A bunch of us had lunch at Katy's today, in part to sample some of the new menu items, and in part to present them with their GNR renewal certificate. In our group were several Katy's veterans and a couple of first time diners. We split our order between some old standbys and a decent sample of new items. Overall, this lunch rocked! Katy's was really on today. Despite have a full house as well as take out orders when we arrived, they didn't miss a beat. All of our food was prepared perfectly. In the approximate order the food came to the table we had:

Katy's Pickled Cabbage W/ Fish Fillet Noodle Soup


This is one of the new menu items. Unlike much of the other food at Katy's, this wasn't spicy at all, but instead had a nice ginger taste to the broth set off by the slightly piquant taste of the pickled cabbage. This was a real highlight, and an item that will probably find its way into my regular rotation. There are also beef, pork, lamb and tofu versions of this soup.

Next up, were a couple of old standbys that were as good as ever today.

Katy's Onion Pancake W/ Pork


Katy's Stir Fired Noodles with Dry Chili


Katy's Fish & Chive Dumplings


Another new item. These were great, but I couldn't really distinguish that much of a difference between these and the pork and chive dumplings I usually get. I'd order these again, though.

Katy's Dan Dan Noodles


The numbing effect of Szechuan peppercorns was on full display in this dish. Another classic preparation that didn't disappoint.

Last up were Katy's version of Xao Long Bao, which they call "Juicy Steamed Buns", but asking for Xao Long Bao will insure that you get the right thing.

Katy's Xao Long Bao




These were excellent, and among the best in town. While the wrappers are not the translucent delicate dough sported by the very best examples of XLB, they are not the thick doughy version you so often see around town, either. They are somewhere in the middle, leaning toward the thin and delicate side. There was plenty of liquid inside as well. If you're a XLB lover, these are worthy of checking out.

After lunch, we presented the GNR plaque to Mr. Red Shirt, resplendent in grey and fleece.



He was happy to once again receive the GNR Award and shared the fact that there will soon be a third Katy's. They are planing on opening a branch in Oak Park near Lake and Ridgeland. Opening date is scheduled for sometime in March. This is great news for those of us who have to travel great distances to get to Westmont. I can see my Katy's visits doubling or tripling once this new location opens.

stevez wrote:A bunch of us had lunch at Katy's today, in part to sample some of the new menu items, and in part to present them with their GNR renewal certificate. In our group were several Katy's veterans and a couple of first time diners. We split our order between some old standbys and a decent sample of new items. Overall, this lunch rocked! Katy's was really on today. Despite have a full house as well as take out orders when we arrived, they didn't miss a beat. All of our food was prepared perfectly. In the approximate order the food came to the table we had:

Katy's Pickled Cabbage W/ Fish Fillet Noodle Soup


This is one of the new menu items. Unlike much of the other food at Katy's, this wasn't spicy at all, but instead had a nice ginger taste to the broth set off by the slightly piquant taste of the pickled cabbage. This was a real highlight,and an item that will probably find its way into my regular rotation. There are also beef, pork, lamb and tofu versions of this soup.

Next up, were a couple of old standbys that were as good as ever today.

Katy's Onion Pancke W/ Pork


Katy's Stir Fired Noodles with Dry Chili


Katy's Fish & Chive Dumplings


Another new item. These were great, but I couldn't really distinguish that much of a difference between these and the pork and chive dumplings I usually get. I'd order these again, though.

Katy's Dan Dan Noodles


The numbing effect of Szechuan peppercorns was on full display in this dish. Another classic preparation that didn't disappoint.

After lunch, we presented the GNR plaque to Mr. Red Shirt, resplendent in grey and fleece.



He was happy to once again receive the GNR Award and shared the fact that there will soon be a third Katy's. They are planing on opening a branch in Oak Park near Lake and Ridgeland. Opening date is scheduled for sometime in March. This is great news for those of us who have to travel great distances to get to Westmont. I can see my Katy's visits doubling or tripling once this new location opens.

I think you may have missed something...mmmm Soup Dumplings!!!

This was my FIRST trip to Katy's and everything I'd hoped for--hard to pick a favorite everything was so delicious! Thanks to Steve for organizing.

boudreaulicious wrote:I think you may have missed something...mmmm Soup Dumplings!!!

Sheesh, I was still working on the post. They are there now.

stevez wrote:He was happy to once again receive the GNR Award and shared the fact that there will soon be a third Katy's. They are planing on opening a branch in Oak Park near Lake and Ridgeland. Opening date is scheduled for sometime in March. This is great news for those of us who have to travel great distances to get to Westmont. I can see my Katy's visits doubling or tripling once this new location opens.

WOW is that great news for us Oak-Parkers!

Is there a pancake in that pancake picture?

Katie wrote:Is there a pancake in that pancake picture?

The "pancake" is the wide thick noodles in there that are very toothsome.

Katy's in OP??
This news just made my day.

Nice photos Steve. The spinach in those Dan Dan noodles looks so so delish. I have to try to get there to try some of the dishes. I love good dumplings.

move to north suburbs please

dudefella wrote:move to north suburbs please

If they are opening in Oak Park you know that Evanston cannot be far behind.

stevez wrote:

These were excellent, and among the best in town. While the wrappers are not the translucent delicate dough sported by the very best examples of XLB, they are not the thick doughy version you so often see around town, either. They are somewhere in the middle, leaning toward the thin and delicate side. There was plenty of liquid inside as well. If you're a XLB lover, these are worthy of checking out.

cilantro wrote:Yes, yes, but how are the xiao long bao, you may ask? Surprisingly good. Their major weakness is that the skin is very thick, which will likely be a deal-breaker to aficionados. But they are extremely flavorful, with a moderate amount of soup. (For dipping, you use the regular table black vinegar unadorned with ginger; this turns out to not be a problem, as the filling is very gingery already.)

We asked if the "juicy buns" were xiao long bao before we ordered, and the server explained that these are northern style dumplings and the thicker skin is intentional. I'd consider Katy's version a completely different animal than Shanghai XLB.

Certainly worth trying based on flavor alone. I didn't bother checking if it had 18 perfectly even pleats and didn't know whether it was even supposed to, given that it was a different style.

No leakage occurred except for the last dumpling, which had gotten stuck to the bamboo steamer after cooling down.

kanin wrote:We asked if the "juicy buns" were xiao long bao before we ordered, and the server explained that these are northern style dumplings and the thicker skin is intentional.

I think you were given the "lao wai" runaround.
The "juicy buns" is listed on the menu as xiao long bao in Chinese... If these buns are supposed to be northern style with the thicker skin, then calling it XLB would be inaccurate...

Panther in the Den wrote:

dudefella wrote:move to north suburbs please

If they are opening in Oak Park you know that Evanston cannot be far behind.

From your lips to God's ears. Please!

The dumplings were good but prefer Lao You Ju's version of the elusive (to Chicago anyway) soup dumplings. Loved the fish soup though. Light and gingery with those killer noodles. A must order from this point fwd.

CrazyC wrote:

kanin wrote:We asked if the "juicy buns" were xiao long bao before we ordered, and the server explained that these are northern style dumplings and the thicker skin is intentional.

I think you were given the "lao wai" runaround.
The "juicy buns" is listed on the menu as xiao long bao in Chinese... If these buns are supposed to be northern style with the thicker skin, then calling it XLB would be inaccurate...

That's why I suggested ordering Xao Long Bao by name, rather than by the English translation. I didn't feel the wrappers were nearly as thick as some others I've run into locally, though they are thicker than the platonic ideal.

CrazyC wrote:

kanin wrote:We asked if the "juicy buns" were xiao long bao before we ordered, and the server explained that these are northern style dumplings and the thicker skin is intentional.

I think you were given the "lao wai" runaround.
The "juicy buns" is listed on the menu as xiao long bao in Chinese... If these buns are supposed to be northern style with the thicker skin, then calling it XLB would be inaccurate...

Nope, we never get the foreigner treatment in Chinese restaurants. My dining companion is Chinese and they had a rather lengthy conversation about the XLB in Mandarin. To clarify, I asked the waitress if they were indeed XLB and they started talking about it. Perhaps something got lost in translation, although I'm not sure how "northern style, intentional thicker skin" could be misconstrued.

You can ask the lady with the glasses about it.

Somehow I've never been here yet. Your photos just bumped Katy's to the top of my must-visit list. Those Dan-Dan Noodles look delicious.

ChitownJackson wrote:Somehow I've never been here yet. Your photos just bumped Katy's to the top of my must-visit list. Those Dan-Dan Noodles look delicious.

I have 1/2 take out continer in the fridge that I'll be warming up in just a bit.
It was my first time with the Dan-Dan and I have to say I was expecting WAY more heat. The beef soup is a lot spicier in my opinion, unless I just got a bad batch of the Dan-Dan.

zoid wrote:

ChitownJackson wrote:Somehow I've never been here yet. Your photos just bumped Katy's to the top of my must-visit list. Those Dan-Dan Noodles look delicious.

I have 1/2 take out continer in the fridge that I'll be warming up in just a bit.
It was my first time with the Dan-Dan and I have to say I was expecting WAY more heat. The beef soup is a lot spicier in my opinion, unless I just got a bad batch of the Dan-Dan.

The Dan Dan noodles aren't about heat, they're about szechuan peppercorns. They give your mouth that numb/tingling sensation. If it's heat you're after, Dan Dan noodles isn't the right dish to order.

Hmmm...

In the menu I have the beef soup has 1 chili next to the description and the Dan-Dan has 2.
Apparently that doesn't mean what I thought it did.

zoid wrote:Hmmm...

In the menu I have the beef soup has 1 chili next to the description and the Dan-Dan has 2.
Apparently that doesn't mean what I thought it did.

I would say that the dan dan is much more ma la than the beef noodle soup is la, but it's a difficult comparison. Those dan dan noodles on Tuesday were electrifying, though.

Oh don't get me wrong - I really like them, it just wasn't what I was expecting.

fropones wrote:

zoid wrote:Hmmm...

In the menu I have the beef soup has 1 chili next to the description and the Dan-Dan has 2.
Apparently that doesn't mean what I thought it did.

I would say that the dan dan is much more ma la than the beef noodle soup is la, but it's a difficult comparison. Those dan dan noodles on Tuesday were electrifying, though.

Just another data point, The Dan Dan at Katy's is probably the most numbingly szechuan peppercorny thing I've tasted in Chicagoland.

I would also add the obvious comment that when Chinese (and Thai, Indian, etc.) restaurants indicate that a dish is spicy, it's not like they have a rep from Underwriters Laboratories in the kitchen measuring Scoville heat units of random samples to determine how many chiles to put next to it; it's often pretty arbitrary. Not to mention that these things are cooked by humans, so there's considerable variation even from serving to serving. The end result being that I've often gotten a dish labeled with one humble pepper that was way, way spicier than another labeled with THREE PEPPERS, DANGER, DO NOT EAT.

(I've also noticed that Americanized Chinese, Thai, etc. places use chiles to indicate that a clove of garlic may have been present somewhere in the kitchen during the preparation of your meal.)

Blah blah blah, whatever, I like to hear myself talk. If you want spicy, get the cold noodles at Katy's. Those are usually pretty spicy (but sweet too).

Am I correct in believing that Katy's does not serve beer?

If that's the case, can you BYOB?

Just back from dinner in Naperville. Learned that the Oak Park location hopes to open on March 1st.

And yes, Naperville, at least, is BYOB.

Sorry, I should have been more clear: I need to know if you can bring beer or wine to the Westmont location specifically.

Jasubar wrote:Sorry, I should have been more clear: I need to know if you can bring beer or wine to the Westmont location specifically.

In all the times I've been there, I've never seen anyone drinking beer or wine. That doesn't mean thy don't allow it, but it might be worth a call to find out for sure.

Looks so good especially the noodles with shrimp and the pork pancake which is my favorite. I honestly have to stay away from katys because once I order it I can not stop eating it. Its so addictive to me...meaty, a little spice, a little oniony, carby...just what I like...

Good news too for dear old Oak Parkers to have a Katy's. Also city folk who can zip there easier than coming out west. They do need one somewhere north.

Katy's cannot get to Oak Park soon enough. Please hurry! Oh, and please let there be delivery!