I ordered a really large meal for take out yesterday, and was extremely thrilled about what was on the menu. Â Bao, pot stickers, vegetables and tofus, etc. Â My girl and I both ate a decent amount of our slimy, undercooked, OVERLY oily food, and became sick almost immediately afterwards. Â I felt as if I had been poisoned, and had gas so bad that my poor dog didn't wanna be in the same room with me.
I'm generally an extremely healthy eater these days, with take out food being a rare treat. Â My meal here ruined my whole day off from work, and my nagging stomach pains reminded me to write this review.
I was there this past Friday and ordered my food for carry out, I got the Chicken in Garlic sauce and Shrimp fried rice also picked up Vegetarian fried rice for a friend. On my way home I could not figure out what the awful smell was first thing that came to mind was that Elephant smell from the Zoo I just hoped it was something I drove through kind of smells..unfortunately it was not the Chicken in Garlic sauce tasted like there wasnt any Garlic in it and worse the Chicken tasted like that Elephant smell. The Shrimp fried rice was awful way too much soy sauce and all 6 or 7 of the shrimp sat on top of the rice. My friend also said the Vegetarian fried rice was the worst they ever had. Will never be back as it is suspect that was even real chicken. Sheesh..
Review Source:So many of the Chinese restaurants around the city seem to fall into the same three categories: Americanized Chinese, Cantonese, or Sichuanese. Â Now I've got no problem with any of them, but sometimes you want a bit of variety. Â Ed's is Northern Chinese cuisine, and it's pretty damn authentic. Â Our Chinese friends have all given it the stamp of approval, so that says a lot. Â As the name suggests, try the potstickers. Â Every variety of them so far has been delicious. Â I've also grown to love the fried bread with the condensed milk injected inside. Â It sounds strange, but trust me it's the bomb. Â Ed nailed it on that one. Â Anyway, Ed's is good. Â Come here or be forever damned to a life of redundant Chinese food.
Review Source:The only thing I had was a bowl of their BBQ pork noodle soup so giving them stars or a review of the entire restaurant is a bit senseless. Â The noodle soup was reasonably priced at $5.95. Â I did include a picture. Â The soup was very bland. Â The noodles (almost as thick as udon noodles) were also nothing to write home about.
That said, I received a plate of cold sautéed soy beans and a pot of hot tea before I had a chance to order.  My server, a woman named Rebecca was exceedingly kind and attentive even after I let her know that I only had seven dollars on my person (mind you my bill with tax was $6.53 leaving her only a 47 cent tip).  When I paid I began to apologize about the lack of a tip.  She interrupted me before I could finish saying, "Don't worry about the tip.  You can tip me next time."  with a genuine and gracious smile.  She then said with the same sincerity and smile,  "Don't forget your fortune cookie.  You will have good fortune."  I asked her name so as to be able to write this review. The other employees I spoke with were also very warm.  I left there feeling wonderful.  I would definitely go back despite the fact that I wasn't crazy about the dish I had.  I hope that their other dishes are better.  Seeing that noodle soups are clearly not their speciality (judging from their menu), I trust I will not be disappointed when I return to try some of their other dishes.
I came here with some friends for a late lunch/ early dinner. We ordered some potstickers and xaio long bao. They said they were all out. Seriously? Its called potsticker house! How can you be out?!? That was very disappointing.
Went back a second time and it was packed. We had a group of 5. They ran out of tea cups, plates, chopsticks AND soy milk, but they did have the dumplings and potstickers! This place needs to buy some more cups, plates, chopsticks, and teacups. And keep making food to match the customers demand.
I probably won't be going back because I don't know if they'll have the food I want or utensils for me to eat it with.
We came right before the rush on Sunday for lunch. We were a group of six seated near the back, which was nice to be far from the door. It's a scary thing when the waitress recognizes you from other Chinese restaurants. Funny, how she commented for me as though she knows I don't cook at home all the time. She was helpful in her recommendations as I was missing lamb skewers from Beijing she told me about this lamb dish that served bone-in and stir-fried. It was delicious! It was very succulent and flavorful, not gamey like you'd think. It reminds me of duck in a way. My parents were curious about the lamb soup which was pretty good, too. It was the one thing I took home as it seemed it could be a healthy option for my diet. We had the soup dumplings of course, and that was a bit messy for me - proof was on my shirt and pants. It was hot and tasty. I might have burned my tongue on this or from the hot tea. I will never learn as I seem to love to scald my tongue. We also ordered a fish filet stir-fry dish, a tofu dish, chinese broccoli and garlic, and sesame chicken dish. The prices were very reasonable. All of it was very good. Â I wouldn't mind coming back to try other dishes, but it is a little bit out of the way for me.
Review Source:I just got back from a visit to the Potsticker House after not being there for a few years and I have to say, I was much more pleased this time around. Their soup dumplings have improved greatly. I don't like xiao long baos that have thick doughy skin with just a tiny bit of soup and thankfully, you will not find them here. Their dumplings were bursting with soup-y goodness and flavor.
The house potstickers were different from how I remember them but tasty. We also got an order of the beef noodle soup - hit the spot on a cold snowy day like today and a really great value as it was a huge portion for just $7.
I will definitely be back next time I'm craving soup dumplings!
I love coming to this place. It is entirely, utterly inconvenient to get to from where I live. But I haven't let that stop me yet.
There are so many great items to order, but my go-to dishes that I MUST get (as long as I'm dining with a couple others):
1. The eponymous Pot Stickers
2. Pork and Green Onion Pancakes
3. Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings)
4. Szechuan Noodles with Ground Pork
5. Lamb with Cumin
6. Chili Oil (dip EVERYTHING in this)
There can occasionally be a language barrier here, so be prepared to point at the menu item you want and be sure there is no miscommunication. If you're someone who generally has a lot of questions about what ingredients are in a dish, I'd research ahead of time, it can be tough to get clear answers.
I get such a large amount not only because it tastes great and is pretty affordable, but almost everything makes GREAT leftovers.
The menu is huge, so I can't speak to probably 75% of the items, but stick to the favorites and you can't go wrong!
Ed's is one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago. Â It's cute, warm, and quirky, and the food is just delicious. Â I love the smoked pork pancakes (in fact, I cannot get enough of them, especially dipped in chili oil), and their cucumber, cilantro, green pepper, and garlic salad. Â This salad is all raw, very fresh, incredibly spicy, with a depth of flavor I cannot even describe. It's an unsung dish on their menu--everyone who has tried it has loved it as much as I do! Â Get it, you will not be disappointed. Â The soup dumplings, as everybody mentions in their favorable reviews of Ed's, are as good as NYC Chinatown. Â I was shocked when I moved to Chicago and suddenly the world of soup dumplings was closed to me. Â Ed's brought them back into my life, thankfully!
The onion pancake is a wonder the likes of which I've hardly ever experienced. Â flaky, chewy, and perfect for tearing apart and sharing with ravenous friends. Â It's a perfect foil to, say, a soup pot dish, or sweetened soy milk, which is house-made. Â
As far as main dishes go, I have yet to find my favorite. Â I like the pork and pressed tofu noodles (noodles made of tofu!) and cumin lamb. Â Mmmm. Â Ed's eclipses the Tony Hu empire for me!
There are definitely some hit-or-miss dishes here, but the reason this place gets 4 stars is because the "hit" dishes are damn good. This restaurant specializes in Northern Chinese food, which provides a more unique experience than the traditional Cantonese food you get in the US.
First, get a glass of the sweet soy bean milk to start off a traditional breakfast/brunch. It's absolutely fantastic and the serving size is respectable. Next, make sure you get one of their rice cake dishes as they are cooked to absolute perfection. These are likewise a hearty portion size. Everyone raves about the xiao long bao (Shanghai style soup dumplings), and they are definitely worth the hype - you aren't going to get anything nearly as good as this in the Chicagoland area. The cold spicy noodle dishes are very unique, with possibly some subtle Korean style influences. Avoid the ci fan tuan. Probably one of the worst I've ever had.
Service is average, nothing to complain or write about. Â Note that this does get pretty crowded around brunch times on the weekends, so get here early or late to avoid the student crowds.
A fellow yelper brought me here and I'm so glad she did. Â It's the type of place you'd drive right by, assuming you were even in the neighborhood to begin with.
We came for the Shanghai style soup dumplings, which were new to me. They were fantastic! Â I love soup and I love dumplings, so what's not to love? Â Certainly, I've had dumplings in soup, but I'd never had soup in dumplings. Â A great cold weather dish. Â As an added bonus, the food is cheap, considering the quantity and quality.
I would love to come back again to try other dishes. Â In particular, the house potstickers were a dish we saw at many other tables that I thought looked intriguing. Â In fact, every dish that passed our table looked and smelled wonderful. Â Next time, I'll come hungry and with other people, so we can sample as many delicious dishes as possible. Â I will also wear more casual clothes, because after multiple servings of the soup dumplings, I had (fatty) broth stains on my shirt that necessitated the purchase of a Tide-to-Go stick. Â Live and learn!
Get the smoked pork pancakes!
That was the best thing I put in my mouth in a long time (ooooh that sounded naaassttyy!). Â The smoky pork and the slightly sweet green onion pancake drizzled with Hoisin sauce was absolutely delicious!
The potstickers were also very good as was were the Szechuan noodles with ground pork. Â Service was good save for one snarly woman but she was still passable.
I will definitely be back once I allow myself to have some carbs again!!!!
Wow. I can't remember the last time I had xiao long bao that were these good. Each and every single little package of meat-stuffed dough was -so- juicy. Even with careful, delicate nibbles... more than one of our party ended up spurting fatty dumpling fluids all over the table!
Beyond their vaunted tang bao, many of their other dishes were noteworthy. I really loved how tender and fresh the do miao were. Similarly, I'd go back again for the salt and pepper shrimp.
Whilst not disappointing, I was unimpressed with any of their typical Szechuan cuisine - mapo tofu and dan dan mian barely caused my nose to break a sweat. I'd even specifically requested the dan dan noodles to come with ma la spice, but that order must have gotten lost between our server and the kitchen. Similarly, I'd shy away from the kimchee fried rice. First off... kimchee at a Chinese restaurant? Secondly, the heavy sodium in it had me refilling my teacup multiple times.
Rounding out the fine food was some exceptional service. Our waitress was super spunky and had the most precise Mandarin pronunciation I've ever encountered. It was like she'd taken lessons in enunciation from a midwestern newscaster... that spoke perfect mainland Chinese. I could have listened to her talk all day long! Plus, the prices on all the dishes we ordered were roughly 20-30% lower than what they'd typically cost at virtually any other restaurant in Chicagoland. Not bad, considering we ordered some pricey items like whole steamed fish.
Sure, the neighborhood is a bit dodgy, but all said and done, Potsticker House did the trick. I can't say I'd go out of my way to visit again, but if I found myself passing through the area, I'd at least stop by for some more of those soupy dumplings!
After picking up a friend from Midway, I was looking for a new restaurant to check out on the south side of the city since I don't get down there often. Â We wanted a quick, somewhat light meal as we had reservations for a tasting dinner that night. Â Given the name of the restaurant, I had erroneously expected that Ed's Potsticker House would be a counter service-type place that only served dumplings. Â So, I was surprised to walk in to a restaurant full of Chinese patrons all eating huge Sunday lunches/dim-sum. Â
Given the restaurant's name and that I haven't found Shanghai Style Soup Dumplings since I left NYC, all I really wanted were the soup dumplings. Â Among the three of us, we split two orders of eight dumplings each. Â They were very tasty, though the broth could have been a little richer (relative to Joe's Shanghai in Manhattan). Â They were incredibly cheap at less than $6 an order.
We also split Green Beans & Garlic, which were tasty, especially given I'm not a vegetable fan. Â
We kept staring at all the dishes being served at the surrounding tables. Â I had food envy - ours was delicious but I wanted to try everything. Â I will be back soon to check out more dishes!
Service was attentive though I don't expect much for this type of restaurant. Â The ambiance was what you'd expect for a Chinese restaurant off the beaten path. Â Metered street parking was plentiful.
Best Beijing-style cuisine restaurant in the city. Why do I come here? In two words, the dough fritters (you tiao). They're golden, crisp, plump, fantastic. And they're actually hand-rolled at the restaurant. The dough fritters you find in Chicago Chinese restaurants are usually the sort of limp twigs that are shipped from factories in bulk and have been frozen for months.
Zha jia mien, da la pi, jie mu, zhua bing, jian bing guo are also highlights at this place.
Basically, if you're an ABC (American-Born Chinese) who's been away from home a little too long and want some traditional, carb-heavy Beijing and northern Chinese style breakfast -- well, this is your best bet in Chicago.
Ed's Potsticker is a bit out of the way - not exactly in Chinatown and not really close to anywhere else. You can't really get here besides in a car. However, street parking is easy to find.
I have heard many good things about this place, so I was excited to try it.
The Food:
- Sweet Soybean Milk - Served in a cup which I found strange as almost all the places I've gone to serve soybean milk in a bowl with a soup spoon so it's easier for you to dip you tiao in
- you tiao - Didn't taste like it was fresh out of the fryer. They most likely fry a batch and bring it to the tables as you order.
- House special potsticker - Of course you have to order the dish the restaurant is named after, right? The meat filling had a lot of flavors, but I did not care for the outside skin. I felt that it was thicker than it needs to be and not as crunch as other potstickers I've had. I don't know if that's attributed to the way the skin was made of how they cooked it. I don't think I'll be ordering this again anytime soon.
- Green onion pancake with braised pork - This was one of the better items we ordered that day. The pancake had a nice crunch and the braised pork was flavorful and nicely complimented by the hoisen sauce and fresh scallions. I would definitely recommend this and order it again.
Overall, I thought the soybean milk had a nice flavor and didn't taste watered down like some restaurants and the green onion pancake with braised pork was a nice combo.
I would come back to try some of the other items such as soup dumpling or even some of their sautee items on the dinner menu.
After three years plus of eating in Chinatown proper which consists of mostly Hong Kong/Cantonese joints, Ed's Potsticker House (don't know how they got the translation from original Chinese) was a welcome back home for me. Noodles, dumplings, fried crullers (you tiao) and soy milk, what more could you want? This is Chinese food that I grew up eating at home and always look for in the other restaurants. The waiters/owner also all have the typical Beijing accent (errr) which reminded me of Beijing and all my visits there. Love this place. Everybody should come try it, if not for the great soup noodles (da lu mian), at least to try out some Northern Chinese cuisine which will be very different from the Canton places in Chinatown.
Review Source:Was here back in June 2012 to celebrate my daughters' birthday. What a disappointment! Service was bad, all the food we ordered tasted the same, and their signature cigar style potstickers were nothing to crave about. Actually their fried rice was what you normally would get at an "asian food" joint at any mall's food court. Just go to "Three Happiness" in down town China Town across the street from the fire station, they have the real deal and it's a lot cheaper. I've been going there for over 20 years.
Review Source:I had heard this place had decent Shanghai soup dumplings (Xiao long bao) Â so I kinda went outta my way to check it out. The place is off a pretty busy road and parking is hard to find if not impossible and definitely not free. The place itself is small and kind of cramped because its quite busy.
Here's what I got:
Shanghai Soup Dumplings: For 5.95 you get 8 of these things. The skin is appropriately thin but the filling and soup is pretty bland. They are steamed on carrot slices which I found unusual. Over all these aren't close to the real thing from shanghai but they aren't bad either.
Sea Cucumber and Beef Tendon: Sea cucumber is just weird texture-wise tastes sort of like soft tendon. This dish is made really well. The tendon is big and tender. (14.95)
Soy Bean Milk: Fresh and kinda sweet (1.50)
Overall I'd say this is the best chinese restaurant within like a 5 block radius. Its foods is decent and fresh. Give it a shot if you want to try some authentic dishes but if you want the real shanghai soup dumpling experience I would try elsewhere.
The Shanghai Style Soup Dumplings are kinda the main reason to go here, but the place is so AUTHENTIC and offers so much more. First off, my clan were the only caucasians in the house, HEY-O!!! You  know you are in the right spot when that occurs. Secondly, besides the great Soup Dumplings which you must order right off the bat, was this great tofu noodle dish. Not sure what it was called but the noodles were made out of Tofu and gave this dish great texture. I also had the Ox-Tail which was like American Pot Roast, just much much better. Finally we had the beef tendon dish which was really rich and super good, and also an order of Schezuan Style Greens with Garlic, which were super crispy yet tender. How do they do it? Anyhow you could probably eat here weekly and just try new stuff all the time without duplicating anything. This is a go to spot when my dad comes in town as he eats everything, just like yo momma!! Oh yea, one more thing, Stay away from my wife!!!
Enjoy Suckas'!!!
Was fortunate enough to come here with some great friends and chow down on some amazing food. Easily some of the best Chinese I've had in Chicago. To start we had the shanghai style pork soup dumplings, the house special pot stickers, and shrimp and chive dumplings. All were great, but the soup dumplings were the best followed by the long shaped pot stickers. For the mains we had the ox tail and the noodles mixed with fried soy bean paste (with pork and jalapeños). The ox tail was fall off the bone tender (except for a couple pieces) and had some great flavor. The soy noodles were good and unique and a little spicy. Probably my favorite dish however was the sautéed string beans with garlic. They were among the best I've ever had, perfectly crispy, super salty and delicious. Can't wait to come back for the other hundred menu items I need to try...
Review Source:Onion pancake, xiao long bao, and spicy (but not really spicy) beef noodle soup! Yummy! All for under $20, not including tip.
I've been craving xiao long bao for a while, so I was excited to hear that this place may have it. Their xiao long bao isn't the best I've had, but it was pretty good by Chicago's standard.
I like the flavor of the beef noodle soup. I thought it was decent, but I did think it was weird that they mentioned it was spicy on the menu but it wasn't spicy at all. I had to add the chili oil to make it spicier.
The onion pancake was pretty decent too. They gave us dipping sauces for the xiao long bao and the noodle soup (I'm assuming the chili oil was for the soup since it wasn't spicy at all?), and I wish they had given us something for the onion pancake too... Perhaps a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar, and scallions?
It seemed to take forever for us to get seated, but the service was pretty good. I wish the light in the smaller booths weren't so low and bright though. It was a bit harsh on my eyes.
Don't go to this place! Â Food is so good and authentic that I don't want too much people to know about it.
Seriously, this is so far the BEST Mandarin (Northern Chinese Cuisine) restaurant I've seen in the States. If you are looking for dim sum, move on elsewhere. If you are looking for authentic northern cuisine such as noodle, lamb, or bing (nang), this is it.
Yes maybe there's lots of places that offers bettter YouTiao(~deep fried bread sticks) or  noodle, but unlikely you will find any better YangXieZi (a Spicy BBQ lamb dish), LaPi (rice noodle) or the combination of the food overall.
I found out about this restaurant over 5 years ago while driving down Halsted, tried it, loved it, and has ever since been coming back for it. This labor day weekend we visited Chi-Town again, stopped by for lunch on the first day, sure enough kept us coming back till the last day we left.
Servers are helpful and price is very reasonable. Â Definitely coming back again.
Ed's Potsticker House is very very good food. I have never left there disappointed, but usually the service could be described as "brusque" and something that you just endure. I just got home from dinner at Ed's with a few friends and we were served by Rebecca. Some of the best service I have ever received in any restaurant, ever. Incredibly informative and attentive, you should ask for her by name.
The panfried smoked pork cake was fantastic, and the cilantro chili and cucumber salad was a high point as well. The food is rarely a revelation (I thought the pork cake was), but it is always delicious. The big takeaway from this dinner was Rebecca. This is a 4 star for me usually, but she put it over the top.
I seriously crave potstickers on a weekly basis. Â What better place to finally silence that persistent craving than at the Potsticker House.
We ordered vegetable potstickers and sesame chicken. Â Considering we had a hard time understanding our server and vice versa our order came out right and fast too. Â The potstickers were good, fresh steamed and tasty. Â The sesame chicken however was VERY vinegary both in aroma and taste. Â It left me with a bad aftertaste in my mouth. Â It actually killed my appetite...but that's fine I had my fill of potstickers.
The potsticker craving had been satisfied. Â The sesame chicken craving was killed. Â That's not a dish I would think of ordering again.
I've been here three times with groups and tried at least half of the dishes on their menu. I must say lamb and tofu dishes were good, but other than those, things were just mundane. Maybe it's because I've had the original ones in China many many times, and that set the bar high for me.
I suggest you start with dishes recommended by most people, and see if those work for you!
It's sad to say that the service here is mediocre (new waiter/ bus boy?). I ordered the lamb and carrot casserole and it arrived with a pleasant surprise. i returned it and there was no charge. It had ants in there. The carrots were sour...
The other dish was the house special potstickers. The skin tasted doughy and undercooked but the meat was done alright. It was a bit greasy though.
My favorite dish to this day will be the fish with sweet and spicy sauce and the steamed pork soup buns (xiao long bao).
The pests might be due to the drought-like weather the past two weeks until last night?
Had dinner here yesterday and most of the stuff was just meh! We decided to try different things
Pancake Thing - My sister likes this and it was crispy and nicely made.
Eggplant - Not sure which one this one was, but it was a bit spicy and slightly sweet taste to it. We prefer the other one we had before.
Cumin Lamb - This is still good.
Whole Fish in Szechwan Spicy Sauce - I don't think anyone really cared for this. Too me, it was too fishy.
Overall, I still think they are ok and somewhere to go for something a little different than Chinese. I'm still a fan of the Cumin Lamb, Sweet and Sour Whole Fish and Beijing Eggplant.
We also used a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> certificate with no problem.
Expansive menu featuring "American" Chinese food, and "Authentic" Chinese food. Â Shying away from American Chinese, because, c'mon, those are a dime-a-dozen everywhere.
Still a bit of a newbie to this place (2 visits so far), but I love the Korean Kimchee Fried Rice. Â I thought it was odd that such an item was on the "Authentic Chinese" menu, but it's good kimchee, lightly sauteed in what appears to be a beef fried rice.
Sauteed Lamb with Cumin was also yummy. Â Nice lamb flavor that shines through the ample level of spiciness of the dish.
Was not "Wow-ed" by the potstickers; Not bad, though.
Place is pretty bumpin' every time I come by. Â Seems pretty popular. Â Will definitely come back to try more of their "Authentic Chinese" menu!
Look, I'll be honest. I don't come here for any of their dumplings. I don't eat xlb outside of China or Vancouver (the New China).
What I do come here for are the rice and noodle dishes. They have the most authentic NORTHERN Chinese cuisine in Chicago. We always get the homestyle tofu and one of the fried rice dishes. For two people we will typically get 4 dishes and still end up only spending around $30.
No offense, but I think a lot of the poor reviews on this place is due to ignorance of Northern Chinese cuisine. China is a big country. There are a lot of regional cuisines. It's like saying NC ribs are not as good as Chicago style hot dogs. I truly love the Chicago Yelp community, but please don't compare this place to Tawianese or Cantonese restaurants. I know I am not blameless, as the Avett Brothers said it, 'Aint it like most people? I'm no different, we love to talk on things we don't know about'.
In my humble opinion, this IS the BEST NORTHERN CHINESE restaurant in Chicago.
DISCLAIMERS: (1) I've only been once and got "dim sum"
            (2) I'm comparing what I got to AUTHENTIC Taiwanese food.
If you're looking for yum cha or taiwanese brunch, THIS PLACE DOES NOT HAVE IT.
I came here with my parents (who were born and raised in Taiwan) and ordered "do sa" and two salty soy bean soups, which are standard Taiwanese brunch dishes. The "do sa" was salty? what? It's supposed to be sweet. Whatever it was, it was two large pieces of soft tofu cooked in some not-very-good hot and sour soup. Yuck.
The salty soy bean soups were also bad. I added vinegar and it didn't curdle at all. There were things in my soup that should not have been there, and things that should have been that were not. None of us finished these dishes.
Then we tried the greasy as hell egg omelet stuffed with something else that was greasier than hell. No. We also tried the "special potstickers, long." If you are looking for TAIWANESE potstickers, these are not it.
Finally, I got a salty rice roll (sticky rice, stuffed with egg, shredded preserved pork floss, and supposedly a fried dough stick). Well. No fried dough. But probably the most edible thing there.
I did see other tables seeming to enjoy their food. But I won't be back to find out what it was they were enjoying b/c based on my one visit, this kind of "authentic" Chinese is not for me.
I will preface this review by saying that our service was rather subpar. It took a bit of waving to waiters for us to even get our menus to begin with, then an equal amount for us to place our order. My soup spoon was clearly dirty and I had to request a new one. Having said that though I never expect good service for authentic Chinese restaurants, so I only deducted one star from this review. It's really NBD.
The food itself was pretty great. My friend and I got the fu qi fei pian, yu xiang qie zi, some lamb dish with cumin, and of course the xiao long bao. Everything was very tasty and executed to near perfection. Additionally, the place was almost at-capacity but all of our dishes came out within minutes, with the exception of the xiao long bao. I will say that the portion sizes are slightly smaller than what I'm used to at comparable Chinese restaurants, but it's still obviously not pricey. Their menu is rather extensive and also has a good collection of basic Northern carby goodness. I'm looking forward to coming back the next time I start randomly craving authentic Chinese food. Their beef stew noodles (always a comfort food for me) looked divine.
A solid choice for Chinese in Bridgeport on the main-drag that is South Halsted... however...
I have usually carried out from (Ed's) Potsticker House (there has been a recent name change from Ed's to just plain Potsticker House...) but I recently visited to dine-in.
The experience was a little odd & rushed.
The food was just as I am accustomed to it when I order take-out, but I visited with a friend & we both had leftovers which we asked to be bagged. Our rice was combined in one box, & our dishes were also combined... in one box. Kind of a conundrum for me considering I am a vegetarian & ordered a vegetarian dish which was combined in the box with some spicy chicken. Lesson learned: if I dine in again, I will be specific.
We were visiting on a busy weekend evening, but there were more than enough empty tables & I felt pushed out the door. Not only that, but I noticed upon later-checking my debit card statement that they raised my charge by $10... considering I did not hang onto a copy of my receipt, I am obviously at a loss.
Very, very strange!
The food, granted, is better, in my opinion, than other Chinese restaurants on the South Halsted strip... but... this was just such an odd series of events I doubt I will be dining in again any time soon.
I would like to give  2 separate reviews.  I would give Ed's a 3 star review if my diet allowed me to eat greasy, fried, but yummy appetizers such as pot stickers, Shanghai pork dumplings, and pan fried rice cake.  I really enjoyed the vegetable stir fry with homemade noodles. 2 stars are deducted for horrible service.  The servers are quick to bring you menus, tea, and complimentary soy beans. However, they are completely ignorant of you shortly thereafter. They all seem to congregate around the back booth near the kitchen. They would walk by and look at my party but would ignore us. We tried flagging down 2 separate waiters and they would smile but not take our order. It took about 15 minutes for our order to be taken.
However, fast forward 6 months -after being placed on a highly restricted low-fat diet- there were not many "healthy" options that I can eat. They do have fresh soy milk which is a plus. The service was worse than before. The bad service + lack of low fat options will lead me probably not return.
First time I dined here, was for lunch before a sox game with a couple of non-chinese friends. Â We did not know how to order (which is key to enjoying this place), so we did what every non-chinese diner does at a chinese restaurant, order things they were familiar with. Â Lots of dumplings, and believe it or not Fried Dough. Â In summary, it was nothing exceptional the first time I experienced this place. Â
I came back here again over the weekend to celebrate my sister's b-day. Â Both her and my bro-in-law have a friend who speaks mandarin and knows how to communicate with the waiters here, which helps a lot. Â We ordered the Lamb Cumin, Sweet & Sour Fish, Spicy Soft Shell Crab, Tofu Salad, Lamb Casserole, and a lot of shanghai dumplings. Â Everything came with a lot of flavor and spice. Â Dishes that were spicy were not too overbearing, but just the right amount of fire to give each bite that kick, but also maintaining the flavor of the dish. Â
Best thing about this place is that it's BYOB! Â Good place to bring a nice bottle of wine or good beer to compliment great tasting food. Â
They definitely will be seeing me again. Â I'm even considering purchasing Rosetta Stone's Mandarin just so I can order more stuff that is not on the menu from this place. Â
Definitely try to come here with a person that speaks mandarin and enjoys northern chinese cuisine. Â If you do not have that luck, start with the dishes I mentioned above. Â I DARE you to be disappointed. Â DARE!
Wonderfully delicious and unconventional (for a midwesterner) Chinese food - easily some of the best I've had in Chicago. I had the pleasure of going with a couple of Chinese folks, so the dishes we ordered were spot on.
Favorite dishes: Salt and Pepper Fish (Flaky, perfectly deep fried, with a satisfying salty coating) & Lamb with Cumin (maybe a bit overly cumin'd, but great texture and nice peppery presentation). I also enjoyed the Water-Cooked Beef, whose soft yet crunchy vegetables actually overshined the eponymous beef.
The food here was pretty darn good. Â Give the pot stickers and the cumin lamb a try!
The food here was better than I was expecting. Â Chinatown area tends to be much more Cantonese food than Chinese food, but this place is authentic mainland style cooking. Â I ordered a bit of everything, but the highlights would be the cumin lamb and the pot stickers; though if you're not into spicy foods, the cumin lamb might be a bit much for you.
The service could have been better. Â To avoid the wait we did a shared table with another group and I think that may have contributed to some of the wait or confusion when it came to who's been asked about drinks or what drinks had been delivered. Â Though would I do a shared table again to avoid the wait? Â Yes.
Overall, very good and next time I'm craving Northern Chinese food, this will be my go to place.
Given the rave reviews, I really would like to be able to give Ed's a better review, or at least another chance. But the inconvenient location and poor experience my friends and I had there make that improbable.
We went for my good friends' going away party. Bridgeport locals, they'd dined here a few times before and insisted we go for this last important meal together. So six of us got together to celebrate and wish them well.
We went on a weeknight, and as they had made reservations, they had a table all laid out waiting for us. Which was great. The dining room was pretty empty - I'd say there were three other parties dining while we were there. After some waving down of the waiter, a young chinese man, we received menus. We mulled over the impressive selection and chatted while we waited. Our waiter was in and out of the dining room serving other parties, but still hadn't come by to take our order, or at least serve water. Everyone had already decided and laid down their menus, ready to order. I received an urgent call and stepped out to take it.
Fifteen minutes later I returned to find my friends still sitting at the table, waterless and visibly crosser. I sat down and assessed the situation. We were the only table that had yet been waited on; another party had finished their meal and closed out their check while I had been out, and another completely different party seated and their order taken.
What was going on? My friend Christina was getting highly flustered. You could see she was mortified for having recommended the place, given the start to the evening.
I'm not afraid to assert myself in these situations. I walked over to the waiter, who was milling about idly adjusting tablecloths and informed him we were ready for him to come over and take our order. He peered up at me obliviously and retorted in broken english "You guys take long time decide". My friends sat staring at us, menus closed, clearly awaiting him. "No", I replied. "We are ready to order." He walked back to the kitchen, to grab a pad of paper to take down our order or perhaps, I presumed, to grab a pitcher to fill our empty glasses.
Wrong.
He burst through the swinging door again holding nothing, and resumed checking on other tables and his pointless pacing before my friend Joe had decided he'd had enough, too. "HEY", he bellowed. "Are you going to come take our order?" Everyone in the small dining room looked up at the waiter, who in turn continued to stare vacantly at us. He walked over nonchalantly and said "So you ready now, then?"
At this point in the meal, everyone at the table was seething, starving, and thirsty. We had been sitting there for THIRTY MINUTES before receiving any sort of attention. We took turns ordering quietly and handed him our menus. He went to place our order and we were left sitting on our own to reflect on what had just happened. After a few minutes I piped up. "Why do I feel like...I'm being reprimanded for doing something wrong? Have we done something totally offensive?" My dinner mates agreed. So much for our little celebration.
It was then that it hit me. We were the only party in the restaurant who didn't have an Asian in it. As outdated and silly as it may sound, we realized with shock that we were most likely, in fact, being discriminated against because of this. After that little revelation, it was difficult for any of us to enjoy our food with much gusto.
The food could have been the best I ever had, but I wouldn't have been able to tell, I was so offended for my friend who had once championed the place, and disappointed by the attitudes and service here.
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