I came here for a dinner with my family a week or two ago. The food was alright and the customer service was pretty good actually. They cleared my dirty plate every 20 minutes and gave me a new one, which has never happened to me before in Chinatown. I always got stuck with my plate that had all the sauces from all of the dishes.
We ordered crab, fried tofu with string mushrooms, a spicy fish dish with eggplant and some other dishes. I can't remember them all, but they were all relatively good. Nothing exquisite, but nothing that would lead to disappointment.
I got their red bean with coconut drink at the end and they made it exactly the way I wanted, without the red bean crushed up. Good job!
!!!!!!!!!!!!Watch out!!!!!!!!!!!
New owner, new chef. NO shredded pancake, BAD xiao long bao (not the same flavor at all!!!!! and the skin is freaking thick!), NO silk melon shrimp soup dumplings, NO soymilk (machine was broken that day, huh?) NO crispy sesame bun with red bean paste filling, Geeeeeeeez, what do you have??
The rice cake stir-fry is watery and soupy, the jiu-tsai box is gummy chewy with tiny bit filling, scallion pancake was oily and flavorless. The only OK item was the beef and cucumber rolled in the pancake.
I'm SOOOOOOOO MAAAAAAAAAD and sooooooo saaaaaaaaad!!!! Will not come back, ever. It used to be such a treat to go there.
I'm taking a break from them as I think everything went downhill. The soup dumplings probably were premade, but they were still ok.
The beef noodle soup is just not the same anymore. Instead of whatever beef they used before, they use that beef brisket and they gave us more of the lining. When the waitress was talking about it, she said it was tender......barely any meat part, so probably it was so tender it melted away. Also, the noodles didn't taste as good either.
We couldn't decide on what to order and she kept suggesting all these items and I'm like my guy will not like it (he's not Asian, he will eat pretty much anything, but I know him too). I felt like she was a salesperson just trying to make a commission. So, we finally decided on a tofu and seafood dish. I didn't care for it. It had a bit if spiciness to it, but it's not listed as a spicy dish. Some of the tofu tasted like it wasn't cooked long enough.
I use to just like the soup dumplings and beef noodle soup, but I can get those elsewhere that is better. Pretty much every other dish we had tried has been a disappointment to me.
I went here after hearing they had authentic steamed soup dumplings which I'm always looking for around Chicago. I had also heard from other yelpers that their special chef that makes them had gone back to china for vacation. Therefore I called in advance to confirm this. The owner said that hes back in china yet they still served the dumplings (Xiao long bao). This made me suspicious so I asked if they still tasted the same. She said they still taste good...here is how it went down:
I went in one weekend while shopping with my mother and asked the same questions I asked on the phone and got the same answers in person so I ordered some.....
What we got were steamed dumplings (XLB) that tasted and looked exactly like the frozen ones I bought from the store 4 days ago. I even remembered the brand and the price for them. They also didn't look a thing like the pictures on yelp which i suspect were the real thing. Â
When we finished eating these things the owner actually had the gall to come over and ask if they were tasty and if we wanted more...
I was so pissed off I didn't respond and just stared at the table. My mom told her I knew it was a frozen store bought brand of (XLB) and she just gave out a little whimpering "ok" and left to bring us the check.
I'm never coming back nor changing my rating until I know the chef is back here making the real thing. Until then this place and its lying ass b of an owner can go to hell.
T Tasty house is great for a few things & one of them is their soup dumplings. In fact, it's probably the only place in the Chicagoland area that you can get soup dumplings with actual SOUP in it. As Ali R. puts it, it's the only soup dumpling place outside of Din Tai Fung Dumpling House that makes them the right away. It still doesn't match up to Din Tai Fung, but it comes close enough to fill any craving you have. :) If you haven't tried their pork soup dumplings yet, it's a MUST-HAVE!
I was sad to find out on my visit yesterday night that the chef is in China. :T Therefore I couldn't have my soup dumplings or my favorite shredded pancake or any other greasy deliciousness. I admit I pouted for some time until my husband finally snapped me out of it.
I was forced to try some other dishes. Fortunately, our server was smiling the entire time trying to give us some recommendations and apologized profusely. Â You could always go with their $16.95 all you can eat Hot Pot. It's a pretty sweet deal! But I wasn't in the mood for Hot Pot that day. Instead, we ordered some of their Korean BBQ. I loved the presentation of the grill in the middle with tofu and vegetables cooking on the outside. How clever. The Korean BBQ beef was okay though. It lacked the bulgogi or kalbi taste that I love so much from BBQ. It tasted more like pepper steak which I'm not a huge fan of.
On the other hand, I ordered my usual Beef Noodle soup which is always delicious. I was surprised and a bit disappointed that they changed their noodles, but fortunately the beef broth was still yummy!
I'll be back again for their amazing soup dumplings, but next time I sit down at a table, I will be sure to ask if their chef is back. I love my soup dumplings!
service was great and on point. we ordered beef noodle soup, XLB, and beef wrapped in cong yo bing. flavors for all were good but not amazing. one thing for the wrapped beef that was different than i've ever had in CA or MI was the addition of thinly sliced cucumber and ginger, along with duck sauce. It was a most interesting take on this classic and I enjoyed it.
as an aside, CHI chinatown obviously does not compare to SF or NY, but the prices were in line with typical chinese food and had all the typical stores/restaurants one would expect. def repeatable.
I came here yesterday for dinner with my fiance. Â She had been here before with friends and liked it. Â The restaurant is clean and nicely decorated. Â The waiter was very pleasant, spoke good English, and very polite.
We ordered the beef noodle soup, steamed soup dumplings, and pan fried bao. Â Beef noodle soup was good with a savory, garlicky broth. Â Be aware that the noodles are thick and doughy. Â The steamed soup dumplings are ok but I wish they were a little bit hotter. Â Ours was just luke-warm. Â
The pan fried bao's didn't come. Â When we were almost finished with our food, the waiter stopped by to say that it normally takes 25-30 to make (odd since my fiance said that they came out quickly last time she was there). Â So we waited for another 20 minutes, then the waiter came back to say that the cook forgot to make them for us. Â We said, fine, just give us the bill. Â While we were paying, we saw them serve the fried bao's to another table. Â What. The. Heck?
2-stars for the clean restaurant and good beef noodle soup.
I don't know what's going on here, but it seems like Asian restaurants in Chicago are getting prettier. Like there was a Chicago Asian restaurant convention and someone raised their hand and was like "I think...people might actually like eating in a restaurant that doesn't look like it was at one point in time a crack house."
When it comes to good food, I couldn't really care less about how new the paint is. I actually kind of like taking friends to broke-down looking shops and surprising them with awesome eats. But I was surprised with how nice the inside of T Tasty House was.
Anyways, the service here was pretty attentive, at one point almost invasive, but I could tell our server was only trying to be helpful so it didn't bother me too much. I didn't think this was going to be a great meal because we started ordering, and item after item, it seemed that they were "out" of or just didn't have it. Our server made some other suggestions, but it was still frustrating for the little fat kid inside me. But the quickness with which they brought our food out after we ordered it made her happy again.
We ended up getting a variety of dishes, not all of which I can remember the names of - I know we had the beef noodle soup, green onion pancake, shrimp dumplings, grilled lamb (I can't remember the exact name of this dish, but we grilled it ourselves at the table), Japanese tofu with seafood, stir fried beef, some chicken dish - everything was delectable. Especially the beef noodle soup and grilled lamb - I would definitely come back for those two dishes specifically.
Went there to try the dumplings after visiting CA. It was close to Din Tai Fung dumplings but no cigar....we liked the ambience, it felt like we were in Hong Kong. I will definitely go back for the dumplings unless somebody can tell me a better place.
The beef noodle soup is awesome, loved it!
My review is solely based on their pork soup dumplings. Until T Tasty House opened, it was nearly impossible to find authentic soup dumplings in Chicago. I've been to Din Tai Fung Dumpling House in LA and have never found soup dumplings that are similar until T Tasty House! The skin is a little thicker but still delicious. The soup is not greasy and there's the right amount of soup and pork to make it a very good soup dumpling. Their shredded pancake is also fun and delicious! Go there and get their soup dumplings! There's 2 things I would change. The waitress not giving me a scared face when I order 40 with my twin and that they provide more ginger and slice them a little thinner...but now I'm just being picky. :)
Review Source:I'm sorry I returned to this restaurant last weekend, and the food was okay. They were out of a lot of items on the menu, and the weather was 80 something degrees outside, and it made the restaurant feel very humid and sticky, and it wasn't pleasant to eat any hot foods. If a business is too cheap to put air on during a hot and humid day I would just have to leave next time.
However, what we did eat was decent I still like their special dumplings and their noodles, but that is it.
Much better this time! Â We called ahead and took names. Â Although last time they did not allow tables to be pushed together, this time they did! Â We also talked with someone who appeared to be a manager. Â A couple mysteries in the service, (e.g. half of us got new plates, one person never got a cup,) this was a much superior experience!
Review Source:I don't think place was bad by all means, I actually think it was a pretty good place, and I wouldn't be against going back there. Â It's just that out of the other restaurants in Chinatown, I don't think this one is going to be my go to place. Â I did think their shao long baos (soup dumplings) were pretty good..for Chicago. Â There wasn't as much soup inside the dumplings as I had hoped but I did think that they do have better soup dumplings than other places in Chinatown. Â We also got their beef noodle soup, which while I do like the noodles, they tasted home made and were al dente and chewy which are my fav kind of noodles, the broth like other reviewers had mentioned was a little on the sweet side and had these weird pickled things that tasted like lemon so you would be drinking the broth and at the hint would get sometimes a weird lemon hint? Â I just like my beef noodle soup a bit more on the spicy side..and since I love broth I really love broth that warms you up and has so much flavor I could just drink the broth and be happy. Â This one...not so much. Â We also ordered the beef filled onion scallion pancake which was good..but I still think the one at Ed's potsticker house is much better. Â Out waitress was very friendly and accomodating which was nice. Â I think that all in all I had a good experience here and I wouldn't be coming back here...it just might not be the first place I think of when I come to Chinatown.
Review Source:went there again after my 2 weeks in ireland because i was craving for some good chinese food. boy i was disappointed.
during all my previous visits, i always ordered the 2 dishes i love most from this place, i.e. the crab meat soup dumpling and japanese seafood noodle. although some other food it tried has been really not too good but these 2 dishes never failed me.
first off, they changed the noodle (from the thin noodle to flat thick noodle) of the japanese seafood noodle. and then the soup base is taste-less where it used to be quite flavourful.
the crab meat soup dumpling is still ok although not as good as before but this place still has the best soup dumpling in chicagoland area.
we also ordered some stir friend chili chicken and all the chicken pieces we got are mostly bones with 2 shred of meat on it. the dish cost $9.95 for a plate of "bones".... what a ripped off.
this time i'm very disappointed to the point that i guess i won't be coming back to this place again except if i'm really craving for some crab meat soup dumpling.
Came here with a group of friends before the North Coast Music festival and BYOB-ed a bottle of very nice scotch just because haha.
The reviews are spot on that the dishes are kind of a mix of mainland Chinese dishes and more Taiwanese-style dishes.
+ Beef stew noodle soup: by no means is this rendition a comparison to the likes of Tao Yuan Jie (street in Taipei, Taiwan) beef noodle soup. However, the broth has a sweet and interesting kick, and the noodles have a good chewy and sticky consistency. The beef has also been stewed correctly and falls apart easily.
+ Green onion pancakes: the equivalent of fried dough with scallions. Get this.
+ Stewed pork over rice: the flavor is spot on, and the girlfriend loved it. But I didn't like the texture of it. Seemed too mushy (?)
+ Steamed pork soup dumplings: it's always difficult to compare this dish to the prized offering from Din Tai Fung Dumpling House, but this offering is solid. Dumpling skin is tender, and juices are intact inside.
Definitely make a point to stop here with friends on a weekend for brunch or lunch. It's kind of on the end of the row of Chinatown, next to the Citibank so you'll find it to be less crowded.
This place is the best Chinese I've had outside of China. Â Actually, its better than nearly all the places I've been to in China. Â Had the Seafood dumplings with the soup inside, which were perfectly made, cumin lamb skewers which were perfectly cooked and seasoned, eggplant w squash and salty fish which I unexpectedly loved (I hate eggplant), and a Spicy Fish and Tripe. Â Plus, they have a cold appetizer bar where you can select 4 items for $4.95 - I had spicy cucumber, spicy beef and maw, woodear mushroom, and a shredded vege dish and they were all excellent. Â On top of everything, this place is cheaper than other places in Chiantown - a dish thats $9.95 here will be $2-3 more at another place. Â Run, don't walk to this place.
Review Source:When I heard this place had delicious siu long bao, I went the very same day. And it was true! The baos came in a steamer of 8 with the vinegar/soy sauce concoction. I used a soup spoon and when I bit into the dumpling, the soup filled up the entire spoon. The skin was thin and not thick at all and my bf and I gobbled up all 8 pretty quickly. A good sign. I ordered the house special beef noodle soup as my main dish. The soup was different from other beef noodle soups, more on the sweet side. The noodles were really soft, seemed like they were handmade and reminded me of soba noodles minus the buckwheat. The beef was so tender and delicious. There was a small topping of relish that reminded me of kimchi. The combination was delicious yet EXTREMELY filling because of the huge portion. This place also serves individual hot pots, kabobs, and other northern China specialties. They have a special from 8:30AM to 3:30 or 5PM....shoot why can't I remember now?? The special is either 5.95 or 6.95 and you'll get a few things to try. I'll definitely be returning to try that special and their individual hot pots.
Review Source:Dang, was this place good, even if their business name is unclear. Â The sign hanging over the door says Taro Ran Ju, but the receipt says T Tasty House. Â And possibly also Taoyanju.
Even if you can't count on good service (it didn't help having a Chinese-speaker in the group, either), you can definitely count on excellent xiao long bao. Â Their soup dumplings are served in a steamer in sets of 8, and 1 steamer might not be enough for your table. Â Don't overlook the blandly named "special beef noodle," a spicy noodle soup with plenty of tender, braised beef. Â We also enjoyed the cumin-encrusted, grilled skewers of beef and lamb, though the shrimp were served shell-on and required some effort.
Don't forget to bring beer to wash everything down.