This place is the real deal. Agree that the tendon's better than LSC's, Sichuan string beans are fantastic, as is the boiled beef. A couple of things are just so so, but the twice-cooked fish is ridiculous. Every time we order it, I have to force myself to stop eating it before I finish the whole plate myself. (And it's a huge portion.)

The waitress will try to steer you toward the Kung Pao Chicken side of things until you (politely) tell her off in Mandarin -- then she's actually quite sweet.

P.S. Ronnie, I don't think those are mung bean noodles in your photo. Maybe liang mian?

ParkLaBrea wrote:Hey Ronnie Suburban:

Just got back from Asian Bistro, and had a delightful chat with "Janie" (I believe that was her name). Anyway, she saw that I was ordering some appetizers that "we Chinese like", and pointed me toward the special, untranslated menu....reading though each and every appetizer on the list! SHe was so enthused for me to try everything....

She says you are working your way through this menu as well, and was wondering if perhaps you may have attempted to translate it....she says she would like to, but her English is not good enough..

Anyway, what a delightful lady...I asked her if she was the owner and she replied "No, I just work here...the CUSTOMERS are the ownerss." Love it!

LOL, not me. I can barely read english but I love Asian Bistro and it's been far too long since my last visit. I need to get back there asap.

cilantro wrote:P.S. Ronnie, I don't think those are mung bean noodles in your photo. Maybe liang mian?

Could be. That shot was taken a while back and I cannot remember for sure. I did take the description directly from their menu, though, which is why I added the "(sic)" next to the caption. When I return, which I plan to do very soon, I will try to get clarification.

=R=

Hi,

If anyone can get a copy of this menu, I know several people who might help.

Regards,

cilantro wrote:The waitress will try to steer you toward the Kung Pao Chicken side of things until you (politely) tell her off in Mandarin -- then she's actually quite sweet.

So what's Mandarin, for, "Really? I stopped eating that round-eyes crap years ago!"

Since the strongest negative review was somebody who had it catered to their office....

I don't think anybody pointed out that, at least in my experience, catered food often seems terrible compared to food in the restaurant. This may be because it is probably serveral hours old, but in the resturant is fresh out of the pan. Perhaps making it in large quantities causes problems too.

--Carey

Tried Asain Bistro for the first time last night, via takeout for the family. La Tsi Chicken was still crunchy with the tingling numb heat. I can still feel the numbing this morning. I liked this better than LSC's dry chili chicken, more balanced with hits of garlic and ginger. Salt and pepper squid was tasty though mild, and this dish never holds up to travel very well. The Szechaun string beans were perfect, with the hits of pork a nice touch.

In all very worth the trip to this NW suburbanite. I'll be back.

Oh, and I would assume that the negative review about the office catering would have more to do with the ordering. Stick to the Szechuan menu, which I imagine would be tough for a whole office unless you are in Szechaun, or you worked at the local chapter office of the chile-head society.

P.S. Thanks, Eddie, for the reccomendation!

For my money, this place is putting out the best Sichuan food in Chicagoland. Next time, try the Sichuan pickles, twice-cooked fish, or boiled beef (or fish).

Help. Where do I find the boiled beef on this menu?

Or do I need to ask for the Chinese menu?

Also, while I enjoyed the chicken, it wasn't like LSC's chicken crack, but more like a better version of the dry chili chicken, missing the sweet notes and probably a couple of chilis (the milder ones). My guess is Tony at LSC invented his dish 3 chili dish, or is it a common Szechuan dish?

On the right menu bar, if you click on the four chinese characters (which read Chinese Menu), you'll see two pages all in Chinese. The very first dish in the upper-left corner of the second page ought to be it. It's just a bit hard to make out, but that should be your dish.

mtgl wrote:On the right menu bar, if you click on the four chinese characters (which read Chinese Menu), you'll see two pages all in Chinese. The very first dish in the upper-left corner of the second page ought to be it. It's just a bit hard to make out, but that should be your dish.

Right on, but I think it's also there on the English-language menu, which is much more extensive than what's online. Be prepared to defend your choice ("It's too spicy, you won't like it, I don't know why we even make it, etc.")

MelT wrote:Also, while I enjoyed the chicken, it wasn't like LSC's chicken crack, but more like a better version of the dry chili chicken, missing the sweet notes and probably a couple of chilis (the milder ones). My guess is Tony at LSC invented his dish 3 chili dish, or is it a common Szechuan dish?

Yes, I believe that it is an original creation, though similar to other dishes.

I tried Asian Bistro this week after refusing to go to Yu's after seeing all the negative reviews. We were going shopping in Schaumburg and this place was only a few minutes past Woodfield. It's in a strip mall, and I almost didn't see it because part of the sign is out.


My friend spoke Mandarin when we walked in, so we were given Chinese menus. You can see the menu here as well:
http://www.asianbistro.biz/%E4%B8%AD%E6 ... C%E5%96%AE

In general, I felt the food was on the oily side, but well spiced and not Americanized, which I appreciated. Like Ronnie, some bites were pretty spicy and made my eyes water.

We first ordered the fu qi fei pian, which was a cold appetizer of sliced beef and what we think is tripe. On the Chinese menu, it's the 1st column, 2nd item from the top. Really nice mix of flavors with the cilantro topping.


We also had the dan dan noodles, which I have had a lot before. Their version was as good as any other place.


For our entree we ordered the shui zhu yu pian, which I thought was the star. It was a saucy and spicy fish and vegetables dish. The fish was boneless pieces, and very very tender. Probably sprinked with corn starch prior to cooking. It's also large, definitely good for sharing. If you take this home and eat it as leftovers, it's spicier on the second tasting, particularly the vegetables.


All in all, I was very pleased with the meal. Definitely will visit again.

Since it's been over a year since anyone's reported on this place, I just wanted to say that they are still delivering the goods. You can order dumbed down Americanized Chinese if you'd like, but when I order, I specify that I want it SzeChuan spicy and they comply (at first they resist but you have to stand your ground).

Last night, my family ordered 2 orders of spicy wonton, beef fried rice, SzeChuan spicy prawns, don don noodles, and chive pancakes. Everything was fantastic. My wife is not really a fan of Asian cuisine (being extremely adverse to onions). Everything last night was on the money. It took little time for my wife and I to enjoy the spicy prawns with shell still on. We're not used to eating the shell,but were told that holds the flavor in while cooking. We had a revelation that the shell actually enhances the flavor of the prawn within. They were sooooooo good.

I hope LTH is still supporting this place and just not posting. They are, by far, the best place to go for authentic Szechuan in the NW suburbs.

Seamus wrote:Since it's been over a year since anyone's reported on this place, I just wanted to say that they are still delivering the goods. You can order dumbed down Americanized Chinese if you'd like, but when I order, I specify that I want it SzeChuan spicy and they comply (at first they resist but you have to stand your ground).

Last night, my family ordered 2 orders of spicy wonton, beef fried rice, SzeChuan spicy prawns, don don noodles, and chive pancakes. Everything was fantastic. My wife is not really a fan of Asian cuisine (being extremely adverse to onions). Everything last night was on the money. It took little time for my wife and I to enjoy the spicy prawns with shell still on. We're not used to eating the shell,but were told that holds the flavor in while cooking. We had a revelation that the shell actually enhances the flavor of the prawn within. They were sooooooo good.

I hope LTH is still supporting this place and just not posting. They are, by far, the best place to go for authentic Szechuan in the NW suburbs.

Your post reminds me, shamefully so, that it's been waaaay too long since I visited Asian Bistro (a couple of years at least). I need to get back out there asap. Thanks, for the reminder.

=R=

I was there not long ago, but refrained from posting a review because I was, at the same time posting a Guess the Restaurant with a pic of the big fish on the wall. It's the only place in the burbs I've found with a respectable Kung Pao, but there's lots of other good things there too.

Lunch outing, anyone?

JoelF wrote:I was there not long ago, but refrained from posting a review because I was, at the same time posting a Guess the Restaurant with a pic of the big fish on the wall. It's the only place in the burbs I've found with a respectable Kung Pao, but there's lots of other good things there too.

Lunch outing, anyone?

I'd be in, as long as the timing worked out.

=R=

I still go fairly regularly. I have a buddy that's addicted to their hot pot, so we go once every couple months and get hot pot with squid, chinese spinach, napa, and whatever else..... and we usually can't avoid ordering the la tsi chicken and the szechuan green beans.

the food is always spot-on, and we know the staff now, so we always get treated great.

Been thinking of this place often, but haven't been in some time either. Iirc the la tsi chicken and szechuan green beans (my go to's) were only available for dinner. Anyone know if this is the case?

ronnie_suburban wrote:

JoelF wrote:I was there not long ago, but refrained from posting a review because I was, at the same time posting a Guess the Restaurant with a pic of the big fish on the wall. It's the only place in the burbs I've found with a respectable Kung Pao, but there's lots of other good things there too.

Lunch outing, anyone?

I'd be in, as long as the timing worked out.

=R=

Same here!

stevez wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

JoelF wrote:I was there not long ago, but refrained from posting a review because I was, at the same time posting a Guess the Restaurant with a pic of the big fish on the wall. It's the only place in the burbs I've found with a respectable Kung Pao, but there's lots of other good things there too.

Lunch outing, anyone?

I'd be in, as long as the timing worked out.

=R=

Same here!

Working nearby 2-3 days per week and would love to join you--if you give me a week's notice, I can make sure I plan to be out there the day you go

JoelF wrote:Lunch outing, anyone?

Sounds like the creation of the LTH Northwest Lunch Group

Seamus wrote:I hope LTH is still supporting this place and just not posting. They are, by far, the best place to go for authentic Szechuan in the NW suburbs.

I'm there about once a month and I agree with you.

To add to the above recommendations: Boiled fish, lamb with cumin, la zi chicken, Sichuan string beans, ma po tofu with fish, homestyle tofu, tendon with chili sauce (more so than w. five spice), Chengdu dumplings, Sichuan pickles, fish flavor eggplant all excellent. My favorite dish there is still the twice-cooked fish.

You know, a while back I felt like this place could be a very deserving GNR but until now, there's been no discussion about it over the past year, so I doubt it could happen this time around. Who knows, though? Maybe sometime in the future . . .

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:
Spicy Munbean (sic) Noodles Salad
I loved these noodles which were pretty darned spicy and also had a touch of garlic.  There was also a terrific basil aroma (via fried basil leaves), which took the dish to an entirely different level.

ronnie_suburban wrote:

cilantro wrote:P.S. Ronnie, I don't think those are mung bean noodles in your photo. Maybe liang mian?

Could be.  That shot was taken a while back and I cannot remember for sure.  I did take the description directly from their menu, though, which is why I added the "(sic)" next to the caption.  When I return, which I plan to do very soon, I will try to get clarification.

=R=

I think I can clear up this mystery. Ronnie's photo appears on Asian Bistro's web menu Classical Snacks page captioned as ChengDu Spicy Noodle 成都涼面, which seems to correlate with menu item 成都涼麵 505 Chengdu Liang Mein 5.95, except for the last chinese character, which, in the picture caption, appears to be a weight scale that also appears within the last character of the menu item

Neither is similar to the "munbean" noodle items:

成都涼粉 413
Chengdu Spicy Munbean Noodles Salad 5.95
-------------------
川北涼粉 414
Spicy Munbean Noodles Salad 5.95

Ok, since no one has put a plan out there, anyone available on Thursday? If a few chime in here, I'll put it on the event board...otherwise, pretty open next week...

boudreaulicious wrote:Ok, since no one has put a plan out there, anyone available on Thursday? If a few chime in here, I'll put it on the event board...otherwise, pretty open next week...

I'm there. Just need to bail out on my 1PM daily meeting.

ronnie_suburban wrote:You know, a while back I felt like this place could be a very deserving GNR but until now, there's been no discussion about it over the past year, so I doubt it could happen this time around. Who knows, though? Maybe sometime in the future . . .

I feel the same way, but it's kind of out of the way for most people and not much of a forum favorite. Plus, I'm too lazy to write a nomination....

For folks who are there for lunch -- order from the regular menu, not the lunch menu. In fact, I think the best time to eat here is dinner (especially on Saturdays, with hotel shuttles constantly dropping off dozens of Chinese tourists).

imsscott wrote:I think I can clear up this mystery. Ronnie's photo appears on Asian Bistro's web menu Classical Snacks page captioned as ChengDu Spicy Noodle 成都涼面, which seems to correlate with menu item 成都涼麵 505 Chengdu Liang Mein 5.95, except for the last chinese character, which, in the picture caption, appears to be a weight scale that also appears within the last character of the menu item

Those both say the same thing. 面 is the simplified character for 麵 (miàn).

JoelF wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Ok, since no one has put a plan out there, anyone available on Thursday? If a few chime in here, I'll put it on the event board...otherwise, pretty open next week...

I'm there. Just need to bail out on my 1PM daily meeting.

No can do this week.

=R=

In any case, if you want this:


Order this:

成都涼麵 505 Chengdu Liang Mein

JoelF wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:Ok, since no one has put a plan out there, anyone available on Thursday? If a few chime in here, I'll put it on the event board...otherwise, pretty open next week...

I'm there. Just need to bail out on my 1PM daily meeting.

Uh, babybabybabybabymaybe next week? (Are we not hungry men? We are devouring.)

Just got called to another meeting over lunch on Thursday.

yet another website without days/hours they're open...ugh!!!
Next week I can do Monday (not sure if they're open), Thursday or an early lunch on Friday (would have to be done by 1:00).

Anyone else?