I ordered delivery. The food came relatively quickly and was piping hot. My father ate sesame chicken. I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai. I was not overly impressed with my dish. It did not taste like any Pad Thai that I have had in the past at all. I would not recommend it. The sesame chicken wasn't great, but it was not bad either. The highlight of our experience was the eggrolls and the the wonton soup. Both were definite hits. I would recommend those two items from Silver Lake to anyone.
Review Source:A modest and decent Chinese place to dine in Elgin. Which is worth a mention because Chinese food sucks in Elgin lol.
Atmosphere:
Place looks like it is always closed from the outside lol. Don't be fooled! The interior is rather pleasant actually. They carefully pick out their neat decorations, but everything including the lighting is easy on the eyes. Silverware, dishes, etc. aren't the cleanest. It bothered me.
Service:
Been here twice and it always feels like I am being rushed. What is the hurry! This place is never that busy anyway. The service could use better manners and have a hint of friendliness. Also felt that our drinks were rarely refilled.
Food:
Their price to quality ratio is a bit high in terms of Chinese food. I wouldn't consider the quality high or the portions generous. I would consider the food just slightly above average in quality. Nothing really stuck out either. Maybe I will try more items next time, but only because it is nearby work.
It was an average experience. I probably won't dine here unless other people wanted to for convenience. Elgin is pretty weak sauce when it comes to the Chinese department though. So I would recommend this as a go to for most of the Elgin population until I find something better.
iI love Silver Lake! I worked here when it first opened as a hostess and became friends with everyone. Â I am still friends with everybody to this day going on for 9 years. I have lived in 2 other states and I always come back to Silver Lake. Nothing has ever compared and they will have my business for a lifetime! The empress chicken is to die for as well as Mao pao spicy tofu! Leon and Cesar are amazing! The lunch is an awesome deal as well!
Review Source:Went back. Ordered a Singapore Rice Noodle w/extra curry: for those not familiar, it's a dry, curry flavored noodle dish made of very thin rice noodles, like vermicelli, bits of fried egg, bbq pork, tiny shrimp, slivers of onion and green pepper. This was competently executed as if I was back in Chinatown. But $11 for a large portion, which is a plastic container about 2-4 cups size, what would normally go for $9 around here. May try other things.
Review Source:Went here on a Saturday night and was disappointed. Â They were short staffed on servers so the attentiveness was lacking considerably and they screwed up our order. Â Plus the shrimp was smaller than what we got in the past *and* it was slightly overcooked. Â The kicker was that the manager didn't seem to care. Â He just sat at a table with some people he knew and let the poor service take place. Â It will be a while before we even think about visiting again.
Review Source:Location: Looks small from the outside but surprised of the actual dining area. Very clean and always a great vide with good employees.
Food: Best chinese food i have had in elgin by far. Â Love the Chow Fun Beef - you dont find this everywhere.
Taste and portions are great and prices are avg to most other places.
The only chinese place better than this is Yu's in Schaumburg
What's the first thing you do when you move to a new town? Â Look for good pizza and Chinese food, that's what.
We haven't found the pizza yet, but Silver Lake is pretty good Chinese and is close to our home. Â My wife and I have done eat-in and take out and the portions are huge and the quality good. Â It's not the best Chinese I have ever had, but in the area it is number 1.
The service for dine-in is pretty good. Â The food seems like it takes a long time to arrive and you can only read your Chinese horoscope so many times before you want to pull out your own teeth in boredom, but it is good and plenty to eat.
Take-out is probably your best option here. Â Call ahead or order online and go pick it up. Â They did get our order wrong one time but once and a while this happens.
I am not a huge fan of Chinese restaurants these days. I think I burned out on them a few years ago when we went to them often. But when my niece and nephew recently expressed their desire to have Chinese food when I was visiting my hometown for family business, we chose Silver Lake Chinese Restaurant on the recommendation of my mother's friend.
I didn't have high expectations for Silver Lake Chinese Restaurant. It was located on a busy highway, in a strip mall, in a far-west suburb of Chicago. I anticipated large quantities of mediocre, salty, MSG laden food.
I was wrong...
I always order hot and sour soup in a Chinese restaurant. If it is good, I know my meal will be good, as well. If it is bad -- then I know I'm in for a mediocre meal. The best (and first) hot and sour soup I ever had was at Jimmy Tsang's in Pittsburgh in the early 1980's. I've been looking for hot and sour soup near that quality ever since.
So, after ordering plum wine (I actually requested red wine but the waiter misunderstood me and brought me plum wine (which was actually delicious -- kind of like apple cider and Amaretto) I ordered hot and sour soup, spring rolls and steamed dumplings (pot stickers), knowing a full meal was too much for me. (and knowing I could taste the food ordered by others)
The rest of the table ordered General Tao Chicken, orange flavored beef, orange flavored chicken, and empress chicken. At the last minute we also ordered a fried rice side. Each order was spiced according to the wishes of the orderer from mild to very hot. The waiter asked many questions in order to get the heat level right for the person ordering.
My hot and sour soup was amazing. Almost as good as Jimmy Tsang's. It was a trifle too salty, but perfect in every other way.
The rest of the meal was also delicious. All of the dishes were very good. We realized we'd ordered far too much food when the waiter put the first plate on our table. We all gorged ourselves and had leftovers for two days.
The service was attentive (there were not very many other customers in the restaurant that night) and fun. He joked with the kids and winked at me (thinking they were my children, I think).
The only complaint I have is that I ordered tea and was given a tea bag of black tea. I saw containers of green tea behind the counter, and was expecting that.
I highly recommend this restaurant and will probably go back when I'm in Elgin again. It rekindled my fondness for Chinese food -- I'll have to find a good one in Bethesda.
Decent food and decent prices. Â I probably wouldn't go back because nothing really sets it apart from every other Chinese take-out place.
I'd give it three stars but they need to stop cooling uranium rods with the water they use to brew their hot tea. Â I've had hot tea at a shload of Chinese restaurants; believe me. Â My dad used to own one. Â I let the tea sit for at least five minutes and it *still* burnt my tongue so bad that a week and a half later I still feel a slightly painful tingly numbness on my tongue. Â No, I didn't take a mouthful, only a sip.
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