good as usual (he enjoyed it, as well). Dan Dan broth was fiery. Onion pancake with pork was pleasantly dense with a perfect amount of ginger. Fried dumplings were crispy, piping hot and really flavorful. I do wish that one could get water at Katy's without having to buy a bottle (requests for a cup of tap water were refused) but other than that, this place continues to scratch the itch for me the 1-2 times a year I hit it.

=R=

At the Naperville location, we were served water without having to request any.