I'm a newcomer to the Sprin World party, but fwiw -

The "service" for our 80.00 meal was frightful if one were to expect "full" service. I don't care so much about service in jointz. Spring World is definitely a joint, imo. I went to the desk to place some of our orders, and the extent of the server lady was basically walking by a few times, and asking "You ready?" We asked for new plates after our apps, water refills, tea, and the check. If we hadn't we wouldn't have gotten any of those things. No problem for me at all. If they have the shredded chicken, and yunnanese ribs on offer all of the time, they could probably have less service and I'd still go back. That's just me tho.

G Wiv wrote:

gooseberry wrote:This was my experience as well. Service was possibly the worst, rude and annoying.

I've always found Spring World's service matter of fact, not friendly or interactive, but efficient. Lunch yesterday water was brought without asking, tea refilled, extra napkins, chili oil etc. I actually thought it a high level of service for a $4.95 lunch.

Enjoy,
Gary

I'm on the same page as Gary here. Mrs. Trpt and I went for the third time for lunch today. I am in the throes of new love, and at $11.48 for two (not including tip) I have a fair level of tolerance for so-so service. Which it what it was, "matter of fact" nails it pretty much. We were in and out in about thirty minutes for lunch which is OK by me. I had the kung pao chicken and szechuan tofu. Mrs. had her ubiquitous Mongolian beef which was a stellar version. I had forgotten how much I like the hot and sour soup. For lunch I'm not even thinking about any other place in Chinatown right now. I know this period of liminence won't last forever but I'm enjoying it in the now. I may go with some folks from work tomorrow.

What's with everyone complaining about service? Maybe I'm used to eating at "ethnic" joints where service is more relaxed, but as long as I get what I ordered I'm fine. I don't expect a foot massage with my kung pao chicken. At some of these places you need to be a bit outgoing and definitely not shy to get your server's attention. But what's wrong with that?

Habibi wrote:What's with everyone complaining about service? Maybe I'm used to eating at "ethnic" joints where service is more relaxed, but as long as I get what I ordered I'm fine. I don't expect a foot massage with my kung pao chicken. At some of these places you need to be a bit outgoing and definitely not shy to get your server's attention. But what's wrong with that?

Relaxed service is one thing, non-existent service is another. Where do I begin: we sat for 10-15 minutes without anyone stopping by . . . no water, nothing. We kept trying to flag someone down without luck. Two different members of the waitstaff kept acknowledging us with a nod of the head when we waved, but never came over and kept serving other customers. We asked for water twice and were given it the third time, well after the food was delivered, and never received a refill despite asking. We asked for an extra napkin after one fell on the floor and it came when we were just about done eating. I suppose I could have waltzed into the kitchen and helped myself, but that's not me. At many ethnic restaurants where I'm not putting down big bucks, I don't expect that much. But I'm wondering how many people would have been accepting of the service I received Sunday evening.

I will return to Spring World because it's inexpensive, I love good Chinese food and some of the dishes described by others really interest me. But if this meal had been at one of the more expensive restaurants in the city, there is no way I would even consider giving them a second chance.

I really don't see it here. Outside of the price, nothing I've eaten here is excellent or wonderful. I think most are swayed by their love of the price over the quality on the plate, which for me has never been anything but decent to good @ best.

Jazzfood wrote:I really don't see it here. Outside of the price, nothing I've eaten here is excellent or wonderful. I think most are swayed by their love of the price over the quality on the plate, which for me has never been anything but decent to good @ best.

I can appreciate that as I tend to like value plays, but I will say this:

After our one meal there, the wife was saying that the sesame chicken, and the chow fun was kinda blah. I completely agreed. We both agreed that maybe places like LSC and Spring World are not the places to try your luck at that kinda stuff. I don't know if I'd term it Ameri-Chinese stuff? We both, however found the shredded chicken with vinegar outstanding. Others at the table absolutely LOVED the spicy pig's tongue, and the yunannese fried ribs caused some elbows to fly. I don't know that I personally would go back and be looking to get things like sweet/sour chicken, kung pao, or general tso's chicken. I'm not saying that they would be bad, I'm just saying it seems like that kinda stuff might not be my cup of tea there. Especially since I tried the chicken w/ vinegar, the ribs, and the tongue. While the chow fun was a decent bargain at 6.95, I don't think the sesame chicken was any deal at all for 9.95 or whatever it was. I don't believe the ribs could be considered cheap either because of the bone to meat ratio we got. The shredded chicken, and tongue were small appetizer plates in the 5.00 range. Not a bargain for the size, but more a bargain for size and flavor, IMO.

There is a world of difference between Spring World's Ameri-Chinese lunch offerings (the cheap stuff) and their authentic Yunnanese and Szechuan menu. With regard to the latter, Spring World is one of my favorite restaurants in Chinatown, regardless of price point.

G Wiv (4/12/10) wrote:I do not like Spring World's hot and sour soup, at least the version that comes with the $4.95 pick two lunch, and do like their mapo tofu and kung pao chicken, my two standard colum A and B lunch items.

G Wiv (7/21/09) wrote:The Kung Pao Chicken/Szechuan Style Tofu combo is one of my favorite lunches in the city, the fact its $3.95 is icing on the cake.

G Wiv (7/20/09) wrote:Spring World's $3.95 lunch remains one of the best lunch deals in all of Chicagoland. Went with my standard one from column A, one from column B Kung Pao Chicken/Szechuan Style Tofu, includes mediocre hot and sour soup, tea and a generous portion of rice.

G Wiv (9/28/08) wrote:Spring world is no one trick pony, but the $3.95 lunch is one of the best, if not the best, value for flavor deals in Chicago.

Kung Pao Chicken, MaPo Tofu w/white rice.

I think that's actually the sautéed tofu (B9), not mapo (or Szechuan style—B2).

G Wiv (11/15/07) wrote:Much as I like the regular menu items at Spring World, I have to go with HdA on this one, $3.95 for kung pao chicken, maybe the best in the city, and Szechuan style tofu makes for a flavor packed and unrealisticly inexpensive lunch.

G Wiv (5/9/05) wrote:Spring World ($3.95)
Spring World's combination lunch menu, one of the best lunch deals in Chicago, offers one-from-column A, one-from-column B for $3.95 with tea, rice and, depending on the day, fair to good hot and sour soup.

My typical combo is, maybe the best version in Chicago, kung pao chicken and ma pa tofu, Spring World's ma pa tofu contains ground pork, both served in generous portions. As an added bonus, Spring World's table chili oil is quite good.

G Wiv (8/18/04) wrote:I like the Ma Pa Tofu at Spring World, especially on the combination lunch menu. Spring World's lunch menu, one of the best lunch deals in Chicago, offers one-from-column A, one-from-column B for $3.95 with tea, rice and, depending on the day, fair to good hot and sour soup.

My typical combo is kung pao chicken and ma pa tofu, both served in generous portions.

I'm not sure why but I'm beginning to get the feeling Gary likes the kung pao chicken and mapo tofu combination at Spring World. I've taken advantage of the $3.95 lunch special dozens of times and also like those two dishes but rarely order them together. I think I've tried every dish on that menu (with the exception of the winter melon which is never available; it has become a running joke with our waitress) and would like to mention some favorites and favorite combinations.



I haven't had lunch at Spring World since the price increase. Am I correct in assuming the selection is the same?

Here's the kung pao chicken and mapo tofu (A5/B2).



Two good dishes that, to me, don't do well together on the same plate. I find that each has a distinct hot/sweet/spicy profile that doesn't enhance the other. I prefer to pair the kung pao chicken with a more neutral partner. Here's a combination I find more harmonious: kung pao chicken with stir fried bok choy (A5/B3).



The bok choy is usually well prepared. Here it is paired with pork and black fungus (A9/B3), a great plate.



If I want tofu with my kung pao chicken, I usually order the blander sautéed tofu with mushroom (A5/B9).



Incidentally, that's a particularly poor rendition of kung pao chicken above. It's redder, blander and sweeter; unfortunately this seems to be the trend recently.

Another good spicy chicken dish to consider is chicken with hot pepper (A6), although I think they have begun using a different fermented chili that I don't like as much.

My favorite combination is one that El Panzone put together and now orders frequently. Pork with black fungus is one of the better lunch dishes and there's no better partner for it than the mixed trio (A9/B4).



Mixed trio is a cold salad of cellophane noodles, usually with bean sprouts, carrot and scallion, dressed with spicy oil heavy with red chili and Szechuan pepper. The composition and execution of both these dishes can vary considerably from day to day but they're almost always very good and even better together. Recently they have taken to serving the fungus in larger pieces and supplementing the dish with other vegetables such as bamboo shoots (not necessarily an improvement).



Almost regardless of what you order, Spring World's lunch special is an excellent deal. With careful ordering (and maybe a bit of luck) it can also be an excellent meal.

Spring World
2109 S China Pl
Chicago
312-326-9966

You guys are making me so hungry with this stuff! I read some posts here about Spring World and went there for a late lunch on Sunday (or was it Saturday?). It was fantastic! Loved it--got the spicy ribs, the Don Don noodles, and the garlic eggplant. Can't wait to go back.

Regards to service, I found it reasonably friendly and the server (she seemed to be, perhaps the owner?) was quite helpful to me in making my selections. I loved the place.

Spring World is the picky grandmother's favorite for spicy. We tried double Li several times, and she thought it inconsistent.

Our server is always nice, and remembers regulars.

Rene G wrote:I haven't had lunch at Spring World since the price increase. Am I correct in assuming the selection is the same?

Yes, menu is the same, they simply wrote over the price with red magic marker. Menu pictured below the marker has smudged off, the others Spring World lunch menus were clearly marked with the price increase.

Spring World lunch menu

Rene G wrote:I'm not sure why but I'm beginning to get the feeling Gary likes the kung pao chicken and mapo tofu combination at Spring World.

It would seem so. Though I will most likely stick with Kung Pao Chicken (A5) and Tofu in Szechwan Style (B2), El P's Pork with black fungus (A9) and Mixed trio (B4) sounds a delicious combo.

Enjoy,
Gary

We can agree to disagree. Service trumps food and price in my book. I don't see the logic that I should put up with crap, rude service because the food might be alright to decent and/or cheap. I go out to eat occasionally, good/bad service is what make me remember a place. After all, if I want to be verbally abused at mealtime, I could have dinner with some family members, lol.

Spring World is a place that would never be my first choice in Chinatown, but when someone else suggests it, more times than not I'll agree to go if I can't come up with a better idea. Such was the case recently when I found myself there for lunch with a few other LTHrs.

I found a couple appetizer platters that we ordered from the cold bar to be of mixed quality and, as almost everyone else has mentioned, a good deal on price. We had a couple different plates, but I favored this one, which consisted of Szechwan beef and maw, pig ear and a chopped long bean salad .

Spring World Appetizer Platter


Also an order of Chengdu Dumplings which I thought were under flavored and were a real miss on this occasion.

Spring World Chengdu Dumplings


I got one of the lunch menu combos. Mine consisted of Twice Cooked Pork and Tofu in Szechwan Style. Of course, the much praised/panned Hot and Sour Soup came as part of the deal. I really don't like SW's hot and sour soup. To me it's over thickened with corn starch and one-note in it's delivery. It's always out of balance to my tastes. The Twice Cooked Pork fared better, and certainly was better prepared than the sweet kung pao chicken that my table mates ordered. It was far from the best version of the dish I've ever had, but at least the pork was good, if a bit on the oily side.

Spring World Hot and Sour Soup


Spring World Twice Cooked Pork and Tofu in Szechwan Style


All in all, it was a perfectly acceptable meal at one of Chinatown's most loved 2nd tier restaurants. Although this post might sound negative, I can see the charm in this place...especially for those who value a good deal. I don't go there with the expectations of anything but decent food and spartan service and I've never been disappointed.

stevez wrote:I got one of the lunch menu combos. Mine consisted of Twice Cooked Pork and Tofu in Szechwan Style. Of course, the much praised/panned Hot and Sour Soup came as part of the deal. I really don't like SW's hot and sour soup. To me it's over thickened with corn starch and one-note in it's delivery. It's always out of balance to my tastes. The Twice Cooked Pork fared better, and certainly was better prepared than the sweet kung pao chicken that my table mates ordered. It was far from the best version of the dish I've ever had, but at least the pork was good, if a bit on the oily side.

Spring World Hot and Sour Soup


Spring World Twice Cooked Pork and Tofu in Szechwan Style


All in all, it was a perfectly acceptable meal at one of Chinatown's most loved 2nd tier restaurants. Although this post might sound negative, I can see the charm in this place...especially for those who value a good deal. I don't go there with the expectations of anything but decent food and spartan service and I've never been disappointed.

You're killing me with the photos: I had the twice-cooked pork/Szechuan tofu combo on Friday, and they knocked it out of the park. It ws the best rendition of the pork I have yet had there, a smokey pork taste, good chewiness, and the tofu matched it nicely. It's going to take a good while before I get tired of it. In the current economic situation, $11.38 for two (plus tip) make it irresistable.

Checked out the Spring World lunch special on the way to Midway yesterday afternoon.

The hot & sour soup was very vinegary (a plus for my mom, who always asks for more vinegar), and not too cornstarch-thickened. We definitely enjoyed it, but prefer the Moon Palace version if we're craving hot & sour.

I got the GWiv Combo of Kung Pao Chicken and Tofu Szechwan Style (is there really a Ma Po Tofu option as well?), and my mom got the Chicken with Hot Pepper and the Stir Fried Bok Choy.

Both chicken dishes had nice wok char. I enjoyed the flavors of the tofu dish, especially when enhanced with the table chiles. The stir-fried bok choy was excellent, with deep flavor from dried shrimp and nice ginger high notes. The chicken with hot pepper was stir fried with some very tasty lightly pickled chunks of cucumber, giving the whole dish a slight vinegar tang.

All in all, an excellent lunch. We'll definitely be returning (as soon as lunch in Chinatown fits in our schedules).

Another lovely dinner last night at Spring World. What continues to amaze me is the kitchen's ability to quickly put out fresh, hot food. Even though there were a few large parties that had just ordered, our food starting arriving about five minutes after we'd ordered and I'd say we had all four dishes within about twelve minutes.

My problem, if you want to call it that, with Spring World is that I like so many things on the menu that I have trouble ordering new dishes, despite the fact that we've found few misses and that there are so many enticing dishes. RAB convinced me to try two new dishes.

We started with the "honestyle tofu" from the snacks section of the menu. Really soft, delicate tofu topped with great flavors: chili oil, garlic, pickled veggies, crunchy soybeans, and who knows what else. A great dish, and at $4, a good starter for our little party of two.

RAB and I enjoyed the spicy pig's tongue for a second time. While I wasn't as blown away as I was the first time, it was quite good. I'm not sure this is a great appetizer for two people, though, as it is a large portion and we do have leftovers.

Baby chicken with ginger wasn't as spicy or gingery as we'd remembered it. I thought it was a bit salty, but RAB disagreed. Neither of us liked it as much as we had previously, but still thought it was a tasty dish. The chicken, unlike with so many Chinese chicken dishes, was super juicy. There wasn't a dry morsel on the plate.

Finally, we tried the boiled pork dish for the first time. The server, who we don't think we'd had before, really didn't want us to order it. She told us to order boiled beef, instead, or a fish dish. We asked her why, having had great luck at Spring World with pork dishes. She was struggling to communicate and snagged a coworker, who explained that the pork is fatty. RAB asked if it is like the twice cooked pork dish, with pork belly? He was told it was, and we insisted that we'd had that pork before and that we'd like it. And, boy, we were glad we did. A giant bowl of steaming, tender, spicy pork arrived. Only a bit of green in the dish, from celery and leeks. While I loved the pork, veggies, and various toppings (raw garlic, chilies, etc.), I wasn't head over heels about the sauce, which itself was fairly nondescript and seemed to be thickened with corn starch. Even so, this dish was a winner, and I can't wait to enjoy the leftovers, as this was a quite generous portion for $10.

White rice continues to be mediocre, dry and a bit clumpy. But with the great flavors, piping hot food, fast service, and fair prices, I don't tend to mind much.

Ronna

Stop one of our GNR crawl today was Spring World. Kind of torn on this one, the food was really good, and interesting, the service was pretty bad as mentioned by others upthread. Also no lunch specials offered today for some odd reason(kind of lame imho). No problems getting water or menus(plus I had my cooler full o' beer so i was ok). Ordering was interesting as well, I didnt get the version of a dish i wanted, server seemed annoyed at any questions from me about the menu. All good im not there to make buddies. After we ordered i saw a table with a different menu than we had been given, my bad for not asking for the Chinese menu at first. So I had my wife ask for the chinese menu and we were handed back the same menus we ordered from. gave up at that point. My wife was also perterbed no tea was brought to the table or ever offered. Not sure what the problem was as I am a pretty polite and gregarious fellow and dont often have issues with servers even in ethnic restaurants where there may be a language barrier(the folks @ SSGS as an example).

First out was the rice noodles shanghai style(I wanted/ordered yunan style, but couldnt get the server to understand I guess). Really nice bowl of noodles in a spicy broth, topped with ground pork if i was to guess, and some greens mixed in. A really nice dish.



Next out was a pan fride rice noodles with dry beef. Another very good dish. Beef was flavorfull and cooked well(my daughter snarfed most of the beef). Noodles were supple and really good. Im a big fan of pan fried rice noodles and these hit the spot.



Next dish out was a cold chicken salad dish called: "Unusual seasonings chicken" on the menu. Not bad but not great, pretty one dimensional.



Last dish out was the chengdu dumpling, also pretty darn good, and packing some heat. I didnt get a good picture.

Overall it was about $23 for the 4 dishes, not bad, and some leftovers. Food was good enough for me to want to come back & try some more items bad service and all.

Hit Spring World again last night for a pre concert quick dinner. Love the BYOB, like the food, service was a litle better this time.

Place was empty, we were the only folks eating there, and somehow I got the same person who waited on me last week. I did get to see the green chinese menu and tried to order some soupdumplings off of it, but was told they were out. Really disappointed as it looked like a dumpling Tony B had on one of his trips to China, a dumpling filled with hot soup/broth. If any one has tried these Id be interested to hear how they are, or are what I was thinking they are.

Before I get ripped for ordering the "wrong things".... I was with a buddy who wanted to not stray to far from the basics he knows. it is what it is.

pan fried rice noodles with dry beef: I like this dish and order it pretty much everywhere I go. Spring Worlds version is ok, noodles are not crisp enough, and they skimp on the beef.

scallion cake appetizer: nothing great

beef fried rice: actually a pretty solid version

cheng du dumplings: something they do pretty good, I mentioned before I like their filling.

rice noodles Yunan style(I got the dish I ordered this time so I guess there was some progress): really nice dish, a little spice in the broth, some greens, nice noodles, etc. I think I prefer the version I got last time with the ground pork on top.

Overall a pretty filling & good pre concert dinner for $30.

Continued GNR-quality lunch specials at Spring World today; had to ask for the menus but then they were friendly and accommodating and pleased we ordered from the top section. I can't think of a place that does thin pork belly better, and the hot and sour soup was tastier than remembered. Only knock is the persistent use of a perfumed dish detergent they use that doesn't totally rinse from the plastic cups and small plates (ceramics come out fine).

I thought I'd update this thread. Had lunch at Spring World the other day. FYI, the lunch special is now $4.95...$5.95 if you pick from section III. I did have to ask for the lunch special menu. I was going to order the shredded chicken in vinegar and garlic eggplant, as earlier recommended. These menu items, however, have been discontinued. So I went with the Kung Pao Chicken and Tofu Szechwan Style. The chicken was good, the tofu excellent. I loved the hot and sour soup that came with the lunch...who knew? I've got to learn how to make that stuff!

Sad to report-
that what had for me, once been the best Lunch Deal around,
is no more!


Stopped in yesterday afternoon for the Lunch Special- went through the usual charade of
requesting the "Lunch Special Menu" after the waiter approached w/
the standard menus in hand....and we were told that there is no more Lunch Special.
"You mean just not today?" I asked......thinking maybe a Friday afternoon caused an
exclusion in their definition of "special".....and was told- no-
The Owner decided "no more" Lunch Special.

Like the song said- "another one bites the dust".......
Sadly- we went to BBQ King House down the Mall- for what was our singularly WORST interpretation
of Ma Po Tofu as well as a gooey noodle w/ Shredded Duck/Chicken & BBQ Pork- that was equally unenjoyable.
(Should gone to Tony's New Place......Shoulda......Woulda......)

The last few times I ate at my beloved Spring World, I was disappointed. Now I heard from someone, who heard from someone, that the owner died and the chef is working at a place on Wentworth. Is there any truth to this?

Just by glancing through the window when in Chinatown, it seems their business is down. It was empty the last two times I walked past.

Despite the title of the thread, Kevin Pang in Tuesday's Stew reports that Spring World is now Lao Yunnan, part of Tony Hu's ever-expanding Chinatown empire.

In case Tony reads this thread, here's a vote to keep the fish-tofu-pickled vegetable dish on the new menu.

Ronna

If the house shredded chicken in spicy vinegar and the cumin spiked yunnanese ribs are gone, a big part of the lure of Chinatown has died in my heart.

I'm also pleased to report that the charred hulk of the former Penang (Wentworth and Cermak) will reopen as Lao En Fuego.

/nottrue

seebee wrote:If the house shredded chicken in spicy vinegar and the cumin spiked yunnanese ribs are gone, a big part of the lure of Chinatown has died in my heart.

They're still on the menu right now, and the current staff said it'll be at least a month before the full transition. Everything was as good as ever yesterday - chef's crispy duck, best twice-cooked pork in Chinatown for my money, Beijing noodle, cold sesame noodle, beef ("ham") and turnip cake, Chengdu dumplings blanketed in fresh chopped garlic and peppercorns. Signage hasn't changed as of right now; the cold sections of the menu were papered over, but they had a fully stocked cold bar, with many of the same items I always enjoyed there and at the related Tao Ran Ju (RIP per reports, Yelp hasn't noticed yet, and there was still some kind of activity in there when I walked past). I enjoyed running into a fellow LTHer enjoying the beautiful day under the eaves.

Great news, thank you for the update. Think a trip is in order soon to make sure I get my fill.

So Lao Yunan and Lao Hunan are two different places? Interesting.

I like enterprising people, though I hope some Mom and Pops will remain that we don't consider this area Lao Chinatown.

Regards,