Slurp Slurp and Honey Dessert

Two newish local-geared places on the old drag in Chinatown offer some less usual plates and textures. Slurp Slurp has a simple and inexpensive menu of hand-pulled noodles, in broth or stir-fried with some solid meats and (in my experience) some peak vegetables. Table condiments include a well-toasted scallion chili oil, black vinegar, and quick-pickled greens. I prefer the shaved noodle prep (pictured) to the hand-pulled - the tug on these is fantastic. They tend to treat things lightly - a quick toss, not much wok hei, no appreciable caramelization on the pork belly or short rib, but with bok choy this fresh and crisp, and meats redolent of allspice and not much else, the noodle dishes are more than the sum of the parts.

A few doors north is Honey Dessert, which has been in a soft opening for a few months, and is quite fun if you can be patient - this is not Joy Yee's well-oiled machine pumping out cold drinks. I think they have more and better raw fruit, which they serve with shaved ice, coconut and fruit syrups, jellies, and tapioca, generally presented side by side in a shallow bowl. I like this style of the same basic ingredients more than the Taiwanese all-in-one-cup freezes and halo halo. Prices are low but reflect relatively small portions. They have a rotating $3 fruit bubble tea special for some time which is big and great, though. This steps into the Saint's Alp niche for me nicely (minus the savories) - a place to linger and get some work done, or they have some board games for borrow.

Slurp Slurp
2247 S Wentworth Ave
Chicago, IL 60616

Honey Dessert
2229 S Wentworth Ave
Chicago, IL 60616

I have been meaning to post about both these places. I won't comment too much on Honey Dessert as that stuff is my wife's thing and not mine, but it seemed on par with other places I have tried in the States.

We have been to Slurp Slurp twice. The first time we had a very good bowl of zha jiang mian, best I have had in a restaurant to be frank. Their pig ear appetizer was a sweet soy dressing and very tasty as well. I found their soup broth a bit insipid, but the condiments on the table helped a lot.

On the second visit they now do a spicy pig ear that isn't as good and very oily. The zha jiang was a bit skimpier with the topping but same flavor and the knife cut noodles here are top notch. Add a bit of chili oil and mustard greens (on the table, love it!) and it was hard to stop eating. We also tried their pork and chive dumplings. Fantastic and I think would give Qing Yuan run for their money. It comes with a nicely balanced sweet soy dipping sauce or you can of course use the chili oil or vinegar.

Finally, I must note that the cucumber salad here for $3 is very good, destroying the offering at Xian Cuisine for instance.