This place is really committed to serving a kind of Chinese food than American Chinese restaurants or than the other Lao restaurants. I've really liked trying the different regional cuisines at the other Tony Hu outposts, and this one was no exception.
When they say the food is spicy on this menu, they mean it. Lots of dishes with big red chilis all over them. I'm no wimp about this usually, either. When I go again I may order at least some more mild stuff. But the food is GOOD. The Crossing-Bridge Noodles in Spicy Broth was what I came here for, because it's on the TimeOut best things to eat list. It was amazingly good. Spicy, but super flavorful.
The Chengdu style dumplings were also delicious and very different than the variety I'd get at Lao Schezuan or someplace - they're steamed and served with a liquidy sauce that's kind of sweet - which as I type it I realize sounds exactly like regular dumplings, but they're not!
The wait staff was also super nice! So, all in all, excellent place, and super cheap, too.
This place has several special authentic Chinese dishes which makes it a nice restaurant. Unfortunately, on my only visit, some of the food was a little too greasy. But definitely worth a return visit in the future.
Bare-bones tables and decor, but not bad for a Chinese restaurant. Yunnan is fairly close to Laos, perhaps that makes this "Lao Yunnan" place unique from the other *old* Chinese restaurants nearby? (sorry for the puns... pretty sure this is not Laotian food)
(this review is for a visit a couple months prior to post date)
***This is review is purely for the restaurant prior to it joining Tony Hu's empire.***
I have to say Spring World was a staple and constant as I grew up in Chicago. My mom actually new the owners, a lovely couple from Yunan with an adorable daughter. Â They eventually ended up opening another restaurant close by (<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/">http://www.yelp.com/biz/</a>...). The wife was also an amazing chef and her Yunan spicy fish was one of the things I looked forward to the most.
However, I recently heard from my mom that the wife recently passed away after being diagnosed with cancer so the husband resorted to selling this restaurant. It seriously broke my heart when I thought of how kind they'd been to use over the years and our frequent and regular trips there over the past 8 or so years. Even when I had come back to Chicago during college breaks, they would always remember and ask how everything was going. Due to these many reasons and the delicious food, this restaurant will forever hold a special place in my memories.
Notable dishes that stand out in my memory are the Famous Yunnan Cross-Bridge Rice Noodle, Pan Fried Pork Buns, Twice Cooked Pork, and of course the specialty Yunan Spicy Fish.
A lot of Chinese are getting tired of Tony's restaurant, I'd say don't give up yet.
The important thing is knowing what to order.
For Lao Yunnan, they have some special local Chinese dishes you may not able to taste in any other Chicago Chinese restaurant. Just for this reason alone, it worth the 3 star.
Spicy mixed mushrooms with beef. These are not your daily mushrooms, they are the ones found in deep south China regions. Considering I didn't even expect the dish to have such special ingredient , I call the trip worth it!
And again, the other dish I ordered, just like other post mentioned, may not be so different from Lao Sichuan....... although it made the Michellen Bib list, I would say Michelin need to given out Michelin Bib Gourmand award to a ton of restaurant in Shanghai, if this is the standard........
oh, did I forget I live in Chicago, USA, and we can only rate the Chinese food in Chicago standard?..........
This is my go-to Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. It used to be called Spring World but recently joined Tony Hu's "Lao-Insert Chinese Province Name" chain. I was so afraid it changed for the worst but was relieved to see the same dishes and the same sassy old Chinese waitress (she's my favorite).
The fried onion pancake was just the right amount of greasy (just like back in China) and the fish fillet with cured vegetables is still melt-in-your-mouth tender. Love it!
My favorite thing about the restaurant is the cold appetizer bar. It has the traditional appetizers, most restaurants do not have outside of China. I always bring a container ,or three, home each time I visit to spicy up whatever bland meal I'm about to prepare at home.
One of the newer parts of the Tony Hu empire - my girlfriend and I were in the mood for Chinatown, but wanted to try somewhere new (but where she could still get her ma po tofu).
Unfortunately, all I could think of while we were here was...why didn't we go to Lao Sze Chuan instead?
We started by splitting their signature cross bridge noodle soup - it was pretty gigantic  and we probably could've gotten away with just splitting one more entree. It was a very silky broth with a hint of spiciness and a ton of noodles. Something I could see being great on a cold day.
We also got the ma po tofu. It wasn't much different from the version at Lao Sze Chuan. It's not my favorite version of the dish, but it comes with a lot. I feel like the LSC version is a bit spicier.
To round off our gigantic meal, I got the dry chili spare ribs - think LSC's famous crack chicken, but with pork (and bones) instead. Not as addicting as the chicken, but still very good and worth considering if you want some variety.
Overall though, this place doesn't compare to LSC. There's zero ambience here - in fact, when we came it was eerily silent. No music/TV for background noise, and the servers only emerged from the kitchen when they had to. Honestly if this wasn't a Hu restaurant I probably wouldn't even consider the place.
Come if you can honestly tell Yunnan cuisine apart from the others; if you can't, you'll probably just end up ordering stuff you could get at the other Lao places.
Stopped in here the other day because I like to head to Chinatown and just do some random eating, no planning, just find a spot and slam. This place just so happened to catch my eye, and once I walked in I was sure that I had made the right decision, as I was the only caulky in a sea of dark hair and language I can't understand.
I ordered 3 items and commenced with the slamming.
1. Ma Pao Tofu---This dish was easily the BEST m.p.t I have ever had, not even close. What gave this dish it's uniqueness was the flavor of the sauce that everything seeps in. It wasn't spicy, but just really intense with a ton of flavor, way more than most dishes I have ever had. I wish I knew what they put in here, because it looks just like so many other MPT I have had, but it just wasn't. It wasn't just good, it was great.
2. Nine Flavor Pork Stomach---This is your basic sub gum(intestine dish) that is served cold, and whoa buddy, packed with what seemed like 1000 different and interesting flavors. Even if you like Sub-Gum this would definitely be intense for someone whose palette is weak or immature. Me, I loved it. It was chewy, crunchy, and just packed with flavor. Really intense.
3. Rice Noodle Soup---This dish is basic, and was necessary with all the other flavors going on. It included a simple chicken stock broth(i think), some cilantro, chicken, rice noodles, scallions, and toasted garlic. It is a basic version of our Caulky chicken noodle, just more flavorful. It was good and it definitely settled down my palette from the other two intense dishes.
Finally, this place was inviting, with good service and fair value, and I will definitely be back at some point...
Enjoy Suckas'!!!
Judged on the Tony scale, this was underwhelming.
Friday Lunch for 3 people:
The server told us the #1 Cross Bridge noodle dish was plain, and suggested we get the #707 mini pot Cross Bridge noodle as it would be a spicier broth. So, our order was:
Mini pot Cross Bridge noodle - decent, nothing spectacular
First appetizer menu item, which is choosing 3 "sides" from the tapas bar, which had about 12 options to choose from. We got:
 sour beans- excellent
 tripe, thin sliced- excellent
 spicy pig ear, thin sliced- very good
dry chili pork ribs- too much bone, biting around the bone was difficult. It is basically the batter from Tony's 3 chili chicken, but on rib bits.
Lao Special whole fish (#12?)- very good. Comes in a pool of chili oil with sauteed garlic, green onion, and cilantro. Again, bones.
Dumplings- can't recall the exact name- it was OK.
Unfortunately, didn't get much in the way of mushroom heavy dishes. Everything was good, better than most places, but for a Lao Tony joint, I'd just rather go to Hunan or Sze Chuan.
3 people, no drinks- $54
Will give it another shot and try some other dishes...
Lao Yunnan is one of Tony Hu's latest additions - purchasing the former Springworld (also featured Yunnan cuisine) and Hu-ified it.
Good food overall (reminds of the delicious hot pot and street food I had while in Yunnan). Â For foodies unfamiliar with Yunnan cuisine, you won't find any of your chow mein or other Cantonese mainstays here. Â Yunnan food is noted for its spiciness and use of mushrooms. Â Lao Yunnan delivers on those and an excellent guo qiao mi xian (over the bridge rice noodles). Â The high notes:
   - Delicious spicy "water-cooked fish" - "Shui Zhu Yu"
   - Selection of 3 daily appetizers for $5.99: great way try some different flavors and unusual foods - try the wen-er mushrooms or spicy pig ears.
   - Lamb and mushroom hot pot: Not spicy but mighty delicious!!  Served table-side with a hearty lamb and mushroom broth (I counted oyster, golden needle, and shiitake mushrooms among others) and a selection of vegetables and tofu. Â
Bonus - a lot of vegetarian offerings which can be sometimes difficult to find in Chinese cuisine. Â
From a decor perspective, it's got that clean, higher end look you'd expect from a Tony Hu restaurant. Â
The only drawback is that it's a wee bit more expensive than other Chinatown restaurants - bill came out to $100 for 4 after tax and service charge. Â So probably won't turn into an everyday spot for me but well worth the splurge for the well-developed flavors and quality ingredients.
Another great offering from Tony Hu.
Frankly, I don't know how authentically Yunnan this food is. I have never been to Yunnan - the closest I have gotten is Guilin. But this is very good Chinese food.
The spicy dishes are sufficiently spicy, as you would expect from Tony Hu who started with Lao Szechuan. The portions are adequate.
I suspect you need to go soon or they may have lines out the door soon like Lao Szechuan.
The food at Lao Yunnan was pretty good--tasty and VERY spicy (even if you ask for it not that spicy). Â
However, shortly after leaving, both the manfriend and I became VERY ill. Â Like, burning stomach, need to find a bathroom or there is gonna be a problem ill. Â Maybe it was our stomachs, but the more likely culprit was the food. Â I really wanted to love this place, but if you have a sensitive stomach, maybe try Joy Yee or something, as this place might not be for you.
Tony Hu is amazing. Â We are huge fans of Lao Sze Chaun, and always hesitant to try a restaurant the week it opens, but we took a chance tonight and we were soo happy we did. Â The food was awesome - we got the Iron Hot Pot with Chicken and the Chicken with Rice Cakes, hot and sour soup and veggie potstickers. Â All were delicious, except for the veggie potsticker appetizers....they weren't anything special... Â The rest of the food was amazing though, and we will definitely be back! Â We were seated right away, service was good and again the food was great. Â Tony did it once again!!! Thanks Tony!
Review Source:So Badass!
This is the newest addition to Tony Hu's restaurant empire in Chinatown, and it's a big hit. Personally I like this place even more than Lao Sze Chuan. They serve authentic dishes here (not necessarily Yunnan cuisine). Go with their list of recommended dishes, and I bet you'll relish them.
Here are what I ordered:
Rice noodles (duh!)
Pork with garlicky red chili sauce
Steamed chicken
Pork ribs (phonetically: Tiaotiao Gu)
This establishment appears to be still in its initial phase of getting recognition, so wait time is minimal for now.
Tony Hu: feeding my stomach and my soul since 2009.
In time of sadness,
Happiness,
Frustration,
Sickness,
**emotions**,
I tend to always gravitate toward Chinatown and its savory delicacies. I don't really understand the logic behind it; you would have to work hard at it to detect any Asian features on my face and unless my mom, grandma and all the mas before them are all consumed liars, no Chinese ascendants on my tree.
But what can I say? Noodles, dumplings, fiery chili peppers and chopsticks comfort me and make me happy.
No need to look further.
So after being overworked for weeks on end with no respite in sight, we ventured to Cermak and Archer in quest of solace. And decided to take a minor risk in not directly heading to my ultimate favorite - Lao Beijing - but to the latest addition to the family (not to be mistaken with Hunan).
When you push the door, women are prepping a mountain of green beans, chatting away and watching Chinese telenovelas (is it widely inappropriate to give them a Spanish label?). It smells like in a big Asian supermarket where pungent spices and exotic ingredients fill the air with mysterious aromas. The decor is nice and sleek. The menu, extensive.
I sat down and started perusing, feeling a bit lost and overwhelmed by names and flavor profiles that I am not quite familiar with.
When in doubt - go with the noodles. We ordered the Cross Bridge noodles that comes in a large steaming bowl of broth with shrimp, tofu skin, and bits of fried tofu and fried pork. It was slightly bland for my taste but after adding a (too) generous spoonful of chili oil I could appreciate the wonderful chewiness of the noodles that I slurped down like an old Chinese dude (it made me proud).
On the table too:
- dumplings, Chengdu-style, stuffed with meat and slightly sweet.
- ma-po tofu, because I was craving it
- the best house chicken I have had in a long time. Crispy, sweet with candied pieces of rice cake, peppers, garlic, onions and overall happiness. I couldn't stop eating. And weirdly enough, I didn't even miss the tea that is usually served alongside the food, I was entranced with my meal and didn't care about the rest of the world.
Tony Hu worked his magic again.
Another Tony Hu hit.
I came here with my parents, who... if you've read any of my reviews, you know that they are extremely picky. Especially about the seafood and Chinese food. When I mean picky? I mean the "special cooking notes" are to cook with very little oil, no MSG, and only a little bit of salt.
They gave this place a "oh! it's not bad" endorsement. Which, in Chinese, means that it's quite good... great, in fact.
We started by sharing the huge bowl of Cross Bridge noodles. It's a soupy noodle bowl, with a delicate broth, chewy noodles, sheets of tofu skin, bits of fried tofu, shrimp, and some fried pork bits thrown in. Delicious, I guess, except there was also cilantro or parsley in there (personal preference of mine. And no, i don't know if it tastes like soap. I just know it tastes gross).
For main dishes, we ordered the dry chili pork ribs (oh yum!), the spicy steamed fish with bamboo shoots (they're not kidding around with the spice!), the pea sprout veggies with garlic, and the Chinese squash with shrimp. The pork was crisp, but not breaded. And amazingly not greasy. The fish was cooked perfectly. And the veggies...were salted just right. Everything got eaten clean, except for the pork... because that's a lot of food for three people!
The "ambience" and "decor" might not be up to Western standards. It's not as nice as Lao Szechuan. It's a bit of a hole in the wall, but if you want authentic and delicious, you'll deal with it. I found service to be excellent, but YMMV if you don't speak Mandarin.
ps. Bill w/o tip came to $65.
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